Recently, a Kick streamer accused the platform of using viewbots, promting a quick reply by the owner of Stake and Kick, Eddie Craven Kick has been around for a few months now and has made no secret of the fact that they want to become as big as YouTube and Twitch, but with better pay for their streamers. While the platform has struggled to build much hype with co-owner Trainwrecks, there is always the question of whether Kick will really be successful.
After all, there have always been competitors to Twitch, such as Mixer, a platform backed by Microsoft, that also tried to outrank Twitch. However, it didn’t end well for Mixer and the site was shut down.
Does Kick use Viewbots for its own streamers?
Kick has the great advantage of leaving streamers significantly more money than Twitch & Co, but it has also already had its first controversies. In addition to discussions about the site’s moderation and the fact that creators have taken their names and given them to bigger creators, Kick has been accused of artificially inflating its viewership with Viewbots, among other things.
Does @KickStreaming viewbot…its own streamers?
I was in the top 10 of the Music category streaming a countdown clock with no music… to 40 people who weren't talking 🤔 pic.twitter.com/38ZopWz0C0
— CodyRiffs (@CodyRiffs) April 7, 2023
A tweet went viral saying that “viewership numbers mean nothing” because someone went live with 40 viewers and no one in the chat even said or typed a word.
Suspicious?
The owner of Kick came in and gave and explanation, which sounds kind of plausible, but the platform still has to prove itself, also the site “similarweb” is not that accurate, so it has to be taken with a grain of salt. “Kick had over 58 million visitors in March alone, according to reputable siteslike similarweb, compared to ‘only’ 3 million registered accounts,” he explained.
@StakeEddie @KickStreaming @Trainwreckstv we have multiple confirmed issues of random view bots hitting members of our community any chance this can be looked into?
none of us are interested in this toxic false growth someone is pushing on the platform.
we have multiple… https://t.co/KKoVdTDnxX
— GLYTCH | Dad Mode Gaming (@DadModeGG) April 10, 2023
“The majority of our visitors are not yet authenticated and have yet to create accounts. It is a new platform, and people are signing up every day … Then, as in your case, if you show up on the home page in the music section, you will naturally attract clicks.”
Explanation for inactive chats
Like on other Streaming platforms one has to be verified and signed up to take part in the chat feature. Not many people have made an account yet, especially with new websites this is expected and people have to try the website first.
Very curious to see how these Kick streamers posting big payouts fair next month and the month after.
Because 95% of your revenue coming from gifted subs is extremely volatile.
— Lowco (@LowcoTV) April 3, 2023
Because Kick is the new kid on the block there is a high chance that many people first simply click on the website once to check it out and see what it’s about, triggering high visitor numbers and also clicking through streams without making an account.
Will Kick outpace Twitch?
While Ninja seems to think the website could become a mainstay he also mentions, that streamers have to watch out because they might face a “reality check” because a lot of subscriptions are being given away at the moment, but that will change eventually. Still, a lot of streamers are reporting their significantly higher earnings than they did on Twitch and have even shared screenshots of their earnings. For now, we’ll have to wait and see how the platform develops, but for now, many content creators are very excited and it could well be that Kick becomes a real competitor to Twitch, which could lead to a large migration from the platform.