Twitch stops premium channel promotion after people pay for porn on homepage
In October 2021, Twitch began testing a new feature that would allow viewers to pay to boost streaming channels to the site’s homepage to increase their exposure. The experiment is now over, at least for now, as troublemakers are using the system to push porn to the top.
Boosting initially debuted in December 2020, using free channel credits, pooled by viewers during community challenges. “When the boost challenge is successfully completed, we’ll promote your stream to highly visible sections of Twitch, such as ‘Live Channels We Think You’ll Love,'” Boost This Stream FAQ explain. “Promoting your feed can help increase your visibility and attract new audiences.”
The paid boost, first announced in September 2021, works in the same way, just involving real money. Unlike channel credits earned by following and watching channels, the only limiting factor for paid boosts is how much people are willing to spend. Streamers themselves can also pay for promotion, effectively enabling them to get to the front page (or at least contribute to the effort) their way.
The plan wasn’t universally popular: Many expressed concern that the system favored already popular channels because they would be in a better position to get their way to the top. Unlike cheering or channel subscriptions, streamers don’t make money from paid boosts: all the money goes to Twitch.
Absolutely horrible. Please don’t do this @Twitch. It’s hard for me to think of the positives here. Smaller streamers are struggling to be discovered, making it challenging to grow and make enough money. Boost feels like a new punishment for already struggling streamers https://t.co/sFkV3lYRwWSeptember 30, 2021
Nonetheless, the program continued until yesterday, March 30, when the user Twitter and Reddit Started noticing live channels streaming porn on the front page. Apparently, the channels in question were pushed to the front page because they were labeled “promoted by the streaming community.”
“Looks like determined trolls are actually paying for accounts that get access to Boost Train…then really create a hype train to put porn on the front page,” streamer Zach Bussey tweet.
A Twitch representative confirmed that the Boost Train experiment has been suspended due to some security-related issues during testing. No specific reason for the suspension was provided, and Twitch didn’t say whether the program could return in some modified form in the future, but updates to new features designed to improve channel discoverability will be shared as they become available.
thanks, point movement.