Kick, the latest competitor in the live streaming space, has quickly gained attention since its launch in early 2023. With its unique approach and features, Kick aims to provide a creator-friendly platform that offers more favorable terms for streamers compared to industry leader Twitch. In this article, we will explore what Kick streaming is all about, how it differs from Twitch, what content can be streamed on Kick, its user base, payouts for streamers, advertising opportunities, and more.
What is Kick Streaming?
Kick is a streaming platform that offers a similar experience to other popular platforms like Twitch, YouTube Live, and Facebook Live. With Kick, viewers can subscribe to their favorite creators’ channels, send tips, and participate in high-quality live streams. Although still in beta mode, Kick has already gained more than 12 million active users as of July 2023.
How is Kick Different from Twitch?
While Kick may resemble Twitch in terms of its interface, it positions itself as a “creator-friendly” streaming platform. Unlike Twitch, which takes a 50% cut from streamers’ earnings, Kick offers a more favorable revenue split, with streamers receiving 95% of subscription earnings and keeping 100% of tips sent by viewers. Kick also has more relaxed guidelines regarding explicit content and strives to maintain transparency in its policies.
What Can You Stream on Kick?
Kick offers a wide range of categories for streamers to explore and engage with their audience. These categories include:
- Games: From single-player story narratives to esports tournaments, Kick covers a diverse range of gaming content.
- IRL (In Real Life): Everyday content, including activities like pool sessions, ASMR, travel, and outdoor adventures.
- Music: DJ sets, acoustic streams, dance classes, and more.
- Gambling: A strictly 18+ section dedicated to gambling content.
- Creative: A platform for showcasing various creative skills such as drawing, programming, arts and crafts, and more.
- Alternative: A category for unique content that doesn’t fit into other predefined categories, including watch parties and “just sleeping” streams.
Kick’s User Base
As a relatively new platform, Kick is still growing its user base. However, it has already attracted over 12 million active users, which is quite impressive for a platform in its early stages. With its creator-friendly approach and diverse content options, Kick has the potential to become a strong contender in the live streaming industry.
Payouts for Streamers on Kick
One of the notable advantages of streaming on Kick is its generous payout structure. Unlike Twitch’s 50/50 split and YouTube’s 70/30 cut, Kick offers streamers a 95% share of subscription earnings. Additionally, streamers keep 100% of tips (referred to as “kicks”) sent by viewers, with no commission or transfer fees deducted by Kick. This allows streamers to maximize their earnings and maintain a stronger financial foundation.
Monetization Opportunities on Kick
To join Kick’s Affiliate program, streamers need to meet certain criteria, including having at least 75 followers and a total of 5 streamed hours. Compared to Twitch, which requires a higher threshold of 500 minutes streamed in the past 30 days, Kick offers a more accessible path to monetization. Once approved as a Kick Affiliate, streamers can start charging viewers for subscriptions to their channels. The average cost of a Kick subscription is around $4.99 per month, and streamers can potentially earn substantial revenue from a loyal subscriber base.
Kick is also piloting a Creator Incentive Program, where streamers are paid an hourly rate for their streams. Although the details of this program are still under wraps, Kick has assured streamers that they will receive 95% of their earnings even while participating in the program. These monetization opportunities, combined with the platform’s favorable revenue split, make Kick an attractive platform for streamers looking to make a living from their content.
Advertising on Kick
Currently, Kick primarily relies on banner ads for advertising opportunities. However, the platform is expected to explore in-video ad opportunities as it continues to grow. While Twitch has a well-established advertising model, Kick aims to tap into the advertising space to generate revenue. By offering targeted and non-intrusive ads, Kick intends to create a profitable ecosystem for both streamers and advertisers. Although the specifics of Kick’s advertising rollout have not been disclosed, the platform sees advertising as a significant potential source of revenue.
Kick’s Approach to Exclusivity and NSFW Content
Unlike Twitch, which often signs exclusivity deals with high-earning streamers, Kick allows creators to multi-stream across multiple platforms. This flexibility enables streamers to reach a broader audience and have more control over their content distribution.
Regarding NSFW (not safe for work) content, Kick has a relatively lenient moderation process. While sexually themed content may appear on the platform, Kick’s community guidelines still prohibit violence, fraud, drugs, discrimination, and copyright infringement. However, Kick provides an option for users to activate a toggle that blocks NSFW content if they prefer not to see it. This approach offers streamers more freedom in the type of content they can produce while still maintaining some boundaries to ensure a safe and inclusive environment.
The Founding of Kick and its Funding
Kick was established in October 2022 and officially launched in January 2023. The public face of Kick is Tyler ‘Trainwreck’ Niknam, a prominent online gambler who gained fame on Twitch. Trainwreck, along with other co-founders, has played a significant role in shaping Kick’s vision and direction. While Kick has been accused of being funded by gambling due to its association with Stake.com, a crypto-gambling website where Trainwreck was sponsored, the company maintains that Kick exists separately from Stake.
Downloading the Kick Streaming App
To access Kick, users can download the Kick app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app allows viewers to watch live streams, enter chat discussions, subscribe to creators’ channels, and send donations. However, as of now, the app does not support live streaming capabilities. For that, users need to access the Kick website through their web browsers.
Going Live on Kick
If you’re a streamer interested in going live on Kick, the process is straightforward and similar to going live on Twitch. Follow these steps to get started:
- Head to Kick.com and log in or create an account if you don’t have one.
- Click on the ‘Settings’ tab in the Creator Dashboard and navigate to ‘Stream Key.’
- Locate the ‘Stream URL’ and ‘Stream Key’ and copy them.
- Open your preferred streaming software and enter the Stream URL and Stream Key when prompted.
- Ensure that all output settings match your computer’s specifications and return to Kick.
- Click on ‘Edit stream info’ in the bottom right corner and provide details such as stream name, category, primary language, and whether it’s an 18+ broadcast.
- Save your changes and start streaming through your chosen streaming software.
By following these steps, you can begin streaming your content to your Kick audience.
Conclusion
Kick streaming has quickly emerged as a strong competitor in the live streaming space, offering a creator-friendly platform with favorable revenue splits and fewer content restrictions. With a diverse range of categories and a growing user base, Kick has the potential to challenge Twitch’s dominance in the industry. While still in its early stages, Kick aims to become profitable through advertising opportunities, maintaining a focus on streamer satisfaction and content creator empowerment. As the platform continues to evolve, it will be exciting to see how Kick shapes the future of live streaming.
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