The show will air live exclusively on Twitch, with clips from the show distributed on other platforms like YouTube. The Recount will make money from the show through pre-roll and mid-roll advertising and from direct consumer revenue via Twitch’s subscription tiers, as part of the platform’s affiliate program.

The Recount said Twitch takes a 50% cut of ad revenue generated from the live show, but declined to share how much Twitch is paying The Recount for hosting the show on the platform.

Twitch might seem like an unusual choice for a news show, given that the platform’s audience and “streamers” are mostly dedicated to gaming. However, Battelle said The Recount team chose Twitch as a platform to launch their live streaming show because it’s “the most evolved platform for community and audience interaction” — with a mix of revenue streams that allows for streamers to make money directly from their community as well as via advertising.

Twitch has other publishers streaming on the platform, such as Rolling Stone and The Washington Post, though the former has primarily focused on entertainment content on Twitch, while the latter has only streamed nine times on Twitch this year.

Doing it live

Originally delayed by the wave of omicron COVID-19 cases earlier this year, The Recount team of about 80 employees were able to gather in the office in February to work on producing and rehearsing the new show. However, piloting a live show can’t really be done until it’s live. The first month on air will be a way to test out the live format for “Recount Live.”

At the heart of the show will be audience interaction, and the hosts are no strangers to the two-way conversations on social media platforms. Oinounou has over 240,000 followers on Instagram and Plank over 325,000. And both journalists often go live on Instagram — Oinounou has a weekly live news show and Plank often interviews notable figures on timely subjects.

Grace Weinstein, The Recount’s community producer and host, will also be a part of the conversations with the hosts and its audience. Producers will flag comments for the broadcast, while Oinounou and Plank respond in real time. Hosts will call out people from the chat to answer questions and have a dialogue with viewers, Battelle said. The Recount will weave audience interaction throughout the duration of the show.

In a few months’ time, The Recount plans to extend the length of “Recount Live” …read more

Source:: Digiday

Author: Aaron