Yesterday, Twitch celebrated the first anniversary of it's afilliate program. One year on, the streaming giant has helped over 220,000 new affiliates build their communities and careers.

Affiliate is different to Twitch partner status in that it's much easier for smaller streamers to attain. 

According to Twitch, the program has seen affiliates broadcast 34.5 million hours in 2017. Additionally, over 435 million affiliate emotes have been used, and more than 5.7 million chat messages have been sent through affiliate channels.

To celebrate, Twitch has released a global party hat emote and a party popper Cheermote. 

By association

The affiliate progam dropped last year. The intention of the program was to help smaller creators grow their channels. Affiliates must meet a number of requirements to apply for affiliate status.

Once those requirements are fulfilled, streamers can add a sub button their channels, allowing fans to pledge a monthly subscription as support. Streamers can also monetise with bits too. Affiliates can also have one custom sub emote and are protected from chargeback. 

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