Upcoming Twitch embeds experiment

[tyvick]

We continually test improvements in our Twitch products, including our embed players. To that end, we’re testing calls-to-action that will appear in embed streams, similar to the one below:

We’re doing this to assess the impact that embeds have on discovery and audience growth for creators. These CTAs may appear in a variety of different contexts and configurations.

There are many different use cases and contexts in which our embeds currently appear. This can pose difficulties when it comes to understanding the best path forward for building product improvements that foster valuable (often interdependent) yet complex viewing relationships between viewers, creators, and developers. More information in this area helps us learn more about how to move the embed product forward in a way that delivers better info to viewers, more long-term audience/revenue value to creators, and more insight to developers utilizing embeds.

For questions and feedback, feel free to reply to this thread or fill out the form in our developer documentation for embedding.

Update 2020-01-29: For additional clarity, this is a temporary experiment and not a finalized feature. We will continue to closely monitor feedback and data.

Update 2020-02-09: This experiment has concluded. Thanks to everyone for their feedback here in the forums. We will use that feedback and the data gathered from the experiment to continue improving our embed products.

[JenniNexus]

Sounds awesome - I definitely have mine embedded on my site

[Outdoor_IRL]

I run a network that showcases a specific niche of content, known as “Outdoor IRL”. This test, in my respectful opinion, disrupting the format of the website. The format of my website (outdoorIRL.com) is to maintain viewers that discover the website, and keep viewers on the website, but we also encourage viewers to go to their channels and support them. The goal is to expose them to as many twitch streamers that does the same niche content from the website. I understand you need to do this test, but if you proceed to make it official all around permanent function on the API, would there be any way to opt out or classify certain API users, like myself, as community / showcased based websites trying to grow communities of niche content to be excluded?

[deef0000dragon1]

I agree with Outdoor_IRL that, while it looks to be an awesome feature for many to get viewers coming across the embed to engage more (IE a youtuber’s site has twitch embedded when they are live), there are certain cases where twitch is actually the less full experience. Saltybet comes to mind as well.

Outside of the option to disable it, it would be nice to be able to

• set it as a specific corner or center,
• set it to be one of a series of different sizes (icon only, “continue watching on twitch” sized, full sized, entire screen), and
• set how often it pesters the viewer
• set the message used

[nmaster64]

I can’t help but see this as an attack on alternative sites to Twitch itself that build themselves around embedded players, and anything less than the ability to disable this “feature” would confirm as much.

[tyvick]

Thank you for your feedback, as this is an interesting and unique use case. It is not possible to comment on future plans until testing and analysis is concluded, of course, but we will aim to use the information we learn to balance the needs of creator discovery within embed contexts like yours to make sure they’re effectively assessed when it comes to new features and controls.

[tyvick]

Thank you for feedback on this, both for the test itself and these additional modular ideas.

[twitter_accounts]

You guys should be focused on Monetizing the Embed player, almost 2 years now its been disabled due to poor reasoning.

This experiment will not do anything positive, if viewers want to go to the Twitch channel, they have the option to do that from the already provided links that are in the embed.

If anything, this should be a Advertisement, that plays for 15 seconds, and then goes away.

[revo91]

You are making it so much harder to use embeds with every update. First “parent” property effectively disabled usage on “file://” origin and ruined my smart tv app, next giant fullscreen purple message appearing every few minutes to leave embed and move to twitch.tv and now permanent info box requiring user to cancel or move to twitch.tv.
Just remove embed already and stop making people angry.

[Louis6321]

Argh! I work in streaming for an esports company and usually need to have several streams open at once. I use twitchtheater.tv to do this and I pay for Twitch Turbo… now it’s ruined.

[Louis6321]

I don’t even get the option to cancel. I get a countdown and then the stream is stopped.

[Romjkez]

Using embeds is getting harder with each update.
I agree with those guys above.
Making such things ruins all the ecosystem built around the Twitch embeds by external developers forcing their users to leave to sites.

It’s ok if you will implement ads inside embed or anti-adblock banners but isn’t this a purpose of embeds to be able to insert the player on any site and build your own product?
Now the embeds are more like “demo streams” rather than a true piece of Twitch inside your site

[jbpratt]

We are having users reporting at least three variations of this.

1. Like shown in the original post, with the ability to close it
2. The same as the original post, with no ability to close it
3. A countdown that stops video completely

[BarryCarlyon]

@jbpratt

We are having users reporting at least three variations of this.

To quote the OP

@tyvick

These CTAs may appear in a variety of different contexts and configurations.

You’ve listed three different versions of the thing being tested

[jbpratt]

Thank you for the clarity, Barry.

[nmaster64]

So, considering two of the tests just completely ruin the stream for the user – one literally stopping it and one blocking the screen with no option to close – what’s really being “tested” here is how much Twitch can get away with just killing embeds completely?

[TikTak9k1]

Twitch definitely testing the waters afaic with embeds to see what they can get away with. I wont shut up about this specific thing and I was skeptic towards another Twitch colleague of @tyvick 's in another thread in regards of this too.

These twitch embed experiments, yet again, proof my point. Look, why do these experiments purposely make the experience worse? Get the full experience on Twitch.tv just screams ‘We want our audience fully on our site and will make matters worse for 3rd party sites so it becomes borderline unwatchable’.

[Golden]

I spent months of my free time developing a tool to help people watch Twitch on their favorite multi-viewer sites, but it’s all going to be for nothing if these popups are mandatory on those sites. Please don’t do this. Ugh twitch just ugh

[Golden]

Also, isn’t there literally a “TWITCH” button in the embed if someone wants to go directly to the site? Why add popups and diminish the user experience of the embed when the desired outcome is already present?

[Golden]

Why is this even necessary when the embedded player already has a TWITCH button in it to take the user directly to Twitch? This is exactly how YouTube and other embedded players perform and its fairly common knowledge.