Hey all,
Wondering what the hive mind thinks the effect of
GW's upcoming streaming service will have on the fan made YouTube Battle Reps?
I enjoy several of the big YouTube battle rep channels and so I cannot help but feel a little bit of concern for them. It is clear that several of these studios have sunk in significant capital in order to produce really professional hobby content. It also seems their relationship to
GW is fairly one-sided: they spend many thousands of dollars on
GW products, and
GW maybe sends them a codex in advance or chats with them about some rules ideas and says, "thanks for the feedback
". In many ways, these channels are quite sensitive to any of the changes in Warhammer IP that
GW may decide upon.
With the teasing of the
GW streaming app, it seems to me that
GW is starting to recognise the revenue stream that battle-reps/hobby channels represent. Some of the big Warhammer channels pull sizeable numbers of views, and they're doing so on the back of an IP that is controlled by others.
If
GW were to ramp up their own "competitive meta" battle reports, do you think they would bring in some of the big "Warhammer influencer" channels floating around on YouTube in a more professional capacity? Or is
GW more likely to sit quietly and take notes on what the others are doing, before bringing it all in house and releasing their own product as a direct competitor? How much of a bone will they toss to thank all the fans who have created, developed and perfected this model (professional, competitive esports Warhammer matches)?