A Chat With a Live Streamer Is Yours, for a Price

Andre Rebelo, a 24-year-old YouTube streamer from Vancouver, British Columbia, live-streamed himself playing the game Grand Theft Auto V on his YouTube channel, Typical Gamer, in mid-January. This time, he added something different for his audience.

As Mr. Rebelo broadcast his gameplay, he used a new YouTube feature called Super Chat to invite his more than 4.5 million subscribers to send him comments. For those viewers willing to pay him a sum of their choice — from $1 to $500 — Mr. Rebelo would more prominently feature their comments.

One viewer quickly wrote, “Hey you, your videos are so cool I love you,” and offered Mr. Rebelo $10 through Super Chat. Another wrote, “What's up TG, watching live from the NYC,” and gave $5. Someone even donated the largest amount possible, $500.

By the end of the 90-minute live stream, Mr. Rebelo had received 250 Super Chat messages and netted $4,000 from them.

Super Chat is one of the newest ways that streamers can make money. To date, the primary way creators earn money on YouTube has been through subscriptions and advertising. Eligible streamers can enable ad options on their channels, leading to several types of ads appearing next to their videos; creators then earn a share of the revenue.