Twitch CEO Dan Clancy has gone on record to claim rival platforms merely replicated their formula for success, even going as far as to say “Kick downright copied” them.
As the saying goes, there’s no love in war and that’s evidently true in the streaming space too. Despite leading the industry with a whopping 61.1% of total market share, Twitch’s CEO has shared some disparaging remarks about their main competitors in the space.
From Clancy’s perspective, many of their rivals simply looked to replicate the exact same streaming experience, just under their own logos instead.
“YouTube just made Twitch on YouTube,” he claimed in an interview with FastCompany. “Facebook just made Twitch on Facebook.” Though one he took particular issue with, was none other than Kick, the newest upstart of the bunch.
“Kick downright copied the site,” Clancy claimed.
Twitch’s CEO isn’t all too chuffed by how much inspiration Kick has taken from them.
Twitch CEO claims rivals “copied” from them
There are plenty of similarities on the surface, and Kick hasn’t been shy in openly admitting it’s copying a number of Twitch’s better features. For what it’s worth, Kick is even running through the very same Amazon Web Services system Twitch uses to make its broadcasts possible in the first place.
Though of course, there are plenty of distinctions too, be it the far more generous payout structure or the looser moderation, it’s far from a direct clone at its very core.
Regardless, imitation isn’t the sincerest form of flattery for Clancy, as he only had praise for one competitor in the space, TikTok. By his account, TikTok “was the first platform that didn’t just copy Twitch.”
Ultimately, all social media platforms with any form of livestreaming capability are “competing for your time,” Clancy explained. Thus, he views far more than just YouTube and Kick as direct competition, even though Twitch still controls a considerable majority of the industry.
According to data from Steamlabs, 82.3% of all livestreamed hours occur on Twitch. That leaves just 17.7% of livestream hours for everyone else to fight over.
Kick responds to Twitch CEO’s claims
Hours after Clancy’s comments caught fire on February 4, Kick’s own Andrew Santamaria fired back on X (formerly Twitter).
“Kick certainly moves the needle in favor of the creator,” Santamaria stressed. “To [downplay] Kick’s place in the market works against the streamer.”
Closing out the response, the Kick staff member invited the journalist of the original article onto their Kick Talk podcast to “discuss the finer points” with CEO Eddie Craven.