Tyler “Ninja” Blevins today streamed on YouTube for the first time, but the streamer has not made an official announcement on where he will be streaming long term at time of writing. According to sources and esports reporter Rod “Slasher” Breslau, Blevins is still in negotiations with multiple platforms and has not yet signed an exclusive deal. With his Mixer deal now null-and-void, Blevins is able to stream on any platform he desires without restriction. It is possible he will also stream on Twitch later in the week, increasing competition between the two most likely candidates for his exclusivity.
Previously, the 29-year old had signed an exclusive streaming deal with Amazon’s platform, Mixer, worth $20-30M USD. However, Blevin’s became a free agent and was paid the remainder of the contract with Mixer when the company announced that it would be shutting the service down.
The popular gaming streamer saw a huge surge in popularity when the Epic Game’s title Fortnite made its way into pop culture. With more of a cartoon feel towards violence, the battle royale game captured audiences world-wide by creating dance moves associated with emotes inside the game. The “Floss” dance became a sensation across the globe as children and adults alike copied the in-game dance moves.
Blevins boasts more than 23M subscribers on his YouTube channel and has made appearances on shows such as “Ellen,” “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” and “The Family Feud.” He also signed a deal with Parker Brothers that his names, logo and colors adorn a collection of Nerf toys.
