Have you been using Twitch for a while while still wondering what Twitch vodcast is? You are not alone.
Here’s everything you wanted to know about one of the most confusing platform features, i.e. Twitch vocasts:
What is a Twitch Vodcast?
A Twitch vodcast*** (lately renamed into a “rerun“) is the ability of any Twitch user to re-stream any of their past videos in real time.
The feature is only available to Twitch affiliates and partners.
This way an old Twitch video can be re-played and discussed in real time and the video owner can actually join his/her followers in watching and discussing the video.
All re-streamed videos have live chat added, so it looks like a live stream.
You can play your ads and stream to any community when using Twitch podcasts.
The vodcast will be labeled as a rerun:
*** In case you were curious about the etymology of the word, a “vodcast” generally means a video podcast (i.e. a podcast with a video). The term mostly refers to a Twitch video these days. In Twitch context, a vodcast = VODcast (e.g. using Video On Demand versus live streaming).
The feature has then been renamed as a “rerun” but many Twitch users still use “Vodcast” tags when re-broadcasting their videos.
When Would A Streamer Want to Use Twitch Vodcasts?
Twitch vodcasts can be a very useful option when:
- There’s nothing to stream and you want to re-play and discuss a particularly fun game (e.g. your failure or success)
- Nothing else is being streamed (e.g. on a quieter period of the day when everyone is busy at work or classes)
- You want to announce your soon-to-come live stream
Vodcasts are great for re-engaging your audience when you have nothing else to stream but they should not be overused. Your Twitch following expects to see new content from you. If you keep rebroadcasting old videos on a regular basis, they will just stop caring for your content.
How to Vodcast on Twitch
To start a rerun on Twitch, follow these steps:
- Make sure you are either an affiliate or a partner at Twitch. If not, apply to become one.
- To become a Twitch affiliate, you need to have at least 50 followers and have a pretty active stream over the past 30 days (at least 500 total minutes broadcast, no less than seven unique broadcast days, and minimum of 3 concurrent viewers)
- On your dashboard locate the “Video Broadcast” panel
- Click the Reruns and there “Add videos”
- Once you are done adding videos, click “Start Rerun”
You can add up to 200 videos to your vodcasting queue.
You can stop your rerun using the same section on your Twitch dashboard.
Takeaways: What Are Twitch Vodcasts and How to Use Them
- A vodcast is the ability to rebroadcast your past stream on Twitch
- The feature was lately renamed as “reruns” but both the terms have been used on the platform
- Vodcasts are great for engaging your audience with your existing content
- Don’t use too many reruns or else you will start losing followers
It is a great idea to come up with some unique and interesting way to use Twitch vodcasts / reruns. For example, it could become a nice tradition to re-play your failed attempts at gaming and discuss these with your audience.
If you haven’t reached an affiliate level yet, Twitch has another content curation tool called Video Highlights allow you to put together video collections of the most interesting moments from your past streams
If you would like to create highlights after you go live on Twitch, you can put stream markers while streaming. Video markers will them be used to create your highlights.
Do you have any questions about Twitch vodcasts / rerund? Let us know in the comments!
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