YouTube saw an opportunity and took it.
After losing out on the Michael Grzesiek and Tyler Blevins sweepstakes following the collapse of Mixer, it seemed as if the video sharing site was once again falling behind Twitch as a destination streaming platform. Yet just this week, the platform reintroduced themselves as a key combatant, stealing away Tim Betar and Ben Lupo — better knnown as TimTheTatMan and Dr Lupo.
What does that mean?
The Lull in the Streaming Wars
YouTube Gaming hasn’t necessarily been a platform looking to buy away talent. They signed two members of 100 Thieves’ content team — Jack Dunlop and Rachell Hofstetter — in late 2019, early 2020. And while Hofstetter blossomed into one of the biggest internet names in 2020 and Dunlop has found his own success, these weren’t necessarily major acquisitions. They were names known within the community but they were ‘developing’ prospects. Technically, their biggest acquisition isn’t signed to an exclusivity contract. Guy Beahm — the man behind the character of Dr Disrespect — moved to the YouTube Gaming platform after being banned from Twitch for unknown reasons.
YouTube’s investments into talent was nothing compared to the level of investment Mixer made. Dumping a massive amount of money on the table to pull in top streaming names in an effort to draw new viewers didn’t really work out for them. Despite offering a decent user experience, a similar chatting experience that was being offered by Twitch, fans simply were not staying for other creators. When Microsoft announced they were shutting down Mixer in June of 2020, it came out of nowhere but wasn’t really a surprise. Twitch remained relatively untouched while YouTube continued to work on their product.
YouTube’s patience during this period protected them. Not only were they not “going all-in” while unprepared, they were cementing their status as Twitch’s biggest competition.
Why Their Latest Moves Are So Important
YouTube Gaming has not only brought in two larger content creators on the Twitch platform but two incredibly important faces.
In the past year, Betar has averaged over 34,000 concurrent viewers per stream and 60.7 million hours watched. He was also heavily featured in Amazon’s partnership with the NFL, streaming Thursday Night Football games to his audience. At Twitchcon 2018, a comedy roast would be held in his honor. He would be a key spokesman for companies like Bud Light and Herman Miller. And while not directly related to Twitch, the dude was featured in a Super Bowl LIV commercial.
Lupo is no slouch either. He averaged 10,000 concurrent viewers per stream and his stream was watched over 28.4 million hours. His fundraiser for St Jude would receive a $1 million donation from Twitch. A heavily used State Farm advertisement would feature him and Jake from State Farm. And he would also be a face in Twitch’s campaign with Gillette.
All of this isn’t even accounting for their social media reaches and their fan bases on other respective platforms. Betar has 3.83 million subscribers on YouTube, Lupo has 1.78 million.
But Is YouTube Gaming Ready for War?
The content creation world has been begging for competition against Twitch. Creators want a real competitor to leverage against Twitch, fans want Twitch to be held accountable for some of the decision-making from Twitch higher-ups.
YouTube Gaming has been addressing some of the concerns with their product. They’ve added new ways for viewers to financially support their content creators. Their video quality has always been superior to Twitch’s. They’ve introduced a ‘clip’ feature that allows for creators or viewers to pull a snippet from a stream and share. And they’ve found success in working with traditional esports leagues such as the Call of Duty League.
Yet they have failed to address the elephant in the room: the discoverability of live streamers on the platform. As of this moment in time, recommendations have been a driving factor in creator discovery. Hofstetter’s connection to the content group Offline TV along with the rise in interest for the party game Among Us, helped skyrocket her numbers on YouTube. While her numbers in viewership may have taken a hit since Among Us’s peak, she continues to remain one of the biggest creators on YouTube. But she was already known.
In a lot of ways, it has helped top content creators continue to be top content creators. Since making the move over, Lupo has averaged in the high four figures — which is incredibly close to his viewership before departing Twitch. Beahm continues to average similar numbers to his time on Twitch.
But new creators that may not be fortunate to have a pre-existing fanbase or a relationship to top content creators — how do they succeed?
Are Betar and Lupo What YouTube Gaming Needs to Seriously Challenge Twitch?
Probably not.
Popular Fortnite content creator — and previously one of the biggest streamers for YouTube Gaming — Nick Amyoony moved to Twitch in September of 2019. He would see his average streaming numbers cut in half — averaging roughly 10,000 viewers on Twitch in 2020. And this is fairly common for streamers that switch platforms. While some of your audience may follow you to another platform, sometimes they won’t – as it may not be a site they actively turn to. It also didn’t help that Fortnite would see a decline in viewership in recent years.
In a YouTube video about the move, he would list three key reasons why he moved to Twitch:
- Cool New Features
- The Tournaments (Twitch Rivals)
- Better Engagement
Unlisted but also recognized: money.
All three points listed are still three very real problems YouTube hasn’t necessarily addressed. Twitch can act as an agency — connecting streamers to sponsors. Twitch Rivals continues to be an excellent opportunity for content creators to get their names out there while also participating in the competition. And a streamer’s ability to connect with their community through Twitch’s offered chatting experience is still a key area.
Streaming is live and unedited. Streamers have to fill dead air and keep the viewer engaged. The chatting experience is huge for smaller creators as it allows for natural engagement while also building a relationship. Slowly, a community can be formed with viewers engaging with each other.
The Twitch platform has shown an ability to be resilient — even when top content creators leave. Betar and Lupo both benefitted from the departure of Blevins to Mixer. Dennis Lepore and Nicholas Kolcheff — two streamers in the same circle as Betar and Lupo and stream similar games — currently are still streaming on Twitch. And even if they leave, it is entirely possible that a content creator like Seth Abner — the most popular active professional Call of Duty that could potentially retire and move to content creation full-time — could be next in line if they do leave.
YouTube Gaming has to prove it can help the small guy better than Twitch.
YouTube has been the home for content creators to pursue their dreams. Twitch has become a hub for live content. YouTube has been able to get a piece of the livestreaming market but it still feels as if there is a long way to go.
By no means is Twitch perfect, they were just first and are benefiting from it. YouTube Gaming continues to try and differentiate themselves as the better platform yet it hasn’t been able to put all of the pieces together. Bringing in two personalities that will bring over viewership helps but doesn’t push them over the edge.
But, they’re starting to get really close.
Think about it like a mall: YouTube Gaming now have their anchor stores. They just need to get viewers to want to browse around — exit the Macy’s and see what else is out there. But right now, it doesn’t look like they have a plan to do just that.
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