Highlights
Kick is planning to sign $200 million in contracts to smaller and medium-sized streamers, indicating its ambition and dedication to compete with Twitch.
Kick has acknowledged and addressed previous criticisms, resulting in the development of a platform that prioritizes the needs of content creators. As a result, Kick has positioned itself as a compelling alternative for creators. Moreover, Kick has introduced streaming contracts, such as $1 million and $100,000 deals, which present alluring prospects for emerging streamers. These contracts have the potential to not only introduce new and exciting content but also compete with established platforms like Twitch.
Kick is once again making headlines as its CEO unveils a new strategy to stay competitive against Twitch. The company plans to allocate a substantial $200 million to support smaller and medium-sized streamers. This ambitious move comes as no surprise, considering Kick's impressive growth in viewership since its inception a few months ago.
Originally created as an alternative to Twitch, Kick is gradually evolving into its own platform with tailor-made policies for content creators. Since its establishment in December 2022, Kick has made significant progress in ensuring fair revenue sharing with creators, while also allowing users to personalize their content preferences. Many of the concerns previously raised about Kick have been addressed, and the proposed streaming contracts for the future may prove to be a positive step forward.
Kick's Strategy Could Be Groundbreaking
Content creators partnering with Kick, such as xQc, are fueling the growing trend of appearing on specific platforms. This includes streamers like Valkyrae and Sykkuno signing contracts with YouTube, while Ricegum opted for a deal with Rumble. The prevalence of exclusive and non-exclusive contracts to bring internet celebrities to specific websites is becoming mainstream, and even lesser-known streamers can now benefit from the smaller contracts offered by Kick.
Although xQc's partnership with Kick is significant, Kick's CEO, Eddie Craven, emphasized that this is a unique situation due to the Canadian streamer's industry prominence. Moving forward, Kick plans to offer one hundred contracts worth $1 million and one thousand contracts worth $100,000. With notable signings like Amouranth, Destiny, Trainwreckstv, and Adin Ross already on board, Kick is now actively seeking smaller-scale and intermediate streamers.
The significance of this opportunity cannot be underestimated, as these streaming contracts are highly appealing to many content creators. However, there is an ongoing debate between Kick and Twitch regarding the ethics of streaming on a site that originated from gambling. Additionally, some creators are unwilling to associate themselves with controversial figures like Adin Ross and xQc, leading them to decline collaborations with Kick.
Nevertheless, these contracts worth $200 million have the potential to revolutionize Kick as it expands its reach to a broader audience. The talent that emerges from these deals could introduce fresh content and trending topics that may soon compete with Twitch. Not only are content creators motivated by the generous payment offered through these streaming contracts, but they will also benefit from a 95/5 subscription revenue split. In contrast, Twitch, which used to split revenue 70/30, now takes half of streamers' earnings. This decision has been met with dissatisfaction from many Twitch streamers, although the platform owned by Amazon has not shown any inclination to reverse this policy.
Investing in both big-name streamers and smaller creators offers immense potential for Kick. xQc, for instance, was not always a top-performing streamer, so Kick's decision to seek out emerging talent in the industry is a wise move. Undoubtedly, xQc's success can be attributed to his personality and the platform that allowed his growth. If Kick's Creator Program aims to be a nurturing service for both viewers and streamers, then Kick is likely in capable hands.