It looks like YouTube has found a new way to monetize itself. Not satisfied with ads or paid subscriptions, it seems that YouTube has found a new way to generate money with the announcement of a new feature called “Super Chat”. This is a feature aimed at live YouTube videos in which users can pay a small fee to have their messages stickied.As you might have noticed during live streams, the chat can get pretty chaotic where hundreds if not thousands of users are chatting at once. This makes it pretty much impossible for creators to see who says what, which means that interacting with followers and fans on a personal level is tricky, which is where Super Chat comes in.
According to YouTube, “Anybody watching a live stream can purchase a Super Chat: a highlighted message in the chat stream that stands out from the crowd to get even more of your favorite creator’s attention. And Super Chats remain pinned to the top of chat for up to 5 hours, giving more airtime for your messages.”
Super Chat is also expected to replace YouTube’s “Fan Funding” feature that was launched back in 2014. At the moment Super Chat is currently in beta and has rolled out to a handful of YouTubers. It is expected to be made available more broadly come 31st of January for creators in 20 countries, and viewers in more than 40 countries.
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