4 ms·

I wonder what happens to folks like Ninja with big exclusive deals.

bdz 6y ago
>stars like Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, Cory “King Gothalion” Michael, and Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek — will be released from their contracts, and Microsoft says it’s up to them where they decide to go. >“It’s up to them and their priorities,” says Vivek Sharma, the head of Facebook Gaming, meaning the platform isn’t actively pursuing exclusive agreements with any of Mixer’s biggest names. https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/22/21298963/ninja-shroud-mixer-facebook-gaming-twitch https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/22/21298963/ninja-shroud-mix...
- rauchp 6y ago
  Really surprising move, considering that's the main thing Mixer had going for it. Facebook got the short end of the stick on this deal, considering they'll have to negotiate again with these Twitch streamers. Now that these streamers have an idea how much engagement and money they'll be losing from switching platforms, they'll probably demand more from FB Gaming for an exclusivity contract. I haven't heard people talk about Mixer being a better platform or experience for streaming, so I'm not sure what FB gets out of this considering Mixer's talent was its most valuable asset.
  - fsociety 6y ago
    It’d be very unfair to the streamers if they were forced over to FB Gaming. Good on Mixer and Facebook for making sure that didn’t happen.
- karthikshan 6y ago
  Does this mean they don't get paid out for the remainder of their contract? These streamers took a massive brand hit by leaving twitch for so long...
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - cjbprime 6y ago
    They do get paid out -- I think I read that Ninja receives $30M and can now go back to Twitch.
  - Wafje 6y ago
    It seems like they do. https://twitter.com/RLewisReports/status/1275139749716480000 https://twitter.com/RLewisReports/status/1275139749716480000
  - hobofan 6y ago
    $30M for not even a full year, and not even a gigantic brand hit (they seemed to retain their fanbase pretty well, and did well with Youtube clips) sounds like a great deal.
- kevindong 6y ago
  I'm curious about what the contracts the big streamers signed have to say about contract termination fees.
MisterBastahrd 6y ago
They were all paid in full because their contracts were bound to the Mixer platform specifically.
- hombre_fatal 6y ago
  Well, if they were paid in full, it's because that's how Ninja/Shroud and their lawyers were able to negotiate the contract. It's arbitrary. The contract could also have just been "contract terminated if Mixer ends".
  - corobo 6y ago
    “No I’m not signing that” is the magic spell to make that line disappear
seaish 6y ago
Apparently Ninja and Shroud were paid in full: $30M and $10M respectively. https://twitter.com/Slasher/status/1275145243478892544 https://twitter.com/Slasher/status/1275145243478892544
- maps7 6y ago
  This amount of money is crazy to me. Are these guys really that big of a draw? Are they just so good at the games they play or are they funny/entertaining?
  - kungato 6y ago
    They are entertaining enough to a big group of people and they managed to build and sustain their audience. It's like asking is Robert Downey Junior the best actor in the world. If you don't see the value that just means you aren't the target audience
    - maps7 6y ago
      You've read my comment wrong
  - nimos 6y ago
    2 summers ago when Ninja was really popular I did a back of the envelop calculation on total viewer hours over a year and it was roughly the same as a season of the Big Bang Theory. Obviously not comparable for a variety of reasons (viewer quality, syndication, youtube clips) but that show was spending 100+ million on just the main cast.
  - gempir 6y ago
    Ninja is really marketable. He has merchandise sitting in Walmart, was on big tv shows like Ellen or hosting a NYC New Years Event. He's the face of gaming for all the non-gamers right now. Shroud is just a very good gamer and has a big audience, he's not that marketable compared but still worth a decent penny I guess. He's probably considered the best FPS streamer out there whenever a new game comes out. He's the go to for many.

bdz 6y ago

>stars like Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, Cory “King Gothalion” Michael, and Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek — will be released from their contracts, and Microsoft says it’s up to them where they decide to go. >“It’s up to them and their priorities,” says Vivek Sharma, the head of Facebook Gaming, meaning the platform isn’t actively pursuing exclusive agreements with any of Mixer’s biggest names. https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/22/21298963/ninja-shroud-mixer-facebook-gaming-twitch https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/22/21298963/ninja-shroud-mix...

rauchp 6y ago
Really surprising move, considering that's the main thing Mixer had going for it. Facebook got the short end of the stick on this deal, considering they'll have to negotiate again with these Twitch streamers. Now that these streamers have an idea how much engagement and money they'll be losing from switching platforms, they'll probably demand more from FB Gaming for an exclusivity contract. I haven't heard people talk about Mixer being a better platform or experience for streaming, so I'm not sure what FB gets out of this considering Mixer's talent was its most valuable asset.
- fsociety 6y ago
  It’d be very unfair to the streamers if they were forced over to FB Gaming. Good on Mixer and Facebook for making sure that didn’t happen.
karthikshan 6y ago
Does this mean they don't get paid out for the remainder of their contract? These streamers took a massive brand hit by leaving twitch for so long...
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- cjbprime 6y ago
  They do get paid out -- I think I read that Ninja receives $30M and can now go back to Twitch.
- Wafje 6y ago
  It seems like they do. https://twitter.com/RLewisReports/status/1275139749716480000 https://twitter.com/RLewisReports/status/1275139749716480000
- hobofan 6y ago
  $30M for not even a full year, and not even a gigantic brand hit (they seemed to retain their fanbase pretty well, and did well with Youtube clips) sounds like a great deal.
kevindong 6y ago
I'm curious about what the contracts the big streamers signed have to say about contract termination fees.

MisterBastahrd 6y ago

They were all paid in full because their contracts were bound to the Mixer platform specifically.

hombre_fatal 6y ago
Well, if they were paid in full, it's because that's how Ninja/Shroud and their lawyers were able to negotiate the contract. It's arbitrary. The contract could also have just been "contract terminated if Mixer ends".
- corobo 6y ago
  “No I’m not signing that” is the magic spell to make that line disappear

seaish 6y ago

Apparently Ninja and Shroud were paid in full: $30M and $10M respectively. https://twitter.com/Slasher/status/1275145243478892544 https://twitter.com/Slasher/status/1275145243478892544

maps7 6y ago
This amount of money is crazy to me. Are these guys really that big of a draw? Are they just so good at the games they play or are they funny/entertaining?
- kungato 6y ago
  They are entertaining enough to a big group of people and they managed to build and sustain their audience. It's like asking is Robert Downey Junior the best actor in the world. If you don't see the value that just means you aren't the target audience
  - maps7 6y ago
    You've read my comment wrong
- nimos 6y ago
  2 summers ago when Ninja was really popular I did a back of the envelop calculation on total viewer hours over a year and it was roughly the same as a season of the Big Bang Theory. Obviously not comparable for a variety of reasons (viewer quality, syndication, youtube clips) but that show was spending 100+ million on just the main cast.
- gempir 6y ago
  Ninja is really marketable. He has merchandise sitting in Walmart, was on big tv shows like Ellen or hosting a NYC New Years Event. He's the face of gaming for all the non-gamers right now. Shroud is just a very good gamer and has a big audience, he's not that marketable compared but still worth a decent penny I guess. He's probably considered the best FPS streamer out there whenever a new game comes out. He's the go to for many.