Alternatives to Twitch to View Kickoff Stream?

FIRST General Forum
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Twitch contract does not prohibit streaming on another platform but it does prohibit simulcasting on YouTube (and a few others). They do not prohibit simulcasting on ‘non-rival’ platforms like TikTok.

I’ve had convos with FIRST about switching over to YouTube and it was shot down at least for the foreseeable future. As of last convo FIRST (& FUN) still do not have a replacement rep on Twitch. FIRST likes Twitch due to there being less likely hood a stream will be taken down. It’s a fair point.

FUN has made the decision to move all live shows over to YouTube live instead of Twitch and many of our event streams will also be on YT. The only advantage IMHO of being on Twitch was the opportunity to be on front page to showcase content to those outside of FIRST (which is what a rep brought us). With that option gone we no longer see the value of having Twitch as our primary streaming partner.

I’ve proposed to HQ to just forgo their partnership contract with Twitch and to simulcast. They don’t like this option because it may cause mid-roll ads to appear on Twitch (you lose control of this when you are not a partner). My counter was that on YT this is easily controllable so to make YT their primary and offer Twitch as a secondary option.

Edit: Wow, they may actually do this. Very exciting!

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From the weekly team blasts email sent out today.

you can find them here.

and of course today’s is not listed yet. I will cut and paste the contents next message

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FIRST ® Robotics Competition
Team Blast January 4, 2024

Program Updates, Deadlines, & Reminders

Mark Rober is excited for Kickoff! “The best kind of learning occurs when you don’t realize you’re learning. The skills you learn through FIRST can help you not just in high school and college, but super importantly in your career. That’s also what I love about FIRST, everyone has the chance to go pro.”

NASA engineer-turned-YouTube creator, Mark Rober from CrunchLabs, shares his excitement for FIRST and the 2024 FIRST Robotics Competition CRESCENDOSM presented by Haas season. Tune in to FIRST tv on January 6 at 12:00 p.m. ET to join the season kickoff celebration.

Speaking of Kickoff: The primary Kickoff broadcast will be on Twitch, and we recommend that you view on that platform if possible. We are also piloting simultaneously broadcasting on YouTube. If you absolutely cannot watch via Twitch, YouTube may be available as an option.

After Kickoff, things happen quickly, and we want to make sure we’re communicating stuff that helps you start your season strong. Read this FIRST Robotics Competition blog post for information on key dates to remember in January, pre-Kickoff downloads and more!

New Radios at 2024 FIRST Championship: We previously announced that we plan to introduce a new 6GHz radio for the 2025 FIRST Robotics Competition season, and we’re excited to announce that these radios will also be used at the 2024 FIRST Championship! Read more in this FIRST Robotics Competition blog post.

Don’t miss important season information: Read this FIRST Robotics Competition Blog to learn more about how to ensure your team does not miss key information sent via email throughout the CRESCENDO season.

Kit Pickup Reminder: Please remember that in order to pick up your Kickoff Kit from a local Kickoff, you must either be listed as lead mentor 1 or 2 or must have a roster printed with your name listed as a mentor. If a team is unable to pick up its Kickoff Kit at the local kickoff selected, an alternate team may be designated to do so. The team unable to attend must be registered to pick up their Kickoff Kit at the local kickoff AND provide FIRST with an authorized surrogate kit pick-up letter, submitted/signed by the lead mentor 1 or 2.

Community Engagement

FIRST Championship Conferences – Request for Proposals : FIRST is currently accepting proposals for the 2024 FIRST Championship Conferences that will be running Wednesday - Friday at our FIRST Championship event. Students, mentors, educators, coaches, volunteers, staff, and sponsors are welcome to submit a proposal before our February 9 deadline. Presenters will be notified in mid-March if they have been selected. If you have questions, please contacts us.

Thank you, Coaches & Mentors! We want to give a BIG thank you to each coach and mentor who gives their time and energy to FIRST students. In honor of Mentoring Month in January, we are celebrating all the important work you do within our communities, schools, and organizations.

:white_check_mark:Enter our Mentoring Month Raffle: All mentors and coaches are eligible to win a $50 gift code to the FIRST store. Stock up on new FIRST IN SHOW swag or get that FIRST sweatshirt or jacket you’ve seen around at FIRST events. One entry per person, raffle is open now until February 1, 2024. Submit for your chance to win!

:white_check_mark:Receive 50% off coach/mentor pins for a limited time: In celebration of Mentoring Month, use the code !Mentor24 at checkout to receive 50% off coach/mentor pins on the Volunteer Recognition Store via Sports Awards. FIRST IN SHOW coach/mentor pins are available now along with past seasons while supplies last. Get your coach/mentor pins today!

:white_check_mark:Share why you mentor: This month we’ll be sharing stories on our blog and social media about our mentors within the FIRST community. Share with us on your social platforms why you mentor with FIRST and the impact you’ve seen in your students with #FIRSTvolunteers. Your post might just get boosted by FIRST!

Blast Archive CRESCENDOSM Resources Season Calendar

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Got via email. Looks like they are archived here but today’s not yet available there.
Edit: sniped

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I guess I’m unclear on the details of FIRST’s contract with Twitch. Are they just under the terms of Twitch’s standard Partner agreement or do they have a special deal? As a few months ago, multistreaming is allowed for Partners:

https://help.twitch.tv/s/article/simulcasting-guidelines?language=en_US

It’s a moot point now that they’re actually doing it and we’ll find out if they still have a sub button on Saturday anyway, but I just wanted to point out that the Twitch feed may be unaffected by this decision.

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There is a scheduled stream on the FirstRoboticsCompetition YouTube channel for the Kickoff Broadcast https://www.youtube.com/live/UxYjM1fqtsg?si=1_g6r2b-H3W6vijf

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We used the YouTube stream with no issues. Way better experience at the school than trying to bypass the block on twitch, and easier for parents to view at home.

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We also used YouTube with no issues, which was fantastic because, after several years of not having Twitch blocked on the school Wi-Fi, we found it was blocked today :melting_face:

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My wife also mentioned that the comment section on the Twitch stream was a complete GP nightmare, with some seriously nasty stuff being posted as fast as the moderators could take it down (this is second hand information - I wasn’t watching the comments). Given how many youths and sponsors are told to watch this stream, I HIGHLY recommend FIRST (and/or Twitch) implement a moderation delay on the comments next year if possible.

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Sounds like a good subject to email the FIRST FRC team advocate about.

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This is irrelevant now and I’m sure you know this but on non-affiliate and non-partner twitch streams, no ads are shown. For affiliate and partner streams, you can customize when ads play, typically choosing between midrolls and prerolls. Personally I think prerolls would be fine for the kickoff stream, since it’s unlikely any content would be missed.

The far better solution is a YT stream though, since it’s not blocked at nearly as many schools and the video player is much more suited to a kickoff type stream.

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Better yet, just put on emote-only mode if moderation can’t catch up. Might as well get rid of chat entirely if it’s going to be a problem no matter what.

That being said… I didn’t really see anything too offensive? It was spammy, unproductive, and worst of all, not funny in the slightest, but impatient students aren’t necessarily a cause for alarm. I did see a few people get timed out for particularly egregious comments, so the mods were definitely doing something. If recruiting more mods from the community is an option, I hope they do that ahead of next year’s Kickoff to help keep things under control.

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