An explainer for NWSL fans who don’t know what Twitch is

NWSL has announced a broadcast and streaming deal with CBS and Twitch. Great, you say. What the hell is Twitch?

First, it’s okay; the inevitable march of time eventually passes us all, and the youths are always making some newfangled video thing to tok their tiks. Pretty soon the youths of the 2040s are going to have cranial implants and will be texting their millenial grandparents it’s cute they used to have to interface manually with everything.

Second, here’s what you need to know to get on twitch and start using it.

What is twitch?

Twitch is a streaming service that focuses primarily on video games. Most of the users on twitch are there to share livestreaming of themselves playing video games, or to watch other people playing.

How do I get on it?

Signing up for Twitch is free. You can do it here, where you can register with your email or connect your Facebook account. Here’s a more detailed explainer on how to register using your computer or phone.

Can I watch Twitch on things besides my computer or phone?

Yes. Twitch has apps for PlayStation and XBox, so if you have one of those gaming consoles, you can stream right to your television. Twitch also has apps for Android and iOS.

Go here for more details on getting Twitch on your specific console/phone.

Go here to set up Twitch with Apple TV.

Twitch doesn’t have an official channel for Roku anymore.

What kinds of things can I watch?

In addition to video games, Twitch has channels where you can literally just chat with other people, watch people create art and music, watch people cooking, and even livestreams of people’s pets. It’s not all bloodthirsty youths teabagging each other in Fortnite. Don’t google “teabagging.”

How can I watch NWSL?

Fans both inside and outside the United States should be able to access games on Twitch.

NWSL has a couple of different channels (in order to stream games that are scheduled at the same time). Once you sign up for twitch, go to these pages and look for the purple “Follow” button near the top right side of the page. That should also alert your twitch account whenever these channels are streaming live.

NWSLOfficial
NWSLOfficial2
NWSLOfficial3
NWSLOfficial4
NWSLCostreaming

Wait, what’s costreaming?

Costreaming is a really cool feature that lets you stream NWSL on your channel, but add your own commentary. Once you sign up for a twitch account, if you download some additional software, you’ll be able to stream as well by hosting NWSL’s stream on your channel, but with the ability to talk about the game as it’s happening. The technical details of what you need to download and how you can get started co-streaming are here.

That should be everything you need to get started! The regular season begins April 18. The first game available on Twitch is North Carolina Courage vs Chicago Red Stars, streaming on the 18th at 7 PM ET. Pogchamp.