The concept of a subathon on Twitch originates from the combination of the words “subscriber” and “marathon.” Its intent is to help a channel create an influx of subscribers with one long stream.
This concept was largely made popular by an event that now YouTube streamer Ludwig ran in 2021.
Ludwig’s subathon started in March and ended in April after 31 days straight of streaming, including while he was asleep. In that time, he broke the record for concurrent subscribers on Twitch with around 282,000, although it was subsequently broken by another streamer, Kai Cenat, who had more than 300,000. He put a lot of thought and effort into making that possible, and it paid off in a massive way.
But it’s not just streaming for a long time and putting a buzzword in the title of the stream that makes a subathon.
What is a subathon on Twitch?
A subathon is almost like a game that creators play with their stream by starting their stream with a timer that’s counting down to zero. In Ludwig’s case, he started his stream with 24 hours on the clock. Once the clock strikes zero, the subathon is over.
But here’s the catch. For every subscription that the streamer gets, more time gets added to the timer. This makes it so that viewers and fans of the channel can extend the stream by subbing to the channel or gifting subs to the channel.
While Ludwig’s month-long broadcast is the most high-profile subathon, it’s a strategy that other streamers have used to varying degrees of success.
What types of subathons are there on Twitch?
Every content creator will attach different stipulations to their subathon. Many will set a hard cap to how long the stream can last. They might also set different rules for how much time gets added to the stream when a new subscription comes through.
The one constant is that whenever the time cap is reached or the timer hits zero, the subathon ends and the content creator will conclude their stream. There are, however, a few different types of subathons, including:
- Challenge marathon: Streamers incorporate various challenges into the subathon, some of which involve them and others that involve viewers. It all depends on how creative the streamers want to be.
- Charity stream: Charity streams are subathons where the primary motive is to raise money for one charity or multiple charities. It’s a selfless act for a good cause, and although the steamer may see an increase in their subscriber count for their efforts, they’ll still donate to the proceeds.
- Play-a-thon: Play-a-thons are unique subathons where the goal is to play a specified amount of games in a row. Streamers will keep on streaming until that number has been met. It’s a better fit for streamers who play certain games more than others.
What was the longest subathon on Twitch?
The longest subathon on Twitch is actually still going. A streamer named Emilycc has been streaming non-stop, 24 hours a day, seven days a week for more than 550 days as of May 17, 2023. She does, of course, sleep on stream, but the stream itself has been running the entire time. It’s narrowing the gap to GPHustle’s continuous stream, which, while not a subathon, ran for a massive 634 days before it ended.
