WEBVTT - Twitch CMO Rachel Delphin on Fostering Community Alongside Platform Safety 0:00:08.000 --> 0:00:12.200 Welcome to Strictly Business, Variety's podcast where industry leaders converse 0:00:12.240 --> 0:00:16.000 about business deals, strategy, and the future of media and entertainment. 0:00:16.320 --> 0:00:20.680 I'm Corey Erickson, media analyst at Variety Intelligence Platform. Today's 0:00:20.680 --> 0:00:24.400 episode features Rachel Delphin, chief marketing officer at live streaming 0:00:24.480 --> 0:00:28.360 leader Twitch. Our conversation touched upon the differences between platform 0:00:28.400 --> 0:00:31.760 specific marketing and in person events, how to keep audiences 0:00:31.800 --> 0:00:34.280 attracted to and engage with the platform at a time 0:00:34.320 --> 0:00:36.920 when newer competition is ramping up, as well as the 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:40.000 surge of interest in Hollywood towards video games and how 0:00:40.000 --> 0:00:42.960 that circles back to Twitch. Stay tuned for the full conversation. 0:00:51.560 --> 0:00:55.720 Welcome back to Strictly Business. I'm here today with Rachel Delphin, 0:00:55.880 --> 0:00:58.680 the chief marketing officer of Twitch. Rachel, how long have 0:00:58.760 --> 0:01:00.240 you been in that position? Which? 0:01:00.920 --> 0:01:01.400 Hi, Corey. 0:01:02.000 --> 0:01:05.399 I have been in the chief marketing role, chief marketing 0:01:05.440 --> 0:01:07.880 officer role for about two years now. 0:01:08.680 --> 0:01:10.640 I've been at Twitch for five. 0:01:11.400 --> 0:01:14.160 Hey, very cool. What were you doing before you took 0:01:14.200 --> 0:01:16.000 over the marketing efforts there? 0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:21.319 I started out five years ago leading the communications team 0:01:22.280 --> 0:01:25.399 and then over the you know, three year period between 0:01:25.600 --> 0:01:28.120 being head of comms and then chief Marketing Officer I 0:01:28.120 --> 0:01:33.280 took on, you know, increased responsibilities for social team, community marketing, 0:01:34.200 --> 0:01:38.679 community engagement, brand and media, and so it was a 0:01:38.680 --> 0:01:42.960 real natural progression to overseeing the whole the whole team. 0:01:43.720 --> 0:01:47.039 So it's one thing to do community engagement within the 0:01:47.080 --> 0:01:50.720 Twitch live streaming platform, but you're also active in twitches 0:01:50.800 --> 0:01:54.960 in person events. I believe your europe incarnation of twitch 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:58.040 Con went down earlier this month. Is there also an 0:01:58.080 --> 0:02:01.200 American counterpart for that? And what are the things that 0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:05.120 feel especially unique to doing big events for Twitch in 0:02:05.160 --> 0:02:07.880 person versus you know online. 0:02:08.400 --> 0:02:11.200 Yeah, it's a great question. So we did have our 0:02:12.560 --> 0:02:15.400 European leg of our twitch Con franchise. It was earlier 0:02:15.400 --> 0:02:17.960 this month, July eighth and ninth. We had it in Paris, 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:21.000 France for the first time. You know, we had more 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:26.280 than ten thousand community members come to the event. That's creators, 0:02:26.440 --> 0:02:29.680 that's folks who are viewers and fans and of course 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:34.040 brands as well. And we do have a US Twitch 0:02:34.080 --> 0:02:37.640 confranchise as well that will be later in October this 0:02:37.720 --> 0:02:40.720 year in Las Vegas for the first time, and again 0:02:40.760 --> 0:02:44.960 we'll expect tens of thousands of fans. The US leg 0:02:45.040 --> 0:02:48.080 of the Twitch confranchise has also been you know, it's 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:51.560 where we started, and I think, gosh, I'm gonna get 0:02:51.600 --> 0:02:54.680 this wrong, probably with seven or eight now that we've 0:02:54.720 --> 0:02:56.280 actually had in the US as well, So it's a 0:02:56.280 --> 0:02:58.400 bit more established, a bit a bit bigger than the 0:02:58.440 --> 0:03:01.480 European conference as well. In terms of, you know, how 0:03:01.480 --> 0:03:04.160 we think about the interplay between you know, how we 0:03:04.240 --> 0:03:07.320 operate online as a brand and a service, and how 0:03:07.360 --> 0:03:10.720 we operate in person at a events. We see those 0:03:10.760 --> 0:03:14.720 as really really complementary. You know, it's not online versus 0:03:14.960 --> 0:03:17.600 offline or I r L those things. You know, at 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:20.400 the end of the day, we're all about building community, 0:03:20.440 --> 0:03:24.600 and those communities start online often because it really breaks 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:28.040 down the geographical barriers that keep people from you know, 0:03:28.120 --> 0:03:32.480 connecting in their hometown or whatever. But the IRL element 0:03:32.520 --> 0:03:34.840 of that is really really powerful and meaningful. You know, 0:03:36.080 --> 0:03:38.440 when we bring people together at twitch Con, they've been 0:03:38.480 --> 0:03:43.000 friends for months, or they've been friends for years in Twitch, 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:46.600 in twitch chat, you know, in the in their communities, 0:03:47.080 --> 0:03:48.680 and then they see each other for the first or 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:50.800 second or you know, it's some kind of reunion and 0:03:51.040 --> 0:03:52.000 it's really special. 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:53.160 It's really magical. 0:03:53.160 --> 0:03:55.880 I think it really deepens those bonds and then you know, 0:03:55.920 --> 0:03:58.800 they go back to the community building and nurturing and 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:01.560 connection that they have online. So we see that online 0:04:01.880 --> 0:04:05.320 the offline component, the IRL event component, really really powerful 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:09.640 mechanism to reinforce that community building that happens online. 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:14.960 So as a primarily you know, creator driven event is 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:18.200 twitch Con also generally a very good opportunity for Twitch 0:04:18.240 --> 0:04:20.960 to partner with companies as well that are active in 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:24.719 the media space how to twitch typically you know, foster 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:27.880 ad partnerships with companies that want to be able to 0:04:27.880 --> 0:04:30.839 market towards you know, the wide platform you have there. 0:04:31.640 --> 0:04:34.919 Yeah, So the audience for twitch con is is split. 0:04:34.960 --> 0:04:37.480 It's about fifty percent creators, of which some of those 0:04:37.480 --> 0:04:39.440 folks are partners, some of those are affiliates, and some 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:42.480 of those are generally streamers, and then the other fifty 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:44.479 percent we call community, which is would be more of. 0:04:44.440 --> 0:04:45.560 The viewer side behaviors. 0:04:45.600 --> 0:04:47.680 Right, So the people who are in the service on 0:04:47.920 --> 0:04:50.919 chat are fans, They're attending the meet and greets, that 0:04:51.040 --> 0:04:55.960 kind of thing. And so that's the demographic of twitch 0:04:55.960 --> 0:04:58.080 con in terms of like how we engage brands there. 0:04:58.080 --> 0:05:01.760 I mean, it's a really it's a really desirable demographic. 0:05:01.839 --> 0:05:06.360 We are eighty nine percent Gen Z and millennials, and 0:05:06.680 --> 0:05:09.680 it's a really leaned in community. You know, they are 0:05:09.680 --> 0:05:13.239 actually building communities on Twitch, which means they're really highly 0:05:13.240 --> 0:05:16.520 engaged in the service. They're very deeply involved in the 0:05:16.560 --> 0:05:21.480 fandoms that they're part of, and so integrating a brand 0:05:22.520 --> 0:05:25.720 can be really really powerful and impactful for those brands. 0:05:26.360 --> 0:05:27.480 You know, when. 0:05:27.360 --> 0:05:29.520 We talk about how to do that, which. 0:05:29.320 --> 0:05:31.960 Is I think the important part of that, which is 0:05:32.040 --> 0:05:33.800 lots of brands want to be there, how do you 0:05:33.839 --> 0:05:35.440 do that in a way that feels really authentic, that 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:38.560 feels meaningful. Again, it goes back to this idea of community. 0:05:38.640 --> 0:05:40.600 So that is really what we're here for, and that's 0:05:40.640 --> 0:05:44.839 what happens on Twitch and at our events and for 0:05:44.960 --> 0:05:47.520 brands to be able to participate and do that in 0:05:47.600 --> 0:05:51.120 a way that accrues really positive sentiment and experience for 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:54.080 them as well as for the community. It is about 0:05:54.080 --> 0:05:56.839 contributing to the community. It's about being a participant in 0:05:56.960 --> 0:06:02.880 the community. It is supporting creators within those communities, and 0:06:02.920 --> 0:06:05.719 that is received really positively by their communities. Right, So 0:06:05.800 --> 0:06:08.560 the fans of those creators who see this validation that 0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:12.640 the brands provide. This you know, very tangible mechanism, you know, 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:15.560 means of support for them as well, turns into these 0:06:15.600 --> 0:06:19.960 moments of celebration as well, and we see brands do 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:21.400 that really well and really embrace that. 0:06:21.480 --> 0:06:23.400 I think some recent. 0:06:24.560 --> 0:06:27.880 Examples of that are you know, at TwitchCon, of course, 0:06:27.960 --> 0:06:29.520 is very top of mind for me at the moment, 0:06:30.240 --> 0:06:34.480 but you know, we had brands like Samsung and Samsung 0:06:34.480 --> 0:06:36.919 Mobile in particular, who is leaning more heavily into the 0:06:37.000 --> 0:06:41.200 gaming market, and they have a you know stream team 0:06:41.839 --> 0:06:46.040 Team Galaxy and you know mobile tournaments, but also really 0:06:46.520 --> 0:06:49.760 have a supportive posture with that team, bringing them together 0:06:49.800 --> 0:06:52.960 because networking is really important for content creators on Twitch, 0:06:52.960 --> 0:06:56.160 as I'm sure it is elsewhere as well. Crocs was 0:06:56.200 --> 0:06:58.919 another brand that was at twitch Con. They sponsored Artist 0:06:58.920 --> 0:07:02.080 Ali where we feature as you might imagine, artists from 0:07:02.160 --> 0:07:06.960 Twitch who are actually selling you know, tangible wares as 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:09.320 well as you know, emote artistry and that kind of thing, 0:07:10.200 --> 0:07:13.400 and they gave them the opportunity to create their own gibbets, 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:16.200 you know, the sort of items that go on on 0:07:16.280 --> 0:07:19.680 Crops really tapped into the creativity. 0:07:19.120 --> 0:07:19.880 Of the community. 0:07:20.080 --> 0:07:23.120 Acknowledging the creativity of the community and that and that 0:07:23.240 --> 0:07:25.440 you know, broader sort of arts and crafts movement that 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:28.200 exists on Twitch, and then giving them a canvas to 0:07:28.280 --> 0:07:30.880 express themselves. So those were those were you know, they 0:07:30.880 --> 0:07:33.400 had presents at the events, both from a sponsorship standpoint, 0:07:33.400 --> 0:07:35.040 but also you know, physical presence. 0:07:36.120 --> 0:07:38.200 Another good example I think is Chipotle. 0:07:38.640 --> 0:07:43.480 We had a Super Ultra Combo Day and sorry, super 0:07:43.560 --> 0:07:47.480 Ultra Combo Week and in which we've really celebrated the 0:07:47.480 --> 0:07:50.040 fighting game community. So at the time street Fighter six 0:07:50.160 --> 0:07:54.000 highly anticipated, very popular new game release, but also just 0:07:54.360 --> 0:08:02.560 nostalgia around the franchise. Chipotle actually provided to people who 0:08:02.560 --> 0:08:06.880 were engaging with content around that concept, and those streamers 0:08:06.920 --> 0:08:09.520 with freequalk and chips right if they watched a certain 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:12.840 amount of time, which you know gets people very excited 0:08:13.400 --> 0:08:17.400 and certainly more engaged and again really drives value. 0:08:17.120 --> 0:08:18.640 To the creators who are participating. 0:08:18.720 --> 0:08:21.760 So I think those are the uh, you know, some 0:08:21.880 --> 0:08:25.160 recent examples but also examples of you know, what it 0:08:25.200 --> 0:08:26.080 takes to do it well. 0:08:27.320 --> 0:08:30.720 So what have been some crucial developments in leaning more 0:08:30.840 --> 0:08:34.240 into the community marketing aspect, especially you know, since as 0:08:34.240 --> 0:08:37.120 you said, what eighty nine percent of you know, the 0:08:37.640 --> 0:08:42.439 Twitch creator The Twitch creators skews pretty heavily towards gen 0:08:42.559 --> 0:08:45.280 Z you know, aka people who are probably going to 0:08:45.320 --> 0:08:48.800 be very into, you know, prioritizing their own sense of 0:08:48.840 --> 0:08:52.120 brand development and you know, independence with what they like 0:08:52.160 --> 0:08:55.160 to do on Twitch. How how does Twitch kind of 0:08:55.160 --> 0:08:58.840 work its way in there in terms of aiding you know, 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:03.400 their own marketing more catering to younger creators specifically. 0:09:04.200 --> 0:09:09.040 Yeah, I think the the offline aspect is really important because, 0:09:09.200 --> 0:09:11.720 as you said, yeah, eighty nine percent of our total population, 0:09:11.840 --> 0:09:13.880 so that's creators and viewers our skew. 0:09:14.160 --> 0:09:20.320 You know, gen Z and millennial very digitally native uh population. 0:09:19.920 --> 0:09:21.960 Of course, you know gen Z in particular has grown 0:09:22.040 --> 0:09:25.000 up entirely with you know, a life that has had 0:09:25.000 --> 0:09:28.120 the Internet at their disposal. So what's interesting about that 0:09:28.280 --> 0:09:32.080 is those generations and those people also really really value 0:09:32.120 --> 0:09:34.360 in person connection. And I think that is probably a 0:09:35.200 --> 0:09:37.959 you know, direct response to having so much of their 0:09:38.000 --> 0:09:40.960 lives also being online, is that you really value the 0:09:41.000 --> 0:09:44.280 offline connection. So one is you know, we've had twitch Con, 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:49.040 We've talked about that. We've also had community meetups historically, 0:09:49.120 --> 0:09:51.880 so these are grassroots groups that are formed by members 0:09:51.880 --> 0:09:53.600 of the community around certain locations. 0:09:53.640 --> 0:09:55.079 So there's a Twitch. 0:09:54.840 --> 0:09:59.680 Toronto, there's Twitch Adelaide, there's Twitch Portland, Seattle, Saskatchewan. And 0:09:59.720 --> 0:10:02.800 so what we've really done after the pandemic in particular 0:10:03.000 --> 0:10:04.800 is leaned more into those groups to help them really 0:10:04.800 --> 0:10:07.600 get reignited and restarted, because you know, we weren't meeting 0:10:07.600 --> 0:10:08.280 in person. 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:08.880 For a few years there. 0:10:09.440 --> 0:10:12.640 So we've now got about fifty of those community groups worldwide, 0:10:12.880 --> 0:10:14.959 and we hope to be able to and we're working 0:10:14.960 --> 0:10:18.600 on actually expanding them to more cities in places over 0:10:18.679 --> 0:10:21.560 you know this year and certainly into the future knew 0:10:21.600 --> 0:10:24.600 this year. Also are our Twitch Unity Guilds. This is 0:10:24.760 --> 0:10:27.520 sort of a hybrid so right now they're sort of 0:10:27.679 --> 0:10:31.320 North American based groups. They serve black women and latinae 0:10:31.440 --> 0:10:35.240 and Hispanic partners. They're supported by Twitch, so by us, 0:10:35.240 --> 0:10:38.400 but they are led by members of those communities. They're 0:10:38.440 --> 0:10:41.560 just getting started. We actually recently had those Guilt leaders 0:10:41.600 --> 0:10:46.360 at our HQ in San Francisco, and that came from 0:10:46.480 --> 0:10:49.880 you know, our our partners and our streamers and community 0:10:49.880 --> 0:10:51.920 have told us, you know, we want to succeed here. 0:10:52.000 --> 0:10:53.319 We love being showcased. 0:10:53.320 --> 0:10:56.160 We love being promoted, you know, particularly during those sort 0:10:56.160 --> 0:10:59.400 of celebration months, Women's History Month, you know, Black History Month, 0:10:59.400 --> 0:10:59.800 et cetera. 0:11:00.280 --> 0:11:01.000 But we also want that. 0:11:01.000 --> 0:11:04.640 Support you around and you know, of course we as 0:11:04.440 --> 0:11:06.280 a as a company, as a marketing team are very 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:10.840 disciplined and dedicated to showcasing diverse creators in every single campaign, 0:11:10.880 --> 0:11:14.559 but we also recognize their communities that have been underserved 0:11:14.679 --> 0:11:17.280 and creating a space for them programming to be able 0:11:17.320 --> 0:11:21.800 to enable their growth as well as enabling more collaboration, 0:11:21.880 --> 0:11:24.760 which is a real cornerstone of growth for any content creator, 0:11:24.800 --> 0:11:27.520 particularly on Twitch. We believe it is going to make 0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:30.559 a really big difference for them as well. 0:11:30.760 --> 0:11:33.880 So since Twitch obviously a big part of its business 0:11:34.000 --> 0:11:37.360 is catering to so many different kinds of creators and 0:11:37.480 --> 0:11:41.080 letting them, you know, foster their own specialized brands, what's 0:11:41.160 --> 0:11:45.479 the balance between granting this sense of independence to creators 0:11:45.520 --> 0:11:49.240 to go ahead and you know, deliver the kind of 0:11:49.240 --> 0:11:52.480 live streaming experience they want to versus the obvious need 0:11:52.559 --> 0:11:57.360 for moderation on the platform. How crucial do those things too? 0:11:57.440 --> 0:12:00.839 Things kind of combine, especially with regard to being your 0:12:00.840 --> 0:12:01.920 ad partners at play. 0:12:02.320 --> 0:12:04.720 Yeah, it's a good question. I think it's multi part two. 0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:06.440 So I think on the one hand, there's like a 0:12:06.520 --> 0:12:09.640 brand question there, which is and we had this sort 0:12:09.679 --> 0:12:11.440 of recognition a few years ago when we did our 0:12:11.480 --> 0:12:14.880 brand redesign, which is, look, we've long been associated with 0:12:14.920 --> 0:12:15.560 the color purple. 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:16.199 We still are. 0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:17.839 We had you know, a word mark and we have 0:12:17.880 --> 0:12:21.560 a logo, and then we use purple quite prominently in 0:12:21.600 --> 0:12:22.720 most of our marketing. 0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:25.680 Of course, we've created. 0:12:25.320 --> 0:12:28.280 A much more flexible canvas in terms of and what 0:12:28.360 --> 0:12:30.560 you'll see now is like a lot more vibrancy, a 0:12:30.559 --> 0:12:32.600 lot more use of color across the spectrum. And that 0:12:32.679 --> 0:12:38.200 was really really specific in particular choice because we recognize, look, 0:12:38.880 --> 0:12:41.720 yes we are often marketing you know, Twitch, but more 0:12:41.760 --> 0:12:45.240 importantly and more frequently, we're actually marketing creators who are 0:12:45.280 --> 0:12:47.960 part of our you know, the Twitch community, and we 0:12:48.080 --> 0:12:50.800 need and want a really flexible canvas on which their 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:54.280 brands are also expressed. So you know, we've done actually 0:12:54.360 --> 0:12:56.800 even more work in that space from a brand perspective 0:12:56.880 --> 0:12:58.720 recently in terms of like, how do you make this 0:12:58.840 --> 0:13:02.679 even more kind of extensible so that when we are 0:13:02.720 --> 0:13:04.839 promoting you know, X y Z creator, whether it's in 0:13:04.880 --> 0:13:06.960 a campaign of lots of creators or it's a single 0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:10.480 a campaign that focuses on a single creator, that we're 0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:14.600 able to express the unique, very unique brands really easily 0:13:14.679 --> 0:13:20.559 while also having that foundation of the Twitch brand. That 0:13:20.679 --> 0:13:22.040 kind of leads to the other part of your question, 0:13:22.120 --> 0:13:25.400 which is like safety. So it's quite personal, right what 0:13:25.559 --> 0:13:27.680 your feeling of safety and what your boundaries will be 0:13:27.760 --> 0:13:30.080 for your own channel are going to be quite different from. 0:13:30.040 --> 0:13:31.880 You know, any other any other creators. 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:34.120 So the way that that works on Twitch is is 0:13:34.280 --> 0:13:36.560 is not dissimilar what I just described from a brand perspective, 0:13:36.559 --> 0:13:38.480 which is like, you know, we we have a floor 0:13:39.120 --> 0:13:44.480 of what we consider to be respectable acceptable behavior across 0:13:44.480 --> 0:13:46.840 any channel, whether you're in chat or you're a creator, 0:13:46.880 --> 0:13:48.760 and those are you know, the terms of service of course, 0:13:48.760 --> 0:13:53.440 but also the community guidelines. I think one uh, you 0:13:53.480 --> 0:13:57.040 know thing about Twitch to know is we've you know, 0:13:57.120 --> 0:14:00.360 never positioned ourselves as a free speech platfor we have 0:14:00.400 --> 0:14:03.760 always said that we are you know, our rules exist 0:14:03.920 --> 0:14:09.559 to enable anyone to be able to build a community here, 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:11.679 and that means you know, having certain rules in place 0:14:11.679 --> 0:14:13.880 against hate speech and harassment and. 0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:18.200 You know what are appropriate. You know standards that we 0:14:18.280 --> 0:14:19.760 believe are universal. 0:14:19.920 --> 0:14:25.360 Now that same idea of like flexibility extensibility exists, you know, 0:14:26.080 --> 0:14:28.280 with our posture to safety as well, because you can 0:14:28.320 --> 0:14:34.360 also as a creator, establish your own rules and norms 0:14:34.360 --> 0:14:36.960 for your community. So often when you join a Twitch channel, 0:14:37.000 --> 0:14:39.560 you will see if you try to chat, so you 0:14:39.560 --> 0:14:42.200 you know, click on the little chat box there, you'll 0:14:42.240 --> 0:14:45.160 see a pup up of these are the rules of 0:14:45.240 --> 0:14:48.680 this community that this creator has set, and they also 0:14:48.760 --> 0:14:51.200 have mechanisms to enforce those rules. So again this is 0:14:51.200 --> 0:14:55.360 above and beyond what we provide as or we established 0:14:55.360 --> 0:14:58.480 as a service and enforce. The creators can also establish 0:14:58.560 --> 0:14:59.320 their own. 0:15:00.640 --> 0:15:01.040 Norms. 0:15:01.040 --> 0:15:03.080 It can even be like, you know, no backseat gaming, 0:15:03.160 --> 0:15:06.080 no cursing, lots of like, no racism, no hate, all 0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:08.880 of those things. They also have moderators on their channels 0:15:08.960 --> 0:15:11.760 quite frequently who can help enforce those rules. They can 0:15:11.800 --> 0:15:14.400 ban people from the channels, they can put them in timeouts, 0:15:15.480 --> 0:15:17.520 all of those things, so that again they're cultivating the 0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:19.600 kind of community that they want on top of the 0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:24.680 rules that we have already established and an enforce, and 0:15:26.240 --> 0:15:29.040 those things you know are quite important to brands, right 0:15:29.080 --> 0:15:31.160 they want to make sure brands want to make sure, 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:34.160 you know, I'm a brand leader myself, want to make 0:15:34.200 --> 0:15:38.280 sure that they're associating with services that you know, and 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:42.920 in places and surfaces where they feel resonate, you know, 0:15:43.000 --> 0:15:46.720 with with their own brand values. And so certainly our 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:51.000 investments in moderation and safety, in policies and the enforcement 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:54.080 of those things are are very important to our brand partners, 0:15:54.080 --> 0:15:58.560 and we are always in discussions with them because we 0:15:58.600 --> 0:16:01.480 want it to be a great place for our creators 0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:03.560 and foremost, but that also means, you know, making it 0:16:03.600 --> 0:16:09.200 a great place where brands can come and support them. 0:16:09.240 --> 0:16:11.320 We're going to take a break here, but when we're 0:16:11.440 --> 0:16:14.600 back with Rachel Delphin, we're going to get into a 0:16:14.680 --> 0:16:17.960 new service kick that is adding itself to some of 0:16:17.960 --> 0:16:22.200 the competition against Twitch, as well as get into more 0:16:22.840 --> 0:16:26.960 expansive areas of tech and media on the horizon that 0:16:27.360 --> 0:16:36.960 could potentially be something for Twitch to play into. We're 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:40.640 back with strictly business and Rachel Delphin Twitch is chief 0:16:40.680 --> 0:16:46.920 marketing officer, So Rachel obviously really sturdy moderation is pretty 0:16:47.000 --> 0:16:51.760 essential to running platforms with very large audiences smoothly. You know, 0:16:51.840 --> 0:16:55.160 we can look at Twitter since Elon Musk took over 0:16:55.440 --> 0:16:57.080 and made some changes there and sort of see the 0:16:57.120 --> 0:17:01.920 consequences of when moderation falls by the wayside. But regardless, 0:17:02.360 --> 0:17:06.560 you know, the prospect of looser moderation and the kind 0:17:06.560 --> 0:17:09.399 of creators that might prefer that is something that this 0:17:09.520 --> 0:17:13.639 new service kick is really taking advantage of by not 0:17:13.800 --> 0:17:18.320 having as strict moderation and also offering some higher revenue 0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:21.680 splits too. You know, it already led to a former 0:17:21.680 --> 0:17:25.119 Twitch streamer EXQC, signing one hundred and million dollar deal 0:17:25.280 --> 0:17:31.240 in June. So how can Twitch market itself towards creators, 0:17:31.280 --> 0:17:35.719 you know, from those two angles to ensure that you know, 0:17:35.800 --> 0:17:38.280 Twitch isn't going to lose too much of the competition 0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:42.159 and our sort of overall deals like that, you know, 0:17:42.200 --> 0:17:44.160 that's what we call them in the TV and film 0:17:44.160 --> 0:17:47.080 space generally, But are big deals like that's still a 0:17:47.080 --> 0:17:50.680 big part of Twitch's bottom line in locking certain very 0:17:50.680 --> 0:17:51.760 popular creators down. 0:17:52.600 --> 0:17:53.600 I mean, I think there are a lot. 0:17:53.480 --> 0:17:55.960 Of ways you can, you know, respond and act in 0:17:56.000 --> 0:17:58.960 a competitive environment. And I think, as you noted in 0:17:59.000 --> 0:18:02.520 an earlier conversation, had you know, we are the market 0:18:02.560 --> 0:18:05.359 leader in the live streaming space, and that's and that's 0:18:05.400 --> 0:18:07.440 you know, been true for many years. And that's because 0:18:08.040 --> 0:18:09.840 in many ways, you know, we built the category, and 0:18:09.840 --> 0:18:11.800 there's certainly been times in our history when we've been 0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:15.600 a category of one, I think. And the reason why 0:18:15.680 --> 0:18:18.000 I think we've been able to you know, build but 0:18:18.040 --> 0:18:20.359 also maintain and grow this you know, this category that 0:18:20.400 --> 0:18:24.240 does has and has become appealing to other brands and 0:18:24.280 --> 0:18:29.399 companies over you know, the lifetime of our company is 0:18:29.400 --> 0:18:36.959 because we've remained really invested and focused entirely, you know, 0:18:37.000 --> 0:18:39.719 and that's you know, over the thirteen plus years of 0:18:39.760 --> 0:18:43.040 our existence in the success of the category, but also 0:18:43.160 --> 0:18:46.679 very specifically in the success of the creators who create 0:18:46.760 --> 0:18:49.320 life content and the communities you know that build around 0:18:49.359 --> 0:18:52.000 them since that inception. So in no way does that 0:18:52.040 --> 0:18:55.359 suggest like we are complacent, right, having you know, built 0:18:55.440 --> 0:18:59.960 category and leading it. In many ways, it's that it's 0:19:00.640 --> 0:19:03.440 a very similar position during you know, times of more 0:19:03.440 --> 0:19:06.320 competition and times certainly a less competition. You know. 0:19:06.440 --> 0:19:09.760 The way that we win and we continue to. 0:19:11.240 --> 0:19:15.000 Attract the best creators, keep them there, attract more creators 0:19:15.040 --> 0:19:17.879 and the communities that love them and support them is 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:22.320 to keep that focus right and remain committed to that mission. So, 0:19:22.720 --> 0:19:25.080 you know, if our service is the safest place to 0:19:25.119 --> 0:19:28.240 be a live content creator, to be the place where 0:19:28.240 --> 0:19:31.840 you can find and build and gather a thriving community, 0:19:32.880 --> 0:19:35.560 and to do so with the best options and ways 0:19:35.600 --> 0:19:38.000 to monetize. You know, if that the latter thing is 0:19:38.000 --> 0:19:41.240 your thing, then that's that's how we'll win, regardless of 0:19:41.280 --> 0:19:44.400 you know, what's happening from a competitive standpoint. 0:19:44.440 --> 0:19:48.800 Yeap, things like revenue splits are you know, one of 0:19:48.840 --> 0:19:52.360 the many things kind of swirling around the ongoing strikes 0:19:52.400 --> 0:19:54.800 that are happening in the Hollywood space with both the 0:19:54.920 --> 0:19:58.600 w GA and then SAG AFTERRA And another aspect of 0:19:58.640 --> 0:20:02.440 those strikes is you know, concern over implications for how 0:20:02.840 --> 0:20:06.280 generative AI and other AI tools can be used and 0:20:06.320 --> 0:20:10.000 employed throughout that industry. As a bit of a different business, 0:20:10.040 --> 0:20:13.240 you know, oriented around live streaming. Does Twitch look to 0:20:13.800 --> 0:20:17.560 you know, increasing AI tech as something that can you know, 0:20:17.680 --> 0:20:22.120 benefit the actual business operations, whether it's towards more content 0:20:22.359 --> 0:20:25.800 or us more as like a proactive tool for moderation purposes. 0:20:26.840 --> 0:20:32.119 My expectation is that we'll see adoption of like the 0:20:32.119 --> 0:20:34.720 generative AI that you that you've sort of been seeing 0:20:36.040 --> 0:20:39.520 by content creators probably in a few ways. One is 0:20:39.560 --> 0:20:42.720 the experience you actually have, right so, the content you 0:20:42.760 --> 0:20:45.840 see on the screen, whether it's sort of adopting it 0:20:45.880 --> 0:20:48.119 as as a v tuber of those kinds of things, 0:20:48.359 --> 0:20:51.439 or generating different kinds of concept. I would love to 0:20:51.440 --> 0:20:53.919 speculate with you about how I think creators will use it, 0:20:53.920 --> 0:20:55.879 But to be honest, there is a reason why they 0:20:55.920 --> 0:20:58.560 are the content creators who are endlessly creative, and I 0:20:58.640 --> 0:21:01.200 am in the role that I am, so I suspect 0:21:01.200 --> 0:21:01.840 we'll see. 0:21:01.600 --> 0:21:03.560 Some innovation and creativity there. 0:21:04.080 --> 0:21:08.159 You've seen some of that around the Seinfeld inspired stream 0:21:08.160 --> 0:21:10.760 that happened earlier this year that attracted a lot of attention. 0:21:10.960 --> 0:21:14.360 So I think we'll see some innovation. 0:21:14.359 --> 0:21:18.240 And experimentation on the creator side certainly. And then from 0:21:18.280 --> 0:21:21.960 my perspective, I certainly think there is going to be 0:21:22.520 --> 0:21:27.200 an opportunity to implement and sort of integrate some AI 0:21:27.280 --> 0:21:30.400 tooling in our sort of like work stack and our 0:21:30.440 --> 0:21:33.080 processes on a lot of you know, the back end 0:21:33.960 --> 0:21:38.000 and the business and processes of marketing. That will make 0:21:38.040 --> 0:21:42.760 things a bit more efficient and you know, predictive, right 0:21:42.800 --> 0:21:44.840 in terms of like audience modeling and all kinds of 0:21:44.920 --> 0:21:47.600 things that I think will be really useful. There's nothing 0:21:47.680 --> 0:21:50.960 right now, but I certainly I believe it's you know, 0:21:51.000 --> 0:21:52.800 this technology is here for the long term and that 0:21:53.359 --> 0:21:55.760 we'll see some really exciting tooling coming out of. 0:21:55.680 --> 0:22:00.480 It in terms of the various kind of devices that 0:22:00.600 --> 0:22:05.080 Twitch can operate on, as Twitch looked to something like 0:22:05.160 --> 0:22:09.280