How the Kick Partner Program is Transforming the Streaming Landscape for Gamers

Every day, millions of viewers around the world tune in to live streams from their favorite content creators. Many of these broadcasts consist of video games being streamed by players, or live streamers offering their own commentary on the latest developments within the video game industry, all with a strong level of viewer participation.

Live chats, paid subscriptions, sponsorships and donations have all helped to turn video game-based live-streaming into a lucrative career choice for people who are able to create entertaining and engaging content. KICK is one of the world’s largest live streaming services, in part because the platform prioritizes visibility and earnings for creators.

At the very heart of this ecosystem is the Kick Partner Program, which is available to streamers who consistently create engaging content and are able to maintain a large audience on the platform. In this article, we take a closer look at the Kick Partner Program, how it works, why it is transforming live-streaming and how you can reap the rewards.

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Table of Contents

What is Kick?

Kick.com is a video live-streaming platform, which allows you to broadcast content to viewers. It was established as a competitor platform to Twitch and YouTube in late 2022 and quickly gained market share due to its generous policies around revenue for streamers, as well as for a relatively relaxed approach to content moderation.

The Kick platform is now home to a wide range of streams, covering a variety of hobbies and interests. Some of the most popular streamers on Kick create content focused on video games, politics, travel, online gambling, chess and real-life event coverage. Some streamers focus on one specific area, while others mix things up and cover a variety of topics.

For video game streaming, in particular, content creators will broadcast their own gameplay, or discuss some of the latest industry news. Some creators stream live from esports events or cover other major industry showcases, like The Game Awards and Summer Game Fest. Among the most popular video games on the platform are Minecraft, Grand Theft Auto V, Call of Duty, Fortnite, Counter-Strike 2, League of Legends, EA Sports FC and Dota 2.

Kick is a newer platform than its main rivals, but is often seen as being more creator-friendly. One of Kick’s flagship policies is a commitment to giving content creators 95% of the revenue generated from viewer subscriptions. This compares very favorably to other platforms and highlights why many streamers opted to join.

How Can You Become a Kick Streamer?

Getting started as a Kick streamer is simple and a minimalist setup can be fairly inexpensive and be more than enough while you build your audience. To get started, you are usually going to need the following equipment:

A computer capable of running streaming software like Streamlabs or OBS Studio

Video and audio equipment, including a microphone, a webcam and headphones

A stable internet connection, with a minimum upload speed of 10 Mbps

If you are planning to stream your own gaming sessions, you are also going to need games, devices to play the games on, such as a gaming PC or gaming consoles, and a capture card to transfer video signals from the gaming device to your streaming PC. You might also want to invest in basic lighting equipment, especially for late-night streaming.

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What is the Kick Partner Program?

The highest creator tier on the platform is the Kick Partner Program, which was made to reward streamers who consistently deliver engaging and entertaining content, day after day. Becoming a Kick Partner offers extra opportunities for monetization and increases the overall credibility and visibility of your channel.

In other words, the program is both a reward and recognition system, helping to highlight the top streamers on the platform, while compensating them for the time, effort and money they put into actually making great content.

With the Kick Partner Program, you can earn money not only from the subscriptions you generate, but also for the individual streams. This gives you a direct reward for creating content that people tune into.

How to Become a Kick Partner

Becoming a Kick Partner is goal for many emerging streamers, but it is important to stress that the program is intended to reward established streamers who are regularly delivering excellent content. There is a list of eligibility criteria that you will need to meet before you can join the program, including:

Streaming for at least 30 hours in the last month

Having at least 250 unique live chat participants in the last month

Attracting at least 25 active subscriptions and having at least 250 followers

Maintaining an average of at least 75 concurrent viewers

You must have an active and verified Kick account and the ‘About’ section of your profile must be complete. You also need to have at least three saved past broadcasts, which should be accessible for on-demand viewing.

“I’m a stay at home mom, and reaching KPP has been a huge help,” says Kick streamer EverydayAva. “I am covering a major expense for my kids through streaming. I’m so grateful for the support that makes it possible.”

Ways to Make Money on Kick

Now that we have covered what Kick.com is and how the Kick Partner Program works, it is also worth taking some time to explore how to make money streaming on the platform, especially with video game content. Broadly speaking, your total earnings will come from four main revenue sources, which are outlined in more detail below:

Viewer Subscriptions

One of the biggest revenue streams for content creators using the Kick platform is viewer subscriptions. On Kick, viewers are able to subscribe to their favorite streamers, financially supporting them in the process. As an incentive to subscribe, these viewers receive perks, such as subscriber badges and exclusive emotes to use in chat.

Kick is notable among video live-streaming platforms for its generous approach to viewer subscription revenue for content creators. In total, streamers receive 95% of subscription fees, with the platform taking just 5%. So, for example, for every $4.99 subscription you attract, you will receive roughly $4.75.

If you are able to build a loyal subscriber base, your earnings potential can be enormous.

Sponsorships and Advertising

Kick allows the content creators on its platform to earn additional money by seeking out sponsorships from other companies. Many streamers on the platform agree sponsorship deals and promote products or services during their live streams. They then money from their sponsor in exchange for increasing the brand’s marketing reach.

This is primarily handled off-site, but there are some important rules to follow. Advertisements or sponsored content need to be clearly marked as such and you are not allowed to promote products or services without making it clear that you are being paid to do so. You are free to negotiate your own sponsorship deals away from Kick.

Donations and Tips

Although Kick does not directly support donations to streamers, aside from subscription fees, you may be able to supplement your earnings through donations and tips. This will typically occur through a third-party platform, but you can add a link for donations to your Kick channel bio and generous viewers can support you financially.

A similar mechanism, which is available through Kick, is the option for viewers to gift a subscription to another viewer. The viewer receiving the gift will get the same benefits as if they personally subscribed. However, by donating the subscription, the person paying is essentially donating 95% of the fee to you as the content creator.

Kick Partner Program

If you are eligible, the Kick Partner Program also provides its own unique revenue stream. This is additional revenue from the platform itself, allocated on a performance basis. The program’s revenue is calculated in real-time and is based on each organic stream you generate from viewers. In other words, you are paid per stream.

This money is paid alongside the 95/5 split for subscriptions. Combined, this means these two revenue streams provide a reward not only for generating views but also for turning those views into lasting audience loyalty. It should be noted, however, that Kick Partner Program income is reduced by 50% if you choose to multi-stream on other platforms.

“After running the numbers: I make roughly 4.5x WEEKLY in comparison to what I do on Twitch’s MONTHLY paycheck with the same number of viewers,” says Nudah, a video game streamer on Kick. “It is without a doubt the fastest, most seamless way to turn numbers on the screen into dollars in your pocket.”

Kick’s Approach to Multi-Streaming

Compared to other platforms, Kick has always had a relaxed approach to multi-streaming and has openly supported this practice even when other major platforms were insisting on exclusivity requirements. In this sense, Kick was ahead of the curve and on the side of content creators looking to maximize reach and revenue from the very start.

Multi-streaming involves simultaneously streaming across multiple platforms. As a Kick streamer, for example, you can choose to stream exclusively on Kick, but you can also choose to stream on Kick, YouTube and Twitch at the same time.

Of course, Kick does want to encourage streamers to prioritize its platform and this is done through financial incentives. By default, you can earn 50% of your usual revenue on Kick while multi-streaming on other platforms. This give you the free choice of prioritizing Kick for 100% revenue instead, or making up for the 50% reduction by building revenue streams across other video live-streaming platforms. Different content creators adopt different approaches here.

However, it is important to remember that Kick offers a 95/5 split on subscription revenue. As a streamer, you collect 95% of all subscription revenue, with the platform only taking a 5% cut. This is a very generous revenue split when compared to the other major platforms out there, so it often makes sense to prioritize Kick streams.

Kick’s approach to multi-streaming can also be very appealing if you already have an established audience on other platforms. Kick often fast-tracks the review process for content creators who are active on Twitch and the multi-streaming approach makes it easy for streamers to test out Kick.com before making a long-term commitment.

The Last Word

Whether you are an existing content creator or are looking to dip your toes into the live streaming waters for the first time, Kick is a platform that deserves attention. With a 95/5 split on subscriptions revenue favoring content creators, it is also a live-stream service that believes in putting creators first and rewarding their hard work.

The Kick Partner Program expands on this, providing additional revenue on a per stream basis. This makes joining the program a useful goal to work towards as you expand your audience. As an added benefit, Kick supports multi-streaming, so you can join the platform at any time, even if you have an established audience elsewhere.