Ninja Revealed Why He Won't Sign Another Exclusivity Deal (EXCLUSIVE)

It's not easy being the most-followed streamer on Twitch — but Tyler "Ninja" Blevins sure does make it look easy.

After sharing the news of his cancer diagnosis with his followers, he's continued to keep up with his rigorous streaming schedule. This spring, Tyler partnered with Knorr's #ModtheVeg campaign, encouraging his followers to sign the petition to make vegetables more powerful in video games while streaming (including a Fortnite mod inspired by the short-lived Only Up).

Following this partnership and his recent clean bill of health, Tyler spoke with Distractify about maintaining his sprawling platform. In addition to being the most-followed streamer on Twitch, he also takes his streams across platforms when he goes live, as he's no longer committed to one streaming service.

And he said he worked hard to make that possible for everyone in the streaming community.

Throughout his career as a streamer, Tyler has had deals with Twitch and Mixer, exclusively streaming on each of these platforms for periods of time. But after returning to Twitch following Mixer's shutdown, he made the argument that multicasting wouldn't actually hurt a streaming platform's viewership.

"I wanted to — this is going to sound weird — like add-on to my streaming legacy. I loved being able to leave Twitch, join another platform, and launch those crazy exclusivity deals, like that was a really big moment for us. And then after that, I was like what's another wave that we can make?" he shared.

Tyler explained how he pitched the idea of multicasting to Twitch, arguing that creators should be allowed to monetize their Twitch content while also streaming on other platforms.

"Just because I'm live on YouTube, or I'm live on another large platform doesn't mean that people are going to leave Twitch and watch me there," Tyler said. Now he streams simultaneously on just about every livestreaming platform — including TikTok. And other streamers are allowed that luxury too, thanks to his proposal.

"Now people can multicast and make revenue on Twitch, so that's another huge W for us, I feel," he continued.

But of course, managing multiple audiences at once isn't for the weak. Tyler said he has his moderators to thank for managing the chats on his different platforms, especially because they all vary widely. He also noted that just because streamers can now cast across different platforms simultaneously doesn't mean they should do it.

"Multicasting isn't for everybody. I think it depends on your audience," he said. "If you're a smaller streamer, packing everyone into one place is sometimes the right thing, making them all feel special and loved. Because it really can alienate people, I think, if you do multicast and you don't do it right."

Having the resources to manage all of those chats also helps, but every audience is different, and it takes time to learn how to connect with each of them authentically.

For newer streamers trying to get the hang of things, Tyler also had some words of advice:

"Just go to another large streamer who has their chat moving really, really fast, and just practice on your own as if it was yours," he said. "How would you react to these messages if it was your stream?"

"If you're not having fun, your viewers aren't having fun. So like, have fun," he said.