PewDiePie livestream exclusively on YouTube

PewDiePie signed an exclusive streaming contract on YouTube, the platform he has been with for a decade and become the world's leading YouTuber.

"YouTube has been my home for over 10 years so it's natural to stream live on the platform as I look for new ways to create content and interact with global fans," PewDiePie said on 4/5. "I will focus on livestreaming in 2020 and beyond. Partnering with YouTube helps me gain access to new and exciting features in the future."

PewDiePie, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, is the YouTube channel owner with 104 million subscribers, second only to Indian music channel T-Series (137 million subscribers). Swedish YouTuber has emerged as the most sought-after star of the world's most popular video streaming platform since 2013. According to YouTube, PewDiePie videos "have attracted 25 billion views to date, far ahead of all individual YouTube channels in history".

PewDiePie is the latest star to sign an exclusive broadcast deal on YouTube. Photo: Washington Post.

PewDiePie is committed to sticking with YouTube in the context of live broadcast platforms competing fiercely for exclusive contracts with the influential individuals of the gaming industry.

With the current fan base, PewDiePie is expected to soon become the leading streamer. According to the Washington Post, his charisma comes from unexpected situations, his ability to act on his own, and his distinctive voice and entertaining content.

Business Insider said that the contract between PewDiePie and YouTube is a strong blow to the ambition of Twitch, owned by Amazon. Twitch was originally the place where PewDiePie hosted a number of livestreams and was rated as the leading streaming platform in recent years based on community experience and revenue for streamers.

Thanks to game content, especially eSports, YouTube quickly became a rival of Twitch. Prior to PewDiePie, former professional Call of Duty gamer Jack "CouRage" Dunlop with 2.1 million subscribers on Twitch also switched to an exclusive livestream for YouTube. In addition, Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, the popular streamer in the PUBG community with 3 million followers, also left Twitch to join the Microsoft Mixer platform.

In an interview on the Hollywood Reporter, Ryan Wyatt, head of YouTube's game content division, insisted on not intentionally "stealing or stealing" streamer of other platforms. "We will continue to invest to facilitate the growth of YouTube content creators," he said.

However, the contract with PewDiePie carries unpredictable risks for YouTube because he has been involved in a series of scandals, from receiving Warner Bros advertising money to racist statements. The 31-year-old star and YouTube were criticized when a terrorist called for "PewDiePie channel registration" during the shootings at a mosque in New Zealand in 2019. In addition, he was suspected of fooling fans to Interactive sentence, when announcing the 2016 channel deletion and retirement in 2019.