Twitch CEO says scrapping big streamer contracts has made them “strong” for profitability

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Dan Clancy, CEO of Twitch, has opened up about their strategy toward profitability, disclosing that they needed to cancel certain “unsustainable” agreements and modify Twitch Prime in some ways.

Despite being the leading platform in the live streaming sector and often referred to as the primary choice among users, Twitch – an Amazon-owned company – has faced criticism in recent times, with some labeling it as a “zombie” brand within Amazon’s online empire. This characterization emerged less than a year ago.

Towards the close of 2024, a report surfaced suggesting that the site was incurring losses despite generating $2 billion in revenue, leading to concerns about potential mass layoffs in the near future. In addition, Chris Pavlovski, CEO of Rumble, forecasted that Twitch might be forced to shut down or be sold off by the end of 2026.

Whenever asked about Twitch, its CEO Dan Clancy often emphasizes that they are in a robust and promising situation as they strive towards profitability.

Dan Clancy addresses Twitch being profitable

In a conversation with The Game Business Live, Clancy stated that if we had gone back in time, some of our business decisions might not have been focused on the long-term sustainability. However, he feels content with where we stand now regarding our structure for compensating streamers.

Instead, he mentioned that Twitch has established a clear partnership program called “Partner Plus,” which shares revenue with streamers more equitably compared to the previous approach where top streamers were paid more than their earnings on Twitch in an intense bidding war, leading to unsustainable agreements.

We’ve implemented several updates, and we’re extremely confident about our current situation. Additionally, we’ve managed to establish a robust framework for Prime, a crucial component of Twitch. Overall, we’re pleased with our business model as it stands.

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Clancy has disclosed that approximately two-thirds of their earnings stem from subscription fees and viewers backing live streamers.

It’s not widely known, but here I am to share that nearly two-thirds of our income stems from the generous support of our beloved creators by their adoring fans.” (Axios, June 17)

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2025-06-24 15:48