Summary
Kickis again making headlines after its CEO announced its latest strategy to continue competing with Twitch. If all goes according to plan, funds will be distributed to smaller and medium-sized streamers totaling $200 million. While this is an ambitious statement,Kick has drastically increased viewershipin just a few months since its conception, so it must be doing a few things right.
While Kick was created as an alternative toTwitch, it’s slowly becoming its own platform with its creator-tailored policies. Since it was founded in December 2022, it’s been making great strides to ensure the website is splitting a generous amount of revenue with its creators, while also allowing its audiences to filter out content they don’t want to see. Many of the issues that people had formerly criticized about Kick have been eliminated, and the proposed future streaming contracts could be a step in the right direction.
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Kick’s Strategy Could Be Groundbreaking
Since Kick signed a multi-million dollar deal with xQc, getting content creators to appear on certain platforms is becoming more popular. For example, in the past few years, streamers such as Valkyrae and Sykkuno have signed contracts with YouTube whileRicegum made the choice to sign with Rumble. Exclusive and non-exclusive contracts to bring internet celebrities to a certain website are becoming mainstream, and the smaller Kick contracts up for grabs are making this a viable option for lesser-known streamers too.
WhilexQc’s partnership with Kickis massive, the CEO of Kick, Eddie Craven, stated that this was a unique situation because the Canadian streamer is a “flagship of the industry.” The formula that the company is going to utilize now is one hundred contracts worth $1 million and one thousand contracts worth $100,000. Since the site has already signed Amouranth, Destiny, Trainwreckstv, and Adin Ross, it seems Kick is now on the lookout for small-scale and intermediate streamers.
The opportunity that this presents cannot be understated as these streaming contracts are likely quite enticing to many content creators. On the other hand, there is the ongoingdebate of Kick versus Twitchthat focuses on whether it’s ethical to stream on a site that was founded on gambling. Others would prefer not to be on a site with controversial figures such as Adin Ross and xQc. As such, some creators may turn down collaborations with Kick for these reasons.
Still, these $200 million worth of contracts could be a game changer for Kick because it’s expanding to a wider spectrum. The talent that may come from these deals could see fresh content and trending topics that mayfully rival Twitch in a few years. Not only are its creators incentivized by the lucrative pay of these streaming contracts, but they will also benefit from the 95/5 subscription revenue split. In contrast, while Twitch used to split 70/30, it now takes half of streamer revenue. This decision was not favorable to many Twitch streamers, but the Amazon-owned platform has yet to show any willingness to reverse the policy.
Kick choosing to invest in big-name streamers alongside smaller creators has immense potential. After all, xQc wasn’t always a top-performing streamer; Kick is wise to look for rising talent in the industry. It’s safe to say that it was a combination of his personality and a platform that he could grow on that got him to where he is today. IfKick’s Creator Programis willing to be a service that can nurture its viewers and streamers, thenKickmight be in good hands.
