Twitch Video Game Streamer Dr. Lupo, Signed A Deal With YouTube.
Key Sentence:
- YouTube has one of the best video game streamers on Twitch.
- Ben "Dr. Lupo", who allegedly signed a $1 million exclusive deal with Twitch in 2019, is now streaming exclusively on YouTube.
The 34-year-old American, known for Fortnite, Destiny, Escape from Tarkov, and Among Us, has the 26 most followers on Twitch - 4.5 million. Twitch said he wished him "only the best in all that follows".
He made the announcement in a sleek promotional video filled with computer graphics and soothing orchestral music.
Like many popular Twitch streamers, Dr. Lupo has already uploaded archives of live broadcasts and drum highlights on YouTube, which has 1.75 million subscribers.
But switching platforms or even games can lead to the loss of many followers. In 2019, Tyler "Ninja" Blevins signed an exclusive deal with streaming service Microsoft Mixer that is said to cost millions of dollars.
Less than a year later, Microsoft announced it would shut down Mixer and encourage its partners to switch to Facebook Gaming. But like YouTube Gaming, Facebook Gaming is relatively small in the live streaming arena compared to Amazon's dominant Twitch property.
And Ninja - in addition to streaming on YouTube - returns to Twitch along with Shroud, another top streamer signed by Microsoft. In April, Streamlabs and Stream Hatchet estimated the total number of hours observed in the first quarter of 2021:
- Twitch has 72%
- YouTube games more than 15%
- Facebook 12%
However, data for the second quarter suggests that the pandemic growth in viewership on YouTube couuld end as hours spent watching streaming decline by 4%.