Popular content creator and influencer Jack “CouRage” Dunlop announced he would be leaving Twitch after signing an exclusivity streaming deal with YouTube. This news comes shortly after other major streamers have also left the Amazon live streaming service, including Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek and Fortnite star Tyler “Ninja” Blevins to Microsoft platform Mixer.
While Dunlop has 2.1 million followers on Twitch, he also boasts 1.87 million subscribers and nearly 280 million views on YouTube, where his first live stream took place on Nov. 5. The former Call of Duty commentator and current content creator for North American esports organization 100 Thieves mentioned that he chose YouTube because he wants to engage his audience through different types of non-gaming content. In comparison, big streamers like Ninja and Shroud who have signed exclusivity deals with Mixer have not changed their content after the transition.
YouTube is a bigger competitor than Mixer
“YouTube uniquely offers CouRage the ability to focus on both live streaming and VOD in a way that no other platform can and we think his YouTube community will be excited he’s now combining both of these content formats in one place,“ said Ryan Wyatt, Head of Gaming & Virtual Reality at YouTube. “We are continuing to invest in our live business in gaming in many ways and bringing Jack over is just another way of bolstering our presence in this space.”
While Shroud and Ninja have increased gaming hours streamed and concurrent viewership on Mixer, the platform hasn’t seen the success of other broadcasters. In addition, data from live streaming analytics platform Arsenal showed that Twitch had over 23 times the viewership of Mixer in Q3 2019, with 75.6% and 3.2% respectively. YouTube Gaming had 17.6%, with Facebook Gaming (NASDAQ: FB) at 3.7%.
Two hundred million people already watch gaming content every day on YouTube, according to Wyatt. This existing viewership could be leveraged toward capturing Twitch’s market share. The majority of Twitch broadcasters already create content on YouTube, which makes a platform with videos and streams all in one place desirable. Everyone talks about Mixer and Twitch, but YouTube has a greater viewership than Mixer.
Do you think it can overtake Twitch as a streaming behemoth? Let us know your opinion, and keep up with Daily Esports for all of your Esports coverage.
