Twitch has just announced a new feature called Subscriber Streams, a new initiative that the company hopes will drive community engagement and incentivise people to subscribe to more channels.
The idea is pretty simple: established streamers (you need have streamed on 90 days as an affiliate or partner without a ban) can now host subscriber-only shows, and these streams will be designated by a little star that lets you know they're semi-exclusive. Interested parties can preview these streams, and if they like what they see they can subscribe there and then and catch the full show.
While it's an extra barrier to accessing certain content, those who persist will end up subscribed to more channels and are therefore more likely to catch new shows from those content creators.
The service is out now in beta form.