Are fan TV’s success based on a team’s misfortunes?
As the season is just starting to begin, many fan TV’s will start uploading more videos. As a fan TV mainly uploads throughout the season, one of the main questions about fan TV’s is about whether they’re Schadenfreudes or not. Fan TV’s have been used to create a community of where fans can voice their opinions, however, it’s come to the point of which being part of a fan TV is a seriously profitable business.
Schadenfreude
A schadenfreude is anyone that finds joy or pleasure from one or many’s misfortunes. Whether it’s fail videos or rants, if you want any video that involves one being in a position of misfortune, than you are a Schadenfreude. The main audience for these fan channels are in fact schadenfreude, and fans that can honestly just have a laugh.
Peripheral route of persuasion
The peripheral route of persuasion occurs when the audience deicdes to pay attention to something else than what the person is saying. For example, with Troopz, most people pay attention to how he speaks rather than what he says.
The formula of success
- The team loses
- Fans rant
- More views on the videos
- More money from ad revenue
Arsenal Fan TV
Arsenal Fan TV is the most popular fan channel on this list and it’s rise been depended on the team’s failure. While some of the fans do make some valid points, the views on that the channel gets is also dependent on the amount of rants. Fans that consistently appear on the channel such as DT and Troopz have started YouTube channels after first appearing on Arsenal Fan TV, just so they can earn more money and record more rants. The way that Arsenal Fan TV is counterintuitive. While the fans would want the team to be performing well, they certainly would also want the channel to be growing.
Full Time Devils
Just like how Arsenal Fan TV’s most popular videos include either DT, Troopz, or Claude, FullTimeDevils’ most popular videos primarily include Andy Tate. Similar, to Arsenal Fan TV, Full Time Devils’ success is built on the clubs’ failure, which probably explains why Full Time Devils don’t grow as much as Arsenal Fan TV. However, unlike Arsenal Fan TV, where fans have started their own YouTube channels, Full Time Devils still has its own core of supporters that will join a fan cam after every game. While this channel thrives on rants, the fact that the likes of Andy Tate haven’t started their own YouTube channel can highlight that these fans aren’t doing it for the money.
100 Percent Chelsea and CFC Fan TV
Another fan channel, another channel that thrives on the team’s misfortunes. 100 Percent Chelsea is similar to the other fan channels in the sense that its most popular video is a rant, but unlike Arsenal Fan TV, the fans that are recorded don’t do it for the money. Unlike DT and Troopz who have started YouTube channels and thrived on the publicity from Arsenal Fan TV, the regulars on 100 Percent Chelsea and CFC Fan TV have found other productive job opportunities elsewhere. The likes of Louis and Sophie have joined the Real Football Fan Show, a show on Channel 4, and also are part of Ball Street, a fan channel that includes all the fans.
Exceptions
Ball Street
Ball Street is a channel that includes all the fans from different teams and they discuss the week’s hot topics. However, unlike fan TV’s, their channel is built on productive discussions about what’s happening in football, rather than short 5 minute rant videos about the result of a match. What makes them also stand out is their ability to gather different opinions from different fans of different clubs, and because of that, not only are you eliminating biases, but you’re also eliminating groupthink (when harmony in a group is more important than anything else).
The Real Football Fan Show
The Real Football Fan Show is a recent fan show started by Channel 4 and is presented by Arsenal Fan TV’s very own, Robbie Lyle. This is similar to Ball Street in a sense that there’s multiple fans with multiple opinions, but on a grander scale. Unlike Ball Street which has certain representatives, the show also goes to certain stadiums and ask the fans what they think. By doing this, they’re able to gather a general consensus rather than purely basing an opinion on one fan that supports a certain team.
Redmen TV
The Redmen TV is a fan channel but it’s different in a sense that it has a variety of content that many can subscribe. Unlike the other fan channels, whose success is mainly based on fancams, the Redmen TV have also recorded videos with Liverpool players and because of that, they’re able to incorporate multiple audiences.
The True Geordie
Unlike the following channels above, the True Geordie has actually deviated from rants, now having his own podcast series, started up a channel called “XO” with Will Lenney, Laurence McKenna, and Stephen Tries, and occasionally does commentary. Nonetheless, the True Geordie became viral after a rant about Nile Ranger, and soon started making more rant videos to grow his fanbase.
Does fan TV’s measure success by the team’s performances or the views on the channel?
Well at the end of the day, it seems that fan channels thrive on a team’s misfortunes, hence being Schadenfreude. At the end of the day, people love entertainment, and many find entertainment from fans ranting. While it may be unfortunate that DT and Troopz are known for their ranting rather than their arguments, their ranting and ability to entertain people has certainly helped them build their publicity.
