Star Wars: An Empirical Study of Star Performer Turnover and Content Supply on Multisided Streaming Platforms

Practice Abstract Live-streaming platforms fiercely compete for top content creators, yet little is known about the effects of losing a star performer. This study examines the impact of the 2019 departure of Fortnite streamer Richard Tyler “Ninja” Blevins from Twitch to Mixer. Using a quasi-experimental research design, we find that Ninja’s exit led to a 20.4% decline in content production from peer creators, which reveals a critical spillover effect on content supply. Contrary to concerns that creators would abandon Twitch entirely, our findings suggest that they instead downsized their output. Notably, streamers with diversified content portfolios and larger followings were more resilient to the star’s departure. For platform managers, these results highlight the strategic importance of retaining top creators to sustain both direct and indirect content supply. Managing star departures effectively is crucial for ensuring a stable content ecosystem. Efforts to counteract negative spillovers may include incentivizing content diversification and mitigating reliance on individual stars, for instance, through enhancing visibility and monetization opportunities for midtier creators. Strengthening platform loyalty through long-term incentives might also reduce the risk of sudden exits.