Smash Streamer ZeRo Moves to Facebook Gaming
Smash streamers have long had small but highly loyal fanbases following them, with even big names in the community such as MKLeo and Hungrybox failing to go far past 1,000-1,500 average viewers at most.
That hasn’t stopped the social media company from trying to pick a couple of the fighting stars up, though, as Smash celebrity ZeRo of Tempo Storm has signed an exclusive streaming deal with Facebook Gaming.
Issues with Facebook Gaming
While the ZeRo Facebook Gaming deal is a huge move, making him the first FGC streamer known to have gotten an exclusivity deal, there are still concerns about the long-term impact the move will have upon his career.
Facebook Gaming has been widely criticized for the poor design of the platform and flagging viewership numbers for those who have moved there.
Tournament organizer ESL had previously set up a deal to exclusively stream their events on the platform, leaving a short while later after viewership numbers plummeted from their highs on Twitch.
The move is the second streamer snatched up by Facebook in the past two weeks after signing Disguised Toast, and even he has already seen his viewership numbers begin to rapidly drop.
Smash players already maintain low viewership numbers, so switching to a platform like Facebook Gaming seems like a poor move, though their followers tend to be more loyal than traditional stream followers, so they may maintain a similar level of viewership.
Analysis on Facebook’s Strategy
Picking up ZeRo and Disguised Toast gives a pretty solid idea of Facebook’s strategy when it comes to picking up streamers.
Instead of grabbing the biggest names with massive followings in Fortnite or other BR games, Facebook seems focused on streamers who play a variety of games or small niche communities that don’t get quite as much streaming exposure.
This could intern make Facebook Gaming the home for these communities, drawing them over as the defacto place to stream their games and tournaments, which in the case of a game like Smash could become a pretty big deal.
It’s a smart move honestly, as it gives them much less competition to fight with over talent, and also gives them a leg up in negotiations in terms of payment, as many of these streamers don’t have the lofty pay requirements of someone like Ninja or Shroud.
It’s still going to be an uphill battle for Facebook given the problems with their platform and the high distrust the company has built up over the last couple of years between the public and governments, but carving a home for underserved niches and communities could make them into a serious contender in the battle of the streaming platforms.
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