Twitch is taking action against channels rebroadcast other creators’ content by banning “waiting room” streams.
Over the years, Twitch has been forced to update its policies to counter controversial streaming “metas” such as hot tub broadcasts and made another big change amid the rise of unoriginal content.
On September 13, the Amazon-owned platform announced that “waiting rooms” would no longer be allowed.
Waiting rooms are effectively fan-run rebroadcasts of a creator’s streams and offer no original commentary such as reaction content.
“Moving forward, ‘waiting rooms’ won’t be allowed on Twitch under our policies – reportable under ‘Impersonation.’ To help ensure we enforce accurately, we’ll look at different factors such as stream title and channel bio, as well as whether we’ve received a report from the channel being impersonated,” the site said in a post on X.
Moving forward, “waiting rooms” won’t be allowed on Twitch under our policies – reportable under “Impersonation”. A waiting room is defined as a stream that only features another channel’s content, and includes no reaction or other original content.To help ensure we enforce… pic.twitter.com/wlGyQsdQUr
— Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) September 13, 2024
According to the purple platform, the main issue with these rebroadcasts is they “pull views and potential revenue from the original channel owners.”
A quick look through Twitch shows several “waiting rooms” still active including ones for Valorant star Tenz and political streamer Hasan, suggesting the site is giving those channel owners time before issuing a suspension.
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The site also noted that typical reaction streams are allowed as they feature active engagement and commentary.
Twitch also says that “waiting rooms” where creators await a game update, new character release or other piece of content aren’t in violation of the policy.
Additionally, IRL streamers broadcasting from a hospital waiting room will be safe from any policy enforcement.
It will be interesting to see how these “waiting room” channels adapt to this change and if they implement ways to make these rebroadcasts more original, such as using AI to add some form of commentary.
This isn’t the only content ban Twitch has implemented in 2024. Earlier in the year, the site banned broadcasts with a “prolonged” focus on intimate body parts.