What is a subathon?

If you’re a streamer on Twitch, you might have noticed the subathon category with streamers going live for hours – sometimes even days. What is a subathon stream and what do you need to know before attempting one yourself? Here’s a quick overview and some tips to steer you in the right direction. 

What is a subathon stream? 

A subathon is a marathon live streaming event that broadcasts for an extended period of time, with incentives for viewers who subscribe, resubscribe, or make donations. Viewers might also get special benefits from subscribing during this period, like signed thank you notes or exclusive content.

Usually, each subscription adds a set amount of time to the length of the subathon. For example, one subscription might add 10 seconds to the length. Because of this, subathons can go on for 24 hours or longer. Even with a time limit, American streamer Ludwig famously spent a total of 31 days broadcasting live, having to sleep, eat, and work out during his stream. 

Here are some other ways to hold subathons:

• Play-a-thons: A streamer plays a certain number of games in a row, or tries to complete a number of games within the set time.
• Challenge marathons: Once a subscription goal has been reached, the streamer completes a set challenge – or subscribers get to vote on what the challenge will be. 
• Charity subathons: A subathon where all revenue from subscriptions go to a worthy cause, or where donations to a charity are incentivized. Charity subathons can raise impressive amounts of money and give your Twitch community the opportunity to make a difference together. 

Can a beginner run a subathon?

Yes – with planning and all the right requirements. Firstly, you technically need to be a Twitch Affiliate or Twitch Partner to gain subscribers. Luckily, to qualify for Twitch Affiliate, you just have to have 50 followers and three views per stream. (If you’re struggling to get viewers, here are some handy tips on growing a Twitch community from pro streamer Trui.) 

Secondly, you need to think about whether you’re ready to be on camera for hours and hours on end – or days! The word ‘subathon’ is short for ‘subscription marathon’, which should tell you that it’s an endurance event. It can be extremely draining to live stream for that much time, even if you’re keeping yourself occupied with activities. 

Plan based on your resources. Always prioritize your energy levels, personal comfort, and physical health. If you’ve got people willing to collaborate with you, take over the live stream, and help moderate the live chat and subscriptions, it will lighten the load significantly.

What you need to start a subathon 

1. Decide if you want to stream to other platforms than Twitch. (With streaming software like OBS Studio, you can multistream to several platforms at once.) 
2. Set your subscription goals and incentives. How will you reward each subscriber, and will you do something special once you hit a sub goal? 
3. Set your cut-off points. You might want to limit how much each person can donate, and how long you’re willing to stream for. You could start simple and keep it to 24 hours.
4. Plan breaks, meals, and a sleep schedule. You can add a cooking live stream setup so viewers can watch you make dinner, meal prep ahead of time, or order in. 
5. Promote your subathon on your social media accounts and during live streams to build hype. Let your fans know how they can participate, and what the rules will be for the subathon. 
6. Add overlays to keep track of time left, goals reached, and more! 

If you’re looking for free, animated overlays for your subathon, look no further than overlays.uno! Each overlay can be edited and controlled completely online, which means you can count down to the last second of your subathon, display your subscriber incentives, and track your progress without downloading a single ZIP file. And, if you’re looking for help putting together your very first subathon layout, join our Discord and connect with our community of streamers.