Twitch and YouTube may be cutting back on streamer signings, but Kick is going full send. The free-spending platform has signed Nelk, the creator group behind the Full Send podcast and the Happy Dad hard seltzer brand.
Kick announced the deal on X. The Nelk boys confirmed the pact and said they have “big moves coming” in the streaming space. On YouTube, Kyle Forgeard — who hosts Nelk videos alongside creators like SalimTheDream, SteveWillDoIt — said that the group’s first Kick stream will be a “crazy” experience involving pranks and partying. “We’re doing our first ever Nelk IRL stream on Kick,” Forgeard said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen. We might get canceled.”
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Sportskeeda describes the deal as an exclusive agreement that includes no other streaming platforms. Nelk has gone live on Twitch before, but their viewership there lags far behind their YouTube traffic. Kick is betting on Nelk to bring its highly engaged podcast audience into the streaming world. One year after its initial launch, the platform backed by betting company Stake has already inked deals with big names like xQc and Amouranth.
Kick’s Nelk deal could signal a shifting strategy. Previously, the upstart streaming hub set its signature green crosshairs on creators who had previously established themselves on platforms like Twitch. Rival platforms are questioning whether those high-profile deals validate the six- and seven-figure investments they require, but Kick is taking a different approach: It is approaching a big-name creator group that is known for its videos and podcasts more than its streams.
Will that shakeup usher in a new paradigm for streamer signings? We’ll start to find out as Nelk inaugurates its Kick era with a Halloween stream on October 27.
