Twitch’s controversial guidelines on branded content led to a surge in Kick’s signups. 

On June 6, Twitch announced its new guidelines on branded streams, banning “burned-in” video ads and audio ads, as well as limiting the on-screen logo to 3% of the screen size. A branded content disclosure tool was also added to the streamer’s dashboard to make sure they comply with the requirements. 

This change in branded content policy was met with criticism and boycotts from the community, as enforcing it would affect individual streamers and events on the platform. The next day, Twitch apologized in a tweet and said that it would “rewrite the guidelines to be clearer.” Later, Twitch admitted to its community that “these guidelines are bad for you and bad for Twitch, and we are removing them immediately.”

“Sponsorships are critical to streamers’ growth and ability to earn income,” Twitch added on a thread. “We will not prevent your ability to enter into direct relationships with sponsors – you will continue to own and control your sponsorship business.”

Kick just got its biggest signup day

Twitch might have removed its controversial policy, but Kick, its rival livestreaming platform, already saw the chance and took advantage of the debacle. In a tweet, they offer a $25 reimbursement fee, which Twitch will charge should a streamer break the contract. Kick will cover this fee for anyone who’s willing to move to Kick. 

They announced in a tweet that it had doubled their sign-up record and even thanked Twitch for the boost. Even Ninja, who expressed disappointment with another controversial TOS update on simulcasting, started streaming on Kick.

Kick was just launched this year and has been growing ever since. It pays its creators 0.95 cents per $1 compared to Twitch’s 0.50 cents. Adin Ross and Trainwreck are just some of the big streamers who are part of Kick’s promotional campaign. However, despite Kick’s growth, it’s still not a direct competition to Twitch. When it comes to watch time and number of viewers, Twitch is still far ahead. We might yet see how they progress since Twitch took back the guidelines on branded content.