Twitch announces that Bob Ross is here to stay

So much so that reruns of Ross hosting The Joy of Painting will now have a regular presence on the site, running every Monday from 3 p.m. PT to 9:30 p.m. PT. Because there are 31 seasons, there won’t be repeats until seven months pass by.

Twitch said in a release that it will split the proceeds from Bob Ross’ channel four ways: to the rights holders, Bob Ross Inc. and Janson Media; to Root Division, a San Francisco-based visual arts non-profit organization; to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital; and to support the Twitch Creative community. And of course, throughout this, Twitch viewers will be able to subscribe to the channel.

The Joy of Painting marathon was watched by 5.6 million unique viewers, totaling about 546 million minutes, with as many as 183,000 viewers watching at any one time over this weekend, VentureBeat reports. This interactivity adds a new level to the show – it’s no longer just about watching and learning (or just relaxing, as Ross soothingly explains how to paint clouds), but also showing off your own painting skills in return.

The original marathon was broadcast to promote Twitch Creative; Twitch’s new effort to expand Twitch beyond gaming to include painting, drawing, costume design, and all manner of other creative acts. Viewers used the KappaRoss emote, created specifically for this event, in the chat a few 3.8 million times. “We knew it would bring attention to Twitch Creative and give the internet some enjoyment and inspiration for a few days”.

In addition, Bob Ross’ birthday will be celebrated every year with an all-episodes marathon starting on October 29. No only does it deliver an increase in viewers, as reported previously, it attracts a different demographic mix as well.

Twitch recently aired more than 400 episodes of American painter Bob Ross’ The Joy of Painting TV show back-to-back as part of a marathon event.