“Well, I have just acquired the rights to broadcast the debate on Twitch (…) Do we comment on this together?” Journalist Samuel Étienne launched on Twitter on Monday, accompanied by the link to his Twitch channel.
Not really "rights", but rather "1,500 euros excluding tax" of "participation in technical costs", to reuse the images of TF1 and France 2, the presenter of "Questions for a champion" told AFP on Tuesday.
A sum, but his "community seemed really ready for that moment", he explains, noting the strong audiences of his program dedicated to the first round of the presidential election on April 10 with "300,000 unique spectators".
"On Twitch, we really have time to talk about the issue of the debate" and the interaction "seduces" the spectators, appreciates the journalist-streamer.
Samuel Étienne was quickly joined by other Twitch figures: political streamer Jean Massiet, former collaborator of ex-minister Marisol Touraine, YouTuber with two million subscribers HugoDécrypte and the very popular Sardoche (1.2 million fans on Twitch).
“I grabbed the broadcasting rights, no risk of ban” this time, said Hugo Travers, alias HugoDécrypte, in a tweet.
In September, he broadcast the debate between LFI candidates Jean-Luc Mélenchon and far-right Éric Zemmour on his channel.
But BFMTV, exclusive owner of the images, had requested and obtained its suspension from Twitch for 48 hours.
Two other streamers, Sardoche and DanyCaligula, had received the same sanction, and the support of the former LFI candidate.
“We are not stealing from the audience, we are adding an audience” to traditional media, tempers Samuel Étienne, without however defending streamers.
The challenge: to attract "people, a large part of whom would not have gone to conventional channels", almost "a work of public interest".
"We are going to put tens, even hundreds of thousands of people in front of this debate", he rejoices.
The debate, Wednesday from 9 p.m., will be broadcast on TF1, France 2, all the news channels, LCP and Public Sénat.
© 2022 AFP