Twitch Brings Ad Delivery In-House With New Technology That Hinders Ad Blockers

In order to improve advertising across one of the world’s largest gaming streaming platforms, Twitch announced yesterday that it will roll out new ad technology titled SureStream, which the company says will bring ads more squarely within its control.

As opposed to third-party ad networks, which cause various issues with regard to ad delivery, Twitch stands to benefit in terms of both user experience and revenue generation by bringing delivery in-house, Techcrunch notes. In a blog post introducing SureStream, Twitch says that the new technology will fix longstanding volume and playback problems on ads — “with less pausing and freezing” — for a more seamless experience.

For partnered streamers currently monetizing their channels — a community representing roughly 11,000 creators of the platform’s 1.5 million total active broadcasters — Twitch says SureStream will present more opportunities to earn ad revenue. And broader reach and more reliable delivery will make Twitch a more attractive ad platform for marketers, the company says.

Perhaps most critically, SureStream ads will be harder to bypass using ad blockers, which are used by many dedicated viewers, Twitch acknowledges. “As a company we are agnostic when it comes to the use of [ad-blocking] software,” writes the company’s head of product marketing, Robin Fontaine. “You are free to use it, or not, as you see fit.” However, she notes that Twitch offers various paid tiers — including Twitch Prime (which unites Twitch’s premium tier with the Amazon Prime subscription service), Twitch Turbo, and individual channel subscriptions — for users who wish to opt out of ads.

SureStream is rolling out now, and will be available site-wide in coming months.