Twitch streamer to show rest of Prem season in France

An online streamer with about 11,000 subscribers has bought the rights to show the rest of the Prem season in France.

Florian Marliere, whose Janusport outlet attracts most of its viewers on Twitch, told French newspaper L’Equipe that he had paid a “five-figure sum” in a deal which also includes an option for the 2026-27 campaign.

His coverage starts on Friday with defending champions Bath’s meeting with Saracens.

The 2024-25 season was shown in France on a one-year deal with mainstream broadcaster Bein Sport, but the strength of French domestic rugby and local fan loyalties make it a difficult market to sell to.

“It all stems from frustration, that a rugby fan like myself, can no longer watch this exciting competition,” Marliere told L’Equipe.

“Honestly, the idea isn’t to make money with this project; we’ll probably even lose some. But I hope that the increased visibility will lead to side projects that might be more profitable.”

Marliere is not the first streamer to broadcast action free on YouTube.

Mark Goldbridge, whose That’s Football channel has more than 1.5 million subscribers, shows football from Germany’s Bundesliga, while the Pro D2 – the second tier of French domestic rugby – is available in the UK on start-up channel FR-UK.