Amazon’s Twitch Interactive is one of the most popular livestreaming platforms around, boasting a daily active user base of around 8.5 million people, but up until recently, the site has been strictly focused on video game content. That has slowly changed over the last year with the introduction of Twitch Creative and other non-gaming categories, and now it looks like Twitch will diversify even further by livestreaming the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.

“We see this as a public service,” Twitch Product Marketing Manager Brian Petrocelli wrote in a blog post. “It’s an opportunity for you to engage in the political process, and with each other, during this election year without leaving your native habitat, using the social and communication tools you know and love.”

Brian Petrocelli noted that Twitch also wants to give people outside the US a chance to see the inner workings of American politics and to take part in the discussion surrounding them.

“We are aware that this is a bit unorthodox, and that politics can be a touchy subject”

Twitch’s user base is not exactly known for being family friendly or politically correct, and major companies like Blizzard Entertainment have even called out Twitch users in the past for making racist comments during major broadcasts. Petrocelli admitted that politics could be a risky subject for Twitch’s notoriously outspoken users, but the site plans on keeping a close eye on the convention livestreams.

“We are aware that this is a bit unorthodox, and that politics can be a touchy subject,” Petrocelli said. “The [official] channels will be carefully moderated so as to provide a positive experience that fosters genuine discussion.”

For streamers who want to be a bit more involved in the political discussion, Twitch said that users will be able to use Host Mode to stream the Republican convention through their own channels. The video content will be the same as the official stream, but Host Mode allows users to have a separate discussion in their own channel chat.

The Democratic convention will allow users to be even more involved, as streamers will be able to co-stream the event. Co-streaming allow users to stream the official video on their own channels while also adding their own commentary and video overlays.

Twitch noted that it tried to allow co-streaming for the Republican convention as well, but it was “bested by redtape.”

Schedule

Here is the official schedule for Twitch’s livestream of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions:

Republican National Convention

When: 7/18–7/21

Where: twitch.tv/GOPconvention

Schedule: 7/18–12PM EDT to 3PM EDT, 7/19–21 5PM EDT to 11PM EDT

Democratic National Convention

When: 7/25–7/28

Where: twitch.tv/DNC2016

Schedule: 5PM EDT to 11PM EDT each day

Image courtesy of Twitch Interactive Inc