Twitch has been the number one live streaming platform since its launch in June 2011. However, YouTube has become the Amazon-owned platform’s biggest rival in recent years. They’ve signed some big names, including Ludwig Ahgren, who claims Twitch is nervous about the threat YouTube poses to their monopoly over the industry and thinks their reign as the top dog is ending.
Asmongold didn’t go that far. But, he believes YouTube has a competitive edge over Twitch because they show fewer ads on their platform, making for a better user experience.
The MMO veteran criticized Twitch’s approach to ads during his Sep. 3 stream, which kicked off the discussion: “I think that it should not be possible to run more than a minute worth of ads.” He understands partnered streamers get paid a lot of money to run them, including himself, but said it doesn’t change the fact it makes for a lousy viewer experience.
“I don’t think making people watch three minutes of ads makes the experience better,” he said. “It creates a bad experience for the viewer and ultimately gives YouTube a massive competitive advantage over Twitch.”
It allows YouTube to say, ‘Hey! Come over here. You don’t have to watch as many ads, and there’s a better video player!’ he said, which makes them more appealing to viewers.
Asmongold believes streamlining the user experience should be Twitch’s number one priority if they want to stop Ludwig’s prediction of YouTube’s success from becoming a reality.
In his view, it’s more important than retaining streamers on the platform. He pointed to Microsoft’s failure with Mixer despite signing Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek and Tyler “Ninja” Blevins as an example.
“There can be a bunch of big streamers on a platform. But if the platform sucks, people aren’t going to use it,” he said.
“You need to have the experience be good. That’s what matters more than anything.”
