As a seasoned gamer with over two decades of gaming under my belt, I’ve seen the rise and fall of many streaming platforms. From the early days of Justin.tv to the current titans like Twitch and YouTube, I’ve been there, watched it all. Now, here comes Kick, an ambitious newcomer in the esports streaming scene, and they’re making some serious waves.
During a chat with TopMob, Kick’s team outlined their confidence that their platform could emerge as the leading global esports streaming service, and this belief is primarily based on their advertising strategies.
In the two years since its debut, Kick has been creating quite an impact, with hit signings, though it’s faced negative press due to some problematic content creators. Despite these hiccups, it has been a triumph for Stake as it has expanded to rank among the top three most popular streaming platforms.
A less frequently mentioned aspect of their growth plan involves esports. In the early months of 2024, Kick began forming alliances with organizations, notably Team Secret and Bleed Esports. Prior to Dreamhack Melbourne in April, they also revealed a partnership with ESL for live events.
Moving forward, Kick managed to obtain the streaming licenses for BLAST and PGL events, airing many of the largest Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 competitions during the year.
While certainly a strong start, it’s only the beginning of Kick’s broader esports strategy.
In simple terms, we had a detailed conversation with Oliver ‘DickStacy’ Tierney, Account Manager at Kick, who is well-known in the Australian CS scene. He shared with us their ambitions to dominate the esports industry and outlined their strategies for achieving this goal.
Proving why Kick is where esports should be
Tierney explained that they aim to broaden their esports services across multiple dimensions. Their strategy for gradual growth involves tackling this from various perspectives.
As a gamer, I’m all about growth and improvement, and that’s exactly what my favorite platform is focusing on right now. They’re forging strong connections with tournament organizers, nurturing local esports communities, and constantly upgrading the viewing experience to stay ahead of their rivals. In a nutshell, they’re expanding in every way possible!
Tierney acknowledged that it’s tough for people to quit watching on Twitch and YouTube and move to Kick, as there usually needs to be a strong incentive. This is a lesson Riot Games learned the hard way when their Riot Esports Network closed down, as viewers seemed unwilling to switch from their preferred platform to the publisher’s app. Similarly, we saw this back with MLG’s streaming service not performing well.
According to Tierney’s explanation, Kick needs to find a method to entice viewers that neither Twitch nor YouTube currently offer. Currently, the primary attractions lie in simplicity: Kick does not show ads and their streaming speed is quicker.
Kick has always found charm in the absence of advertisements, making it even more enticing given that esports broadcasts are already overflowing with content.
Tierney expressed that viewers find advertisements tiring. He pointed out that on Twitch, there are four minutes of ads every fifteen minutes during esports broadcasts, which he believes isn’t beneficial for the platform’s health and sustainability.
Beyond this, they assert Kick’s broadcast speed is approximately three seconds quicker. While this difference might seem negligible in larger contexts, for dedicated viewers, it could serve as an attractive incentive to switch, given that it means they can experience events nearly simultaneously with real life, enhancing their viewing experience.
A notable challenge that Tierney conceded was the limited availability of “Drops” on the platform at present. He emphasized, “Drops plays a significant role in attracting viewers; it’s essentially a crucial element that needs improvement to strengthen our integration.
If you want an understanding of how important Drops are to esports, a tier two Overwatch 2 broadcast once broke records all because a Mercy skin was part of the rewards for watching along. Viewers love drops, and it’s something Kick still lacks when it comes to driving esports viewership.
Kick’s true esports aspirations
At present, Kick holds the television rights for the BLAST and PGL Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 tournaments. Although it doesn’t cover all games and tournament organizers, it provides a strong base for expansion, as Tierney emphasized.
Despite collaborating with ESL’s Dreamhack for live events, they didn’t have exclusive broadcasting rights for the entire Esports World Cup. They had assistants streaming parts of it, but not the whole event. Working with Riot Games’ intellectual properties, some of the most prominent in the industry, presents unique challenges. However, Kick is determined to expand its partnership with Riot and eventually bring their games into the platform as well.
Tierney clarified that they aim to attract a multitude of game and esports broadcasters onto the Kick platform. This isn’t necessarily about signing exclusive contracts similar to those in the Overwatch League or CoD League with YouTube, but rather becoming one of the go-to streaming services where you could find your games being streamed.
In simpler terms, CS2 was one of the first games that Steam (Kick) ventured into because its Valve titles are predominantly managed by external parties instead of the publishers themselves, making it a “plug and play” situation.
Currently, there are some popular first-person shooter (FPS) and multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games like Valorant and League of Legends that aren’t available at this moment.
Currently, as Tierney pointed out, Kick is exploring ways to prioritize local communities over platforms like YouTube and Twitch. This could potentially draw in more Tournament Organizers (TOs) in the future.
He pointed out how Kick has a large South American and Middle Eastern community, which is true as some of its biggest streamers are from the regions. Additionally mentioning PGL’s plans of increased local tournaments, he outlined how Kick is looking to help out with broadcasting.
“We want all esports,” Tierney simply said.
Currently, Kick is steadily making its mark in the world of esports, one game and tournament at a time. They’re not showing signs of slowing down, with Tierney confidently stating that they are well-positioned and currently leading as the top platform for esports.
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2024-10-04 04:48