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YouTube, Twitch, Facebook All In Running To Sign Streamer Ninja

The hunt to sign streaming star Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is a three-horse race between YouTube, Twitch and Facebook, and a deal should be wrapped up by the end of the summer, according to sources. Blevins was previously with the Microsoft-owned Mixer platform, but that is now folding and Microsoft has struck a partnership with Facebook to move its streamers over to the Facebook Gaming platform. Blevins declined to immediately join Facebook, which led many to believe it was out of the running. However, a source said that this move was more about him wanting to test the market with all interested parties and that Facebook is still in the running. Yesterday, Blevins streamed on YouTube for the first time -- leading many to believe he had signed an exclusive deal with the Google-owned platform. However, sources said that was more a test than a sign that a deal with YouTube is assured. Esports journalist Rod Breslau first reported yesterday that Blevins had not yet signed an exclusive streaming deal despite the YouTube appearance. Microsoft reportedly paid Blevins $20-30M for his Mixer deal, but it is unclear whether he will be able to command the same numbers now because Twitch appears less keen to shell out big sums of money for streamers than it did before. YouTube has been spending heavily on gaming in recent years. Facebook Gaming has also been spending more recently. Blevins is represented by Loaded, and the agency is in the thick of talks with the three platforms now.

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