kick is reportedly working on a program that could let viewers pay to watch streams. The news comes courtesy of a major streamer on the platform.

While Twitch is still not profitable, other streaming platforms are trying to replace the platform as the largest streaming service. While Twitch is still extremely popular, some streamers have expanded to services like Kick and YouTube. Some streamers are leaving Twitch because they were banned, while others have landed lucrative deals because they left their usual streaming services. In any case, Kick doesn’t seem to be done making its service attractive to streamers and viewers alike.

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According to Adin Ross, Kick is working on a new currency that will be paid out to viewers who spend time watching streams. During a stream, Ross said that the Kick currency will work similarly to Twitch’s Bits, but viewers will be able to benefit from it, not just those who watch it. This is an interesting difference, as users have to spend money to get Bits on Twitch, and these are used to further boost streamers, rather than the other way around. Ross notes that he could “give a kick” that users could then “cash out.” However, he goes on to point out that “not everyone” gets paid to watch, so it’s not clear what that currency would earn a viewer.

Kicks new currency

Although this sounds promising in theory, there are currently many unanswered questions about it. For example, there is no information about how much the kick currency would be worth, how many times a viewer could earn it, what the payout threshold would be, and so on. Aside from encouraging viewers to tune in to channels, it could also help Kick complete with things like Twitch Drops, which can reward viewers with in-game items for watching for a certain amount of time.

Kick is still looking for content creators to join its platform, but it remains to be seen whether Twitch will lose its top spot as a streaming service. Google continues to host major content creators on its own service while trying to compete with the likes of TikTok with YouTube’s vertical video content shorts. It will be interesting to see if Kick Currency gets more viewers to watch streams on its service. For those who already watch their favorite streamers on Kick, it’s likely something they’ll continue to tune in once implemented, which is good for the streamers there. However, whether it will be enough to attract viewers who don’t normally use Kick remains to be seen.