You can now 'sponsor' your favorite YouTube Gaming channels
Fans can support their favorite creators with a $4.99 monthly sponsorship and get access to special perks.
- Named a Tech Media Trailblazer by the Consumer Technology Association in 2019, a winner of SPJ NorCal's Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2022 and has three times been a finalist in the LA Press Club's National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards.
How do you show love and support for your favorite YouTube Gaming videos? Well, now you can do it with money.
YouTube Gaming fans can now directly give money to their favorite eligible creators with sponsorships, the company said Tuesday. A monthly $4.99 payment gives fans perks such as custom emoji and access to exclusive live chats. Fans can also purchase digital goods directly from the channels.
YouTube launched "sponsorships," which allows fans to directly pay their favorite YouTube Gaming creators.
In order to be eligible, creators must be over 18 years old and have a Gaming channel which is monetized and enabled for live streaming. The channel must also have over 1,000 subscribers.
Early tests of YouTube Gaming sponsorships proved successful. According to the company, GameAttack, for example, makes most of its channel revenue through sponsorships and Super Chat (in which live stream participants can pay to pin their comments). And Rocket Beans got 1,500 sponsors on the first day.
GameAttack co-founder Craig Skistimas said after testing out the new feature for about three months, the channel now has more than 1,800 sponsors.
"We've actually had Sponsors ask if there was a higher tier that offered more rewards," Skistimas said. "Our Sponsors are our most hardcore of hardcore fans, and they know that without their support, GameAttack literally would not exist."
YouTube on Tuesday also began testing out sponsorships with non-gaming creators on YouTube's main app.
With the launch of sponsorships and the growth of other revenue-generating features such as YouTube Red and Super Chat, YouTube is ending paid channels, which offered monthly subscriptions for some channels but didn't see much success. Less than 1 percent of creators use it today, according to the company.
First published Sept. 19, 12:28 p.m. PT.
Update, Sept. 21 at 9:31 p.m.: Adds comment from Craig Skistimas.