What Twitch Learned from Bob Ross and 'The Joy of Painting'
*By Max Godnick*
Bob Ross taught millions of TV viewers to paint as the host of "The Joy of Painting." He can count Twitch as one of his most successful students.
Kevin Lin, the co-founder of the live-streaming video platform, told Cheddar that Twitch's Bob Ross marathon, aired in 2015 in conjunction with the launch of its [Twitch Creative](https://blog.twitch.tv/introducing-twitch-creative-fbfe23b4a114) vertical, was a key moment for its expansion beyond gaming.
"Who better to sort of shepherd this new vertical in than the O.G. legend of paint," Lin said to Cheddar's Alyssa Julya Smith at VidCon in Anaheim, Calif.
The reruns drew six million viewers, many of whom were not even alive when "The Joy of Painting" originally aired in the 1980s.
"The Bob Ross marathon actually taught us, 'Hey this 30-year-old content actually can garner an audience for an audience that doesn't even know this content exists," Lin said.
The marathon opened Twitch's eyes to the platform's true potential. Lin, who previously served as COO and is now transitioning into a still-unannounced new role, said the experience taught him "this interactivity that we have on Twitch actually works with other categories as well."
The phenomenon directly inspired Twitch to air more TV shows, including a 500-episode "Doctor Who" marathon streaming now. Lin said it also played a role in the decision to launch Twitch IRL, a category that lets members of the community directly interact with viewers in a vlog-like style.
As Twitch expands its programming to different genres, Lin said its audience is evolving too.
"We're starting to see the age demographics spread a little bit," he said.
While audiences will still find plenty of "Fortnite" and "League of Legends" games live-streaming on the platform, they'll also come across woodworkers, blacksmiths, and a [German grandmother](https://kotaku.com/i-love-this-german-grandma-reading-childrens-books-on-t-1791125785) reading children's stories.
"It's TV in its truest form on the internet," Lin said.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/twitchs-fortnite-victory-royale).
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