Is it safe to hedge your bets on a hastily built livestreaming platform heavily associated with a crypto gambling site? Should you switch to Kick Streaming? Let’s talk about it:

1. The Kick Streaming Controversy Unfolded
2. The Sustainability of Kick Streaming Profits
3. Hindsight is 2020 – Kick Streaming to Follow Mixer?
4. The Napkin Math: Kick Streaming Profit 95/5 Subscriber Split
5. How to Decide if Kick Streaming is for You
6. Do These First Before Moving to Kick
7. Where Kick Stands

The streaming world is turning its attention towards Kick, a new Twitch rival offering an enticing 95/5 subscriber split in favor of the streamer. However, many are left questioning whether the platform’s potential rewards are worth the risks. Despite numerous attempts by giants like Meta and YouTube to topple Twitch, the streaming behemoth remains steadfast. 

This leaves us wondering – what sets Kick apart from its predecessors, and should streamers consider transitioning to a platform fraught with controversy?

The Kick Streaming Controversy Unfolded

First things first: we have to talk about the several, very serious issues undermining Kick’s potential.

Lowco

She/Her

Twitch Partner Lowco has been a full-time streamer for over seven years. She uses her experience to help others learn how to stream and hone their talents as the CEO of StreamerSquare. Formerly a client of Online Performer’s Group, she’s taken what she’s learned from working with sponsors to help streamers value themselves better. She’s worked with a variety of brands including Intel, Hershey’s, and Marvel. Lowco has an eye for how streamers can improve their channel, themselves, and strategic positioning to grow in this space.

 Before you ask- why do any of these issues affect my decision to stream on Kick? Consider that a site’s bad reputation will deter advertisers, sponsors, and viewers.

Kick is owned by Stake’s founders, a crypto gambling site banned from Twitch in October 2022. Twitch’s ban of Stake likely spurred the creation of Kick as a solution for Twitch Partner Trainwreck and others to continue streaming gambling content to large audiences.

Kick’s appeal has extended to banned Twitch streamers such as Adin Ross, infamous for spreading hate speech. In fact, Ross’s recent transphobic tirade has brought out criticism from Kick’s co-owner, Trainwreck, yet no official punishment has been handed down. The platform has also seen instances of sexually explicit content, streaming copyrighted material like the SuperBowl, and other concerning activities.

The considerable risks associated with Kick are manifold. The absence of proper moderation policies could foster an unsafe environment for streamers – particularly marginalized groups, and attract the attention of government regulators. 

The Sustainability of Kick Streaming Profits

With all of the recent unsavory headlines Kick has been making, advertisers and brands are likely to shy away from any association with a platform known for unfiltered hate speech. That directly affects your ability to gain sponsorships, but also Kick’s ability to become sustainable. 

“What drives revenue is ads. Kick will partner with the world’s leading advertisers to generate cash flow.”

– Trainwreck on Kick’s monetization strategy

Trainwreck claims advertising is the core of Kick’s path to profitability, which is why they can offer 95% of subscription revenue.

If they can’t convince advertisers to spend money on a platform riddled with moderation issues, then the model doesn’t work. We have seen this time and time again – even big corportations like YouTube struggle with appeasing advertisers.

Hindsight is 2020 – Kick Streaming to Follow Mixer?

Microsoft-owned Mixer serves as a cautionary tale, having failed to break Twitch’s market dominance and ultimately shutting down in 2020. Microsoft spent big money on acquiring exclusive deals with the biggest streamers on Twitch in Ninja and Shroud, but it wasn’t enough to convince viewers to start using a new, unfamiliar streaming site. 

Sure, they compelled plenty of streamers to give it a go, but without a lucrative pool of curious viewers browsing for new streamers to watch, no streaming platform can succeed. When Mixer shut down, the streamers who had bet on Mixer found themselves scrambling to rebuild their communities on other platforms like Facebook or Twitch. Some never recovered from Mixer’s downfall.

The Napkin Math: Kick Streaming Profit 95/5 Subscriber Split

The 95/5 subscriber split is what’s getting streamers to genuinely think about switching. Considering Twitch’s sub split is an industry-low 50-50, this isn’t surprising.

Okay, let’s do some math here… 

For a streamer to break even on the platform switch, you’ll need just a bit more than half of your current subscriber base to resubscribe to you on a different platform (a platform that viewers may be uncomfortable sharing payment details with). Is that realistic for your audience?

You should expect to get a fraction of your current viewership as no platform switch is a clean transition. Viewers don’t like learning new platforms, they might forget to follow over on a new site, they may miss the messaging that you’ve switched, they may refuse to use Kick because of moderation issues or the heavy gambling presence, and the list goes on and on. 

Less of your viewers = less of your subscribers. Can you get half your Twitch subscribers to move to Kick? All of this just to think about breaking even. Whew.

How to Decide if Kick Streaming is for You

A few considerations you should look at before switching to a new streaming platform:

Kick Streaming Backers

1. Who owns the site? Who are the stakeholders? (oops, pun)
2. This will help you understand the motivations and potential stability a site may have.
3. If you’re a family-friendly streamer or uncomfortable with exposing your viewers to a heavy gambling presence, Kick is an obvious pass.

Kick: Owned by the same people who run a gambling site. They have plenty of upstart capital, but they may be more focused on gambling-related schemes. Stake as a primary advertiser on the platform should be expected.

Kick’s Revenue Model

1. How does the site make money? How do streamers make money?
2. This will clue you into the site’s potential to be profitable (which is pretty important if they are to stick around), and your own path to generating revenue.
3. For streamers, a 95-5 subscriber split is an industry best rate. Currently, that’s the only form of monetization.

Kick: Trainwreck insists its revenue model will be focused on advertising. This is concerning because Kick’s brand image problem will make it challenging to secure lucrative advertising dollars (oh and we know how much streamers and viewers hate ads)

Traffic and Audience on Kick

1. If you want to get discovered and grow as a streamer, there are going to have to be viewers exploring the site, looking for new streamers to watch.

Kick: As a new site, Kick is minuscule in size. Most the viewers there right now are coming to watch their one favorite streamer who left Twitch.

For streamers to succeed on Kick, the company will have to spend lots of money on advertising, and will likely have to get creative to incentivize viewers to choose to watch on Kick over what they are familiar with, Twitch.

Kick User Experience

1. New streaming sites struggle to grow because they can’t compel viewers to watch on the platform. People like what they are used to.

Kick: Good news for Kick, their site design is eerily similar to Twitch. This will make it easier for streamers and viewers to become acquainted with the platform.

Moderation on Kick

1. What are the site’s Terms of Service and Community Guidelines? What moderation tools are available?
2. Safety is a critical consideration for streamers and viewers alike. It affects everyone’s experience, and a lack of safety will drive people from using a site.

Kick: We’ve covered this thoroughly, moderation and safety seem to be low on Kick’s priority list.

Do These First Before Moving to Kick

Talk to your community first. It’s important to have a conversation with your community to get a pulse on what moving to Kick would actually look like. Are your viewers receptive to the idea? Would your subscribers move their payment over? You’re not just a streamer, you’re a community leader too. See what your crowd thinks about Kick.

Leverage your existing audience. Whenever you start building on a new social site, you should go where your audience currently is and leverage them to grow your following on the new site. Start by creating a Kick account and asking your viewers to create their own account and start following you. If you struggle to get traction with free followers, getting active viewers, chatters, and paying subscribers will be even more challenging.

Don’t go all-in. Experiment with Kick before you make a complete decision. Trade one of your Twitch stream slots for a Kick slot. Feel it out and see how things go. That way, you’re not risking losing everything you’ve already built if it doesn’t pan out.

If you’re a small streamer with little to no following, these tips might not apply. Consider multi-streaming to several platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and Kick together to maximize your exposure and growth potential.

Where Kick Stands

If Kick wants to succeed as a legitimate Twitch competitor and not just an outlet for displaced gambling streamers, it ultimately will be forced to reconcile with the mountain of red flags the site possesses. Streamers considering Kick should continue to monitor the platform’s actions (or inactions) very carefully, gauge public sentiment, and look to see if brands are engaging on the platform.

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