Twitch’s Game-Changing Co-Stream Feature: Viewership Revolution?

Look Sports Media – Twitch is reportedly set to roll out a groundbreaking co-streaming feature that could redefine how esports tournaments and special events are broadcast and consumed. This new tool promises to aggregate viewership across multiple co-streams, directly benefiting the main broadcaster with a combined, easily accessible viewership count.

Over the past few years, co-streaming has emerged as a vital component of the esports landscape, with popular content creators providing live reactions and commentary that significantly boost viewership numbers. Last year’s League of Legends World Championship, bolstered by personalities like Marc "Caedrel" Lamont, serves as a prime example of the impact co-streaming can have.

According to content creation reporter Zach Bussey, this upcoming feature will be natively integrated into the Twitch platform. Broadcasters will have the option to allow others to co-stream their content, with the combined viewership contributing to the main channel’s total count. This is a major shift from the current system, where co-stream viewership is tracked separately.

"This means the original broadcaster’s stream will show the full, combined viewership on their channel," Bussey stated. This consolidated viewership data could prove invaluable for attracting sponsorships, as it provides concrete and easily verifiable numbers for potential investors. Furthermore, esports tournament organizers and other event hosts will gain access to comprehensive analytical data from all co-streams.

Industry figures like Ovilee May have already expressed excitement about the potential impact of this feature. "We’ve already seen how much co-streamers have impacted overall broadcast numbers, so the ability to easily combine viewership should be VERY appealing for potential sponsors," she tweeted. "Bigger number = bigger money."

The rise of co-streaming has also fostered community engagement. Mark "ohnePixel" Zimmerman’s co-streams, for example, have generated significant support from the CS2 and Valorant communities for figures like Jake "Boaster" Howlett. While the new feature could encourage organizations like Riot Games to open up co-streaming to a wider range of creators, it remains unclear whether any limitations will be imposed on who can participate.

However, Bussey suggests that the feature will be reserved for "Special Events" and not available for everyday use. "It does sound like you cannot use this day-to-day, and it will ONLY be allowed for ‘Special Events’," he noted. "So, unless you’re planning something significant, you likely will not be able to use this regularly."

The introduction of this feature comes at a crucial time for Twitch, as it faces increasing competition from YouTube in the esports broadcasting space. YouTube’s smoother video player, rewind functionality, and ad-blocking capabilities have drawn many esports fans away from Twitch.

ShyKnock, another prominent voice in the scene, acknowledged the need for such a feature. "YouTube supremacy still for esports, but this is a much-needed feature in the era of co-streaming," they tweeted. "Helps creators get recognized and helps curb the ‘broadcast numbers are terrible’ narratives a bit, even if there are still massive ramifications of it losing its power."

The recent League of Legends World Championships 2025, which saw T1 defeat Invictus Gaming in the Play-Ins, highlighted this dynamic. The series broke viewership records for the Play-Ins stage, reaching 2.4 million viewers, a near-75% increase from the previous year. However, YouTube’s peak viewership for the series nearly doubled that of Twitch.

With esports remaining a vital part of Twitch’s strategy, this new co-streaming feature could be a critical step in adapting to the evolving landscape and reclaiming its dominance in the market.