In a surprising turn of events, Twitch’s recent policy changes have led to a significant increase in signups for its competitor, Kick Streaming. The new rules, which were met with widespread backlash, have caused many streamers to consider leaving Twitch for other platforms.
Contents
What changes did Twitch make?
On June 6, 2023, Twitch introduced new branded content guidelines that were intended to control how streamers could advertise sponsorships. These rules would have had a significant impact on charity and esports streams. The backlash was swift and severe, with prominent streamers like Asmongold calling for a boycott and his organization, OTK Network, threatening to leave the platform entirely
In response to the outcry, Twitch tweeted “Today’s branded content policy update was overly broad. This created confusion and frustration, and we apologize for that.”. Twitch went one to say the guidelines would be re-written and update the community.
However, the damage was already done. The platform also updated its Terms of Service, banning all users, including non-affiliates, from multi-streaming on “Twitch-like” platforms. This change affected major creators like Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins, who criticized the Amazon-owned platform for being “tone deaf.”
Multi-platform streaming can be very effective to reach wider audiences and monetisation. For a small fee, streamers can use distribution platforms such as restream to live stream across multiple platforms. Typically streamers are limited to streaming on a single platform when under contract with Twitch which may be a constraint for some streamers.
The controversy may have served as an opportunity for these platforms to collaborate. Within a few days of the controversy Kick and Restream have partnered with integrations to the simulcasting platform Restream.
Mr. Beast and other creators weigh in on controversy
The controversy caught the attention of major content creators, including Mr. Beast. The charity work that Mr. Beast delivers to communities is absolutely massive, he is always giving to people more than getting. Asking Twitch to better serve their content creators instead of limiting their ability to earn money will steer potential creators away from the platform to either seek alternatives in the same industry, or pivot entirely.
We have seen applications in the past such as Vine fail, then only a few years later have Tiktok take its place in the market as an alternative.
Kick tweets about record sign ups
In the midst of the controversy, Kick Streaming took to Twitter to announce that they had seen a record number of signups. Although the exact numbers were not disclosed, the company’s tweet suggested that many streamers were considering Kick as a viable alternative to Twitch.
Specifically Kick has announced they doubled their all time 24 hour sign up with over 6 million users. In their tweet they called out Twitch for making such a huge mistake with their community and allowing alternative platforms to flourish.
Kick rumours to pay streamers an hourly wage
In the same tweet and adding fuel to the fire there were also rumors that Kick was considering paying streamers an hourly wage. While the official Kick platform has posted this to their Twitter, community guidelines and partnerships currently publicly available do not indicate this is true. Adding a minimum wage added to the appeal of Kick as a potential alternative to Twitch.
Twitch’s recent policy changes have led to a significant backlash from the streaming community, with many creators considering other platforms like Kick. As the situation continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how Twitch responds to the criticism and whether Kick can capitalize on this opportunity to attract more streamers to its platform.
One thought on “Kick Streaming Hits Record Signups Amongst Twitch Drama”