How to Become a Twitch Partner & Differences from Affiliate

If you’ve landed on this blog post, you’re probably wondering what a Twitch Partner is and, most importantly, how you can become one. Welcome—you’re in the right place, and we’re here to answer all of your burning questions. Additionally, we’ll give you some tips on how you can work towards achieving this milestone later in this post.

To help dedicated live streamers build and monetize their platforms, Twitch launched the Partnership Program as a way for creators to “level up” from the Affiliate milestone. While Twitch Partner and Affiliate status both give creators exclusive access to monetization opportunities, Partners get a few more perks, including more emotes and, for a select few, leverage to negotiate subscription payouts on the platform. Additionally, the requirements to become a partner are a bit more intense than that of an Affiliate. Of course, we’ll go into more detail in just a second. Keep reading to learn more about becoming a Twitch Partner and how it differs from an Affiliate. 

What Are the Benefits of Being a Twitch Partner?

Below are some of Twitch Partners’ benefits, from monetization to streaming quality. 

Monetization Opportunities

• Channel Subscriptions—tiered subscriptions with revenue split between the streamer and Twitch
• Emotes—Partners can unlock 10 Tier 1 subscription slots (two additional ones can be unlocked by having any Twitch alert active for 60 days). Partners also gain an extra five slots for both Tier 2 & 3 Subs.
• Bits—Buying bits allows viewers to support and cheer on streamers while earning badges (dependent on the number of bits). Additionally, Partners can customize cheermotes and bit badges. Twitch partners share revenue from bits, which equals about 1 cent per bit. 
• Ads—Partners get the opportunity to share revenue from ads displayed on their channel and customize features such as length and frequency of ads. 
• Payout fees—Partners have these covered by Twitch while Affiliates cover them themselves.

Channel Customization

In addition to cool monetization opportunities, Twitch Partners gain access to a ton of channel customization features such as custom chat badges, custom emotes (and emote prefixes), verified user badges, two free lifetime subscriptions for bots used on the channel, and up to three-lifetime subscriptions to your channel for friends and family (the amount is dependent on your total number of subscribers). 

VOD Features

While Affiliates can store VODs for up to 14 days, Partners have the limit extended to 60 days. However, both Twitch Partners and Affiliates can rebroadcast old content as reruns and premiere new content by scheduling a “first-viewing event” for subscribers.

Priority Support 

By visiting “Partner Help” when logged into your Twitch dashboard, Partners can receive priority support to all inquiries (within 1-2 business days).

Teams

Through “Partner Help,” creators may also request to make their own stream teams to connect with other streamers. 

Partner-Only Opportunities

Twitch offers many fantastic opportunities to support creators on the platform, such as Partner Spotlights, Meet & Greets, and Partner Panels which are only available to those who have obtained Partner status. 

Video Transcodes

According to Twitch, non-Partnered channels receive transcodes dependent on available capacity, while Partners are guaranteed transcodes to maintain the highest stream quality and, inevitably, viewer experience.

Broadcast Delay

Lastly, Partners can delay streams (up to 15 minutes) which can be helpful for gaming streamers to prevent other gamers from disrupting your gameplay by tracking down your location via stream (commonly referred to as stream sniping). 

What Are the Requirements to Become a Twitch Partner, and How Do You Apply?

The first step towards becoming a Twitch Partner is fulfilling the Path to Partner achievement on the platform. This entails streaming on the platform for at least a total of 25 hours on 12 different days in addition to having an average viewership of 75 viewers (FYI, viewer counts from raids, reruns, premieres, front page spotlight, and subscriber streams don’t count towards Partner consideration). Once you meet these requirements, you can apply using the Twitch Partner Application to be considered.

Also, if you are accepted as a Twitch Partner, you must maintain these criteria. It’s worth mentioning these are minimum requirements meaning you’re not guaranteed a partnership if you hit them. Alternatively, you can be considered if you have an engaged viewership/following on other platforms such as YouTube. Lastly, you must post content that adheres to Twitch’s Community Guidelines, Terms of Service, and DMCA Guidelines. 

We also thought we’d mention that Twitch is often updating its terms and policies regarding relationships with Partners (i.e., their latest updates regarding Partner exclusivity), so it’s best to stay up to date with this information. 

Tips for Becoming a Twitch Partner

Produce Quality Content (Frequently) 

Of course, Twitch wants creators to provide viewers with the best content possible. Find ways to improve your live streams and deliver an enjoyable viewing experience on your channel. Additionally, create a schedule for your content—one of the best ways to grow on Twitch or any platform is by remaining consistent and to not leaving your audience hanging. 

Don’t Get Discouraged, and Continue to Create

If you’re not accepted on the first go-round, it’s not a sign to throw in the towel. Continue to create and improve your channel so you can increase your chances of being approved at a later date. 

Do Not Reapply Too Frequently 

Considering your content and viewership typically won’t change much over a short period, Twitch recommended waiting at least 30 days to reapply or until your stats, such as concurrent viewers and subscribers, drastically improves. 

Keep creating and working towards Twitch Partner status. Remember, we’re rooting for you every step of the way!