WWE is set to take over Twitch accounts owned by WWE Superstars in four weeks.
As we’ve noted, WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon issued an edict to talents in September that said they were to cease all unauthorized activity with third party platforms, such as Cameo or Twitch. The edict said repeat violations could result in fines, suspensions or terminations. After backlash from fans, the media, wrestlers, and others, it was later clarified that talents could keep their YouTube and Twitch accounts, but only under their real names, and they still had to inform the company of the accounts.
In an update, Wrestling Inc now reports that Vince sent another e-mail to talents this week and reminded them that they have until Friday, October 2 to cut any unauthorized relationships with third party platforms. They were reminded about the potential fines, suspensions or terminations.
It was also reported that talents were told this week that WWE will be taking control of their Twitch accounts in 4 weeks. The company will reportedly own those accounts, and talents will receive a percentage of the revenue. This revenue will count against the pay from their downside guarantees.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang previously made headlines for speaking out about the original edict in September, and has continued to speak out about WWE’s practices since then. Yang took to Twitter tonight and reacted to the latest report
“This would be infuriating to me if I had spent time building up my social media channels only to have WWE take them over from their ‘independent contractors.’ People are angry and rightfully so,” Yang wrote on Twitter tonight.
Stay tuned for updates on WWE’s edict on third party activity. You can see Yang’s full tweet below.
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