Twitch, YouTube Are Slowing Big-Money Deals for Gaming Talent
Leaders pull back from seven-, eight-figure contracts while upstart Kick forges ahead in some cases.
For more than three years, YouTube and Twitch have competed for top gaming talent to bolster their livestreaming services.
Photographer: Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesAmazon.com Inc.’s Twitch and Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube are phasing out big-money content deals with top livestreaming gamers after years of making seven- and eight-figure offers.
Twitch Chief Executive Officer Dan Clancy said in an interview with Bloomberg News at the TwitchCon conference in Las Vegas that the strategy had “created this bidding war, and I don't think that's a sustainable business.”