Karim Benzema talks to Zack Nani, Romain Molina’s investigations shake up the world of football, and Wiloo’s YouTube analyses set new standards… For Generation Z, football is experienced on social networks.
Still little known to the general public, a universe bubbling with creativity is booming, live on Twitch or through YouTube videos. “Young people watch football differently, they spend their time on social networks,” explains Bastien Tardy from Reech, a company specializing in influence marketing. For him, “Youtubers and streamers have been chosen by the audience, not by a TV channel imposing a presenter. They have all broken through thanks to their talent, their work, and the audience,” continues Tardy.
According to all the content creators interviewed by AFP, it’s the “freedom of tone” that appeals to them most. “Total freedom of action,” adds Wiloo, who has 553.000 subscribers on YouTube, where he focuses on game analysis. On these Internet channels, “we’re not restricted, it’s a tone that the public likes, that corresponds to them, especially the younger generations,” states Bruce Grannec, one of the hosts of the weekly talk show “Hors-Jeu” on Twitch.
Interaction with chat
This style seems to have a future. “We’re growing up, young people have grown up at the same time as us, and we feel that a switch is taking place between TV and social networks, which is why a lot of shows like “Hors-Jeu” and others are doing so well,” he adds. What Bruce “prefers is the interaction with the chat, being able to laugh during the show with messages” from the community. “People want to take part in the show, to react to it,” adds Bastien Tardy, “you can ask lots of questions during a live show, the programs are co-created with the audience.”
Building on this success, Youtubers are reaching an ever-wider audience. While Romain Molina works with many “classic” international media (The Guardian, The New York Times, the BBC…), he has made a name for himself via his channel. It allows him “to reach those who don’t like to read too much, to popularize and make (his) information accessible to as many people as possible,” he explains. “For me, it’s important,” he stresses. For example, his investigations helped bring down the president of the Haitian Football Federation, Yves Jean-Bart, who was accused of sexually assaulting young female footballers. “There would never have been so much impact if I hadn’t had this video broadcast,” Molina believes.
Ancients and moderns
Zack Nani’s interviews often exceed one million views. In early November, he managed to land a one-on-one interview with Karim Benzema, fresh from winning the Ballon d’or: 1.6 million views in total for almost an hour and a half of interview. Despite the growing success of these content creators, there is still a quarrel between the ancients and the moderns.
“Some older journalists, and many press officers from Ligue 1 clubs, don’t understand what I do. They say YouTube is almost an insult,” smiles 27-year-old Florian Gautier. He innovated with his “Two nights with” concept, where he spends 48 hours in the homes of sportsmen and sportswomen, like Dortmund striker Sébastien Haller. “However, this is just a way of putting videos on a platform. What I do is simply documentary,” adds the self-proclaimed “sports journalist.” However, the modern tone of streamers is beginning to appeal to the “old hands.” The “L’Équipe” channel has attracted four of them to its upcoming fall schedule: “Hors-Jeu” trio Bruce, Brak and Quento, and Zack Nani. They will host the program “L’Équipe de choc” alongside Bertrand Latour and France Pierron.
Brak “laughs” at the ancients and the moderns. “What’s to stop anyone talking about football?” he asks. “We’ve always watched it, it’s our passion, and I’m sorry to say it like this, but we don’t fart higher than our ass, we tell it like we live it. Apparently, people are interested (150.000 views per show). As far as I’m concerned, that’s where the legitimacy lies!”
