Twitch has begun the rollout of local sub prices across the world, but some streamers are demanding change to the new system, as it could heavily impact their income.
In July, Twitch announced the rollout of local sub prices, essentially making it cheaper for Twitch viewers to subscribe to their favorite streamer with local pricing.
Before the change, UK viewers would be paying £4.99 per subscription, which is approximately $7, but a subscription in the U.S is only $5, making it unfair for viewers in other regions.
For your average Twitch viewer, this is music to their ears, as they can now subscribe for cheaper, but the issue is that the creators will now be receiving less per subscription and they can’t see as to where exactly most of their subs are from.
Previously, streamers would typically have a 50/50 split with Twitch for subscription revenue. If a viewer outside the U.S subscribed, the platform would still split the revenue from how much a sub costs in the U.S, which is $5.
With the release of local subscription pricing, the platform will now 50/50 the country equivalent, which could have a huge impact on the creator’s revenue.
Twitch was aware of the impact this can have on creators before local sub pricing was released. Mike Minton, VP of monetization at Twitch tweeted in May that the platform is working on a tool for creators to see a breakdown of what countries their revenue comes from before they go too far into the changes.
We are working on it and know it is needed before we get too far into the price changes.
— Mike Minton (@MikeMinton) May 17, 2021
With the majority of Europe having their local subscription price adjusted, streamers expected to be able to analyze where their revenue is coming from, but that tool still hasn’t arrived.
Popular streamer Cohh Carnage tweeted at the platform, voicing his concerns, as some viewers are reportedly paying 60%+ less on subscriptions than they previously would. The streamer emphasized how important those reporting tools are.
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The variety streamer agreed that local sub pricing was a good decision saying: “This is a fantastic move overall by Twitch and I’m pretty sure every creator is behind it. What we’re asking for is the reporting and tools to work with it. We all want it. We just need more info.”
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— TUCKER (@JERICHO) August 5, 2021
Other streamers, big and small, chimed in too, asking for Twitch to roll out these tools so they can start to assess changes to their income.
Just got to hope they roll out tools so we can analyse where our subs are coming from to see what impact this has on income
— Dust Monkey (@DustMonkeyGames) August 6, 2021
Hey @Twitch @TwitchSupport now that you're adding Local Sub Pricing that is going to negatively affect Content Creators income with no tools for people to even see how badly it's going to affect them, do you think it's time to relook at the 50/50 split you offer to all creators?
— Waltee (@WalteeWartooth) August 5, 2021
It's so easy to figure out how much you'll get paid with this new system – it's just like shopping for health insurance! pic.twitter.com/2kSl0ocKeg
— twitch.tv/Alisha (@Alisha12287) August 5, 2021
Besides working on a tool for creators, Twitch is launching a 12-month program to guarantee certain revenue levels will be reached. Twitch will cover 100% of baseline channel and Prime sub revenue (if needed) for three calendar months, including the month of the price change. Incentive payments will be decreased by 25% every three months for the next nine months.
As long as that creator streams at least 85% of their live baseline hours in a month and meets certain other eligibility criteria, they will pay the creator a revenue adjustment incentive to make up for lost revenue.
