Twitch Rolls Out 'Watch Parties' To Creators Worldwide, Enabling Creators To Connect With Fans Through Shows & Movies

Source: Twitch

After months of testing, Twitch is finally rolling out its Watch Parties feature to creators worldwide.

With Watch Parties, creators and their subscribers can watch Amazon Prime shows and movies that are available in their region together. During Watch Parties, creators appear in a video player above the Chat feature, allowing their community to see how they react to the show or movie they’re watching.

Similar to standard streams, creators can receive support from their viewers through Bits and Subs.

Source: Twitch

As explained by Twitch, creators can access and use Watch Parties through the following steps:

• 1: Add the Watch Party Quick Action to your Stream Manager

• 2: Connect Watch Parties to your Prime or Prime Video account

• 3: Choose the Prime Video movie or TV show you want to watch with your community

• 4: Go live with your webcam and mic

• 5: Start your Watch Party and enjoy with your community. Snacks: highly encouraged.

As of right now, Watch Parties are only available on desktop, but the platform intends to make them available for mobile experiences in the near future.

Insights & Analysis:

The global rollout of Watch Parties comes at a time where co-viewing experiences have become quite popular due to the pandemic. In fact, several other platforms have recently launch co-viewing experiences including Netflix Party, Prime Video, and Hulu.

Additionally, Twitch has seen a significant increase in non-gaming content on the platform. While gaming streams have been core to its success, streams under categories like ‘Just Chatting,’ ‘Creative,’ and ‘Music & Performing’ are growing.

Both of these make it more than a relevant time for expanded access for Watch Parties. With COVID-19 unfortunately, still, here, Watch Parties can function as an alternative for the movie theater experience, but with the added value of real-time interaction and engagement between creators and their communities.

Watch Parties also create a new way and opportunity for brands to activate Twitch creators for influencer campaigns. For example, a popcorn brand like Act II could have a creator organically integrate their products while watching a movie with their subscribers.

For more social media news, follow me on Twitter and connect with me on LinkedIn.

Source: Twitch