Odds Favor Ninja Suing Twitch or Amazon in 2019; See Which Gamers Could Switch to Mixer
- On August 1st, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins signed an exlusive deal to stream on Mixer
- Odds favor Ninja suing Twitch after pornography was featured on Ninja’s offline channel page.
- Dr. Disrespect listed as the most likely top streamer to sign on with Mixer
Tyler “Ninja” Blevins shocked the world when he announced that he had signed an exclusive streaming deal with Mixer on August 1st. Ninja had become an international and mainstream star after gaining a massive following by live-streaming on Twitch.
Losing Ninja is a massive blow to Twitch as most would agree that Ninja was the face of the popular streaming site and at one point he had over 250,000 subscribers on his channel. Now after just one week of streaming with Mixer, Ninja is over one million subscribers thanks in large part to Mixer gifting users two free months of subscriptions to Ninja.
Odds of Ninja Suing Twitch or Amazon in 2019
| Outcome | Odds |
|---|---|
| Yes | -150 |
| No | +110 |
*All odds taken 13/08/19
Twitch’s Controversy With Ninja
The break was already a massive loss for Twitch but then things got worse. Twitch had started promoting other channels under the Fortnite directory on Ninja’s offline channel page. Twitch wanted to retain viewers on their platform and re-direct them to other top Fortnite streamers.
Unfortunately for Twitch, a channel that was streaming pornography under the Fortnite tag was able to rise to the number one spot and was then featured on Ninja’s page. Of course, Ninja wasn’t thrilled and threatened to sue Twitch.
Twitch wanted to retain viewers on their platform and re-direct them to other top Fortnite streamers.
Now, odds are that Ninja will sue Twitch in 2019. Ninja has been streaming on Twitch for about eight years and has grown his channel to have over 14.5 million followers. He’s worked hard to build up his brand, which includes being child-friendly. That makes Twitch’s mistake of accidentally showing porn on his channel even more harmful.
Still, I’m not sold on the idea of Ninja dropping a lawsuit on Twitch. Ninja has stated that his team has tried to remain professional and not talk bad about Twitch. He’s just signed a massive deal with Mixer that has given him a giant payday.
A lawsuit against Twitch might be a distraction and a headache that Ninja doesn’t want to be a part of. Twitch’s CEO has issued an apology to Ninja, and his channel is currently back to normal for now. If Twitch leaves everything be, I think Ninja will keep the lawyers out of it.
Picks: No (+110)
Odds of Ninja’s Channel Being Removed From Twitch in 2019
| Outcome | Odds |
|---|---|
| No | -130 |
| Yes | -110 |
Ninja Wants His Channel Removed
In the video Ninja posted in regards to Twitch’s pornographic mistake, Ninja said, “We’re trying to get the whole channel taken down to begin with, or at least not promote other streamers or other channels on my brand.”
At this point, I doubt Ninja has much trust left in Twitch. If Ninja wants his channel removed, Twitch might have to bend the knee after their monstrous mistake. If they don’t bow down to Ninja’s wishes, then they could be faced with the aforementioned lawsuit.
Picks: Yes (-110)
Odds of Other Streamers Switching to Mixer in 2019
| Streamer | Yes Odds | No Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Disrespect | +175 | -260 |
| Dr. Lupo | +225 | -350 |
| Tfue | +300 | -500 |
| Shroud | +500 | -900 |
Who’s Next To Go?
Twitch is no doubt in trouble and we’ve seen Twitch partners sign streaming deals with other platforms in the past. Of course, none of them were as big of a deal as Ninja going to Mixer. The question becomes, who might be the next big Twitch streamer to jump to Mixer next. One name that has immediately been thrown around is Dr. Disrespect.
The Doc has had his troubles with Twitch in the past, including a ban for streaming in a public restroom at TwitchCon. Still, for Dr. Disrespect to make a switch, it would have to be for a ton of money.
The Doc is someone who’s very particular about his brand and will not easily give up his following on Twitch to go to a streaming platform with fewer eyes. His stream is also one that isn’t as family-friendly as Ninja’s and I doubt that Mixer would put up huge money for a streamer with a more niche community.
Shroud is very unlikely to make the move this year. A lot of people have started to believe that Twitch is on its way out, but Shroud disagreed with that notion on his stream. A lot of streamers including Shroud believe that Twitch needs to step it up, but to make the switch would mean putting their following at risk.
It doesn’t make sense for guys like Shroud or Tfue to make the move right now. Same for Dr. Lupo who is a close friend of Ninja’s. Without a massive payday similar to the one Ninja got, no top streamer will be incentivized to leave their massive Twitch followings behind.
Picks: Take the chalk and bet “No” for all streamers
Growing up, Matthew was in love with sports. So, following his undergrad, it only made sense to dive head-first into the world of sports media. Rather than sticking to traditional sports, Matt found his way to eSports and gaming. He also produces, edits and serves as an analyst for SQUAD.
