Following the announcement that Microsoft’s streaming platform Mixer would be folding, and merge with Facebook Gaming as a result, the streaming industry has been wondering where Tyler “Ninja” Blevins would land now that he is essentially a free agent.
Earlier this week, Ninja made both a test stream and a live stream, playing Fortnite, on his official YouTube channel, leading many to believe that he would indeed end up on YouTube, easily the biggest competitor to Twitch.
However it appears that Ninja’s next destination has not been decided officially as of yet, and Youtube, Twitch, and Facebook Gaming are all in on trying to land one of the industries top streamers.
According to Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern, it’s a three-horse race between Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook Gaming to sign Ninja, with a deal expected to be finalized by the end of the summer.
On the surface it would seem that Twitch would hold the edge in negotiations. Not only do they present more monetization opportunities, directly on stream, than YouTube or Facebook Gaming, they also have history with Ninja.
Despite a rather bitter exit, Ninja did establish his brand on Twitch, and he is considered to have run one of the most successful and popular Twitch channels the platform has ever seen.
It can also be argued that Ninja was the catalyst for a lot of Twitch’s boom in popularity, as well as the industry’s biggest crossover star, creating more visibility and financial opportunities for streamers around the world, and across different platforms.
In fact, when Mixer initially signed Ninja to an exclusive contract a year ago, it spurned activity from all platforms to starting inking their most popular streamers to exclusive deal, creating even more business, and more profitability for content creators.
While Ninja didn’t help Mixer from the eventuality of folding, a lot can be blamed on the contract structure, and how Mixer conducted business. Judging from how things ended for the once-promising platform, it’s fair to come to the conclusion that Microsoft had no clue how to manage, or develop, a successful online streaming platform.
Now it comes down to who will offer a combination of money and opportunity, as the three biggest platforms try to reel in what is easily the industry’s biggest free agent.
Wherever Ninja lands, it will set off another wave for the industry, and can show the power of free agency in the realm of content creation.
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