Asmongold slams Twitch for adding new “intrusive” mid-stream ads”

Twitch has added new mid-stream ads in recent weeks, and popular streamer Asmongold is not happy about it, calling them “intrusive” and “disappointing.”

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In the past month, threads have been popping up left, right, and center claiming that Twitch has added mid-stream ads. It started as an experimental feature in which an automated mid-roll of ads would happen to randomly selected viewers.

However, it seems to have become the norm now, and it’s gotten streamers as well as viewers concerned. Asmongold learned about them for the first time in his latest stream, and he was less than impressed.

It all started when he watched his own stream from the perspective of a viewer and noticed there were ads running that he didn’t set.

“Commercial break in progress?” he said in disbelief, repeating the phrase for good measure. He was also surprised to discover that he was in the top 30 channels who run ads per day. 

“For the past two months, Asmongold is in the top 30 channels that run ads,” he added. Still, it paled in comparison to the number of daily ads on Hasan ‘Hasanabi’ Piker stream, which was more than double of the person in second place.

This prompted him to go down a rabbit hole, hopping from thread to thread. Once he got up to speed, he said he was “very frustrated” with the issue. However, he couldn’t stream on YouTube to protest “even if he wanted to” due to contractual obligations.

That didn’t stop him from sharing his thoughts though. “If Twitch wants to force ads, I think that we should say, okay, Twitch you are going to force ads. You have to force ads. Fine. Let’s talk about a way to do it that is not intrusive to the viewer,” he said.

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“The viewer is why this website succeeds. The viewer is why this website grows.” It’s a sentiment that the thousands upon thousands of viewers in his chat appreciated. 

“The moment that you stop taking into consideration the actual consumer of the product and you do things to make money off of them without providing a value, that is whenever your company and your product begins to fail,” he added.

Later on, he still couldn’t shake it off. Ultimately, he decided to contact Twitch support and drafted up an impassioned Tweet with a little help from his viewers.

• Read more: Asmongold slams ‘idiots’ upset at black characters in World of Warcraft

“Hey @TwitchSupport some of my viewers have been getting SPAMMED with ads that I didn’t run and that happen as midrolls and not prerolls,” he wrote. “Some have said they have gotten over 20 ads in less than 3 hours. Is this intended and what can I do to make it stop?”

Asmongold’s post has already gained nearly 7,000 likes, and it seems like he’s become a voice for the people on the matter.

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He said he doesn’t know whether it’s intended or not. But either way, he hopes it will at least force an explanation.

Twitch has not commented on the issue yet, at least not publicly. However, it’s fair to say that streamers and viewers alike will be eagerly awaiting their response.