It's gotta be a bit of both. Retarded zoomers are the reason you open the stream once. The competition aspect isn't critically important but it's the reason you feel FOMO, because the contestants are under pressure and there are stakes.
There have been funny moments during bitchtank but nothing that elevates it above watching a series of tiktoks of retarded bitches because there's no stakes and the girls are just doing things for attention.
If Sam dangled something, even not money, these girls like attention more so just offer them something that gives them attention, then I think there would be less of a feeling of fuckin around.