UPDATED 18:31 EDT / JANUARY 18 2018

APPS

Twitch signs on Disney-managed YouTube stars, launches tools for produced videos

Twitch, the video game streaming site owned by Amazon.com Inc., announced today that it has partnered with Disney Digital Network to get exclusive content from four Disney-managed YouTube stars.

The two companies said the creators will manage their own Twitch channels, with exclusive live broadcasts and video-on-demand content debuting today. The YouTubers who will be producing new content for Twitch include Sean “Jacksepticeye” McLoughlin, Mark “Markiplier” Fischbach, Meghan “Strawburry17” Camarena and Borja “LuzuGames” Luzuriaga. Jacksepticeye and Markiplier are currently both in the top 40 most-subscribed YouTube channels, and altogether the four YouTube stars boast more than 45 million subscribers.

“The growth of Twitch is based on listening to our content creators and building the features they need to be successful, including our robust approach to monetization, moderation and interactive technology,” said Michael Aragon, Twitch’s senior vice president of content. Aragon’s statement may be a subtle dig at Google LLC-owned YouTube, which recently made a controversial decision to raise the requirements for its partnership program.

“We’re always looking to create opportunities for our Disney Digital Network digital talent to bring their stories and content to more fans in new ways,” said Andrew Sugerman, executive vice president of publishing and digital media for Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media. “Partnering with Twitch gives our biggest creators access to the platform’s tools, expertise and community to directly engage with and build their audiences.”

Just in time for the new partnership, Twitch also announced today the launch of its Video Producer tools. They make Twitch work a bit more like traditional television by introducing two new content types geared toward prerecorded video: Premieres and Reruns.

With Premieres, streamers can schedule and promote the first showing of a prerecorded video, allowing their viewers to tune in together and chat about the video in real time. Meanwhile, the new Rerun feature makes it easier for channels to rebroadcast both past livestreams and previously uploaded videos. To tell the new content types apart, Twitch has also introduced new icons that label streams as Live, Premiere or Rerun:

twitch-video-producer-labels

According to Twitch, all newly uploaded and scheduled videos will be automatically classified as a Premiere the first time they go live, and streamers cannot interrupt the video once it starts airing. The reasoning behind this decision is likely to keep the focus on Twitch’s community features.

Casual streamers may have little use for Twitch Video Producer, but they could be a game changer for professional content creators like Markiplier and Twitch’s other new partners. The tools will also likely make a big splash with commercially produced channels like Geek & Sundry, a Twitch channel owned by Legendary Entertainment that airs and rebroadcasts multiple weekly shows. Twitch said it will add more tools to Video Producer in the future, and it invites streamers to offer their own suggestions via its idea box.

Images: Twitch

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