Twitch Prime is dropping ad-free viewing in September
Twitch Prime's list of perks is getting a little thinner starting next month.

Twitch Prime is a great way to earn a load of extra goodies if you consume a lot of content on the streamingservice. Since launch, the company has given out free monthly channel subscriptions, free games, and in-game loot as part of the program. But there's one perk that's about to get the ax: ad-free viewing.
In an update posted to its blog today, Twitch announced that it will cut ad-free viewing from its Twitch Prime benefits for new subscribers starting on September 14. The reason? A re-evaluation of existing benefits as the company "[continues] to add value to Twitch Prime." From the post:
Advertising is an important source of support for the creators who make Twitch possible. This change will strengthen and expand that advertising opportunity for creators so they can get more support from their viewers for doing what they love. We want Twitch to remain a place where anyone can enjoy one-of-a-kind interactive entertainment, and ads allow us to continue making Twitch the best place for creators to build communities around the things they love and make money doing it.
Crucially, if you're already a Twitch Prime member, you'll still get to take advantage of ad-free viewing through October 15. And if you bought an annual subscription, you'll continue to be able to watch without ads until your next renewal date.
Going forward, you'll still be able to watch without ads in one of two ways. You can use your free monthly channel subscription to strike ads for that particular channel. For a full ad-free experience, Twitch says you can buy a subscription to Twitch Turbo.
While it's a bit disappointing to see the perk taken away, Twitch seems to be using the freed up resources to focus on better freebies in the future. "We're just getting started, and the community can continue to expect more and better free games with Prime and in-game loot every month, monthly channel subscriptions, exclusive badges, along with new benefits and surprises," the company says.
Windows Central Newsletter
Get the best of Windows Central in your inbox, every day!
Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl.
-
Prime's pre-order benefit is changing, too. Going from 20% off physical pre-orders to a $10 credit when you pre-order "select games" (whatever that means). So it's no longer an immediate discount
-
Wow thanks for letting me know this
-
As long as I continue to get ad free for who I sub to, I'm cool with this.
-
That's up to the individual streamer.
-
No point to renew then..
-
Meh, I have Amazon Prime not for Twitch Prime. I only use Twitch for the free monthly goodies. Don't really care about the ad stuff as I never actually watch anything on Twitch.
-
The people who care don’t care what your opinion on the matter is.
-
The people who do care will care when they stop getting viewers due to the adverts
-
Jeff Bezos greed strikes again! I guess he really wants to catch up to Apples greed to be the 2nd trillion dollars company... Yet he still won't pay his food stamp employees a living wage or benefits. Time to bring Democratic socialist Franklin Roosevelts tax brackets back during Americas great prosperity era (instead of giving them tax money), and Republican Teddy Roosevelts "break em up" philosophy to create and encourage real competition!
-
In the UK they paid less tax despite annual profits trebling 😶.
-
Oh well I guess I won't be watching streams anymore, the adverts were so annoying before I got Prime.
-
Booooooooooooo. Time to watch less streams I suppose.
-
I just renewed a couple of weeks ago so it will be a year before I feel this, but for this it means one less perk for Prime. I only watch Twitch because of this perk, the ads make it literally unwatchable. I randomly scan, I don't live there and give money to channels - the same as my YouTube Premium account. That's why I'm paying extra money for Prime. That's fine, there's an economic model to run, but as a Canadian we already have significantly less perks than the US for Prime, this just tips the balance when renewal time comes. I don't hold a grudge over it, but I doubt I'll renew.