Quote:
Originally Posted by jaimestaples
Something I quickly figured out, and Jcarver seemed to think from day one, is that the $ you make streaming from viewers will likely be the smallest part. Don't get me wrong, subs, donations, ad revenue massively ads up and can really become awesome. Not to mention it's just nice to know that people find what you are doing valuable.
What's more powerful though (at least in poker so far) is having 10 million hours of content watched a year. Having attention! You can extrapolate how much that attention is worth in regular media (like TV), and figure out what companies will pay for product placement or sponsorship.
By the end of the year it is equivalent to a 60 minute episode on Primetime TV in the US. Product placement and commercial revenue should, in theory, be around the same for streaming one year as a whole block of the walking deads commercials. Of course streamers and companies need to figure out that this is what they are worth so the value for sponsors right now is really high. It's cheeper then it should be because their are no established standards like ratings for TV.
So without sponsorships, $50 an hour is a lot and I think that 5% number mentioned above is fair. With Sponsorships, it can be a lot more then that very quickly if streamers know their worth.
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p.s. Hopefully this is helpful for some of the people just starting your stream up. It's tempting to jump on whatever offers come your way especially when they just start coming. Be very selective though! Your audience is what makes your stream valuable, it's your most powerful asset. Put them first > money always. Only sign deals if it ads to the value of the people watching.
Although I see what you are trying to say, I think your 'theory' comparing a primetime television show and a twitch stream is very misguided. Sure there may be an equivalent amount of viewers and view time, but equivalent amount of viewers DNE equivalent amount of value to a prospective marketer and it's, likely, not even close.
You fail to consider the value that each individual viewer represents to a company. In my opinion, people who sit at home and watch twitch (no offense, I do it myself) are likely to have a much lower disposable income than those that are watching primetime television, and therefore are less valuable--on average. This is why commercials on different television channels, that attract similar amount of viewers, do not cost the same amount. In addition to the number of eyeballs each commercial attracts, the demographics of the viewers are extremely important in determining the value of the commercial slots.
I will concede that it is obviously a very niche clientele, so for some gaming/gambling companies it does make sense to advertise on Twitch. But the same qualities that make it 'niche' also terribly constrain the potential companies that would market on twitch.
To think that your 10 million hours of views are as valuable as a primetime TV slot is very optimistic. Generally, I do agree that having a massive audience is likely undervalued by the community as a whole, but likely overvalued by you, if you think that your audience is as valuable as a primetime cable slot.