Nick Bastone/Business Insider
Twitch has helped a generation of gamers earn money while streaming their favorite games.
- Twitch is the most popular platform in the world for livestreaming video, with millions of viewers watching billions of hours worth of live video each year.
- Twitch has more than two million active broadcasters, and more than 27,000 partnered streamers who can earn money through ad revenue sharing, viewer subscriptions, and other forms of monetization.
- Business Insider broke down the different ways Twitch users generate revenue while streaming and talked to Twitch partners about what brings the most money to their channels.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Twitch is the most popular platform in the world for live streaming video, the vast majority of which is focused on video games and online culture.
Like YouTube, the Amazon-owned platform is now home to millions of independent creators, many of whom produce their own live streams for audiences on a daily basis. Viewers spent more than 9 billion hours watching Twitch in 2019, according a report from streaming services provider StreamElements.
The top creators on Twitch earn millions each year and the platform has created an ecosystem for more than 27,000 partnered streamers to make money from their broadcasts. Twitch streamers can generate revenue in a variety of ways, ranging from traditional ads and sponsorships to viewer subscriptions, donations, and sales commission.
Twitch has gradually expanded its partner and affiliate programs to provide a clear path to monetization for popular streamers, and the company works to connect its top talent with video game companies who are eager to reach the millions of viewers using the platform every day.
While many Twitch users rely on viewer donations to bring in money, the Twitch partners we talked to said that subscriptions and bounties offered more stable revenue streams on a monthly basis. Partners who are still working to build a steady revenue stream said the program also helped put them in touch with potential sponsors.
We broke down all the different ways that Twitch streamers can monetize their channel and asked Twitch partners what brings the most money to their streams.
