The Rocket Beans want to bring new momentum to their program and, starting November 1st, will operate under the motto: “Live is live, VOD is VOD”. They are restructuring their channel significantly, and what this means for you is reported by MeinMMO.
Who are the Rocket Beans? The Beans were founded on June 14, 2012, by the four hosts Budi, Etienne, Nils, Simon and the managing director Arno Heinisch (The links lead to the respective Twitter profiles).
Some names might already be familiar to you from television, as four of the original Beans hosted the gaming show “Game One” on the MTV television channel starting in 2006. The show mainly focused on video games, while on Rocket Beans TV they catered to a broader spectrum.
After “Game One” was canceled at the end of 2014, they established their own programming, which was released on the eponymous YouTube channel.
How does their current program run? The current program of the Rocket Beans consists of a mix of live broadcasts and recorded shows that are streamed live. The Beans follow a broadcasting schedule similar to that of TV listings (via Rocket Beans TV).
The Rocket Beans can be found 24/7 on their website, Twitch, or YouTube. However, they want to change this now; Nils said: “We believe we’ve played enough television now – it’s time for something new again.”
This is how their new motto works:
“Live is live, VOD is VOD” aims to show you only live content when it is actually live. This means the stream will no longer run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week across different platforms.
The Beans briefly explained in this video how their program will run from November 1st:
There is also a longer video where Etienne, Colin, Andreas, Lisa, and Arno talk about the restructuring and go into more detail about the changes (via YouTube).
This is how their plan should look now:
- Live streams on Thursday and Friday.
- The live streams will subsequently be available as VOD.
- An additional live event on one Saturday each month.
- The recorded shows will be uploaded on the remaining weekdays to their corresponding YouTube channels.
- Individual hosts from Rocket Beans TV will stream on their own Twitch channels.
What do the Beans aim to achieve with this restructuring? Nils states in the video that the linear format of the channel restricts the Beans and that it is time for something new. They want to produce cooler content, become more flexible, and strengthen the aspect of events and larger shows.
With the individual streams of the hosts, flexibility is to be strengthened, as the streamers can decide for themselves how long they want to play a game and how they manage it. Let’s Plays should not be overlooked with this new broadcasting rhythm.
Such “Let’s Play” formats like “Knallhart durchgenommen” can then be uploaded as recordings throughout the week. These formats do not require a live stream.
Furthermore, Collin emphasizes that this makes block productions possible. If the Rocket Beans notice that a game is particularly well received, they can bring more episodes directly. Planning will thus become easier.
Further detailed questions and answers can also be found on the Beans’ page (via Rocket Beans TV).
This is how the community reacts to the change:
Under the announcement video, fans express mixed feelings.
- User Skittles expresses his concerns: “I don’t watch Twitch. It will probably become even more confusing for people like me, who generally don’t always have the time and desire to check 30 channels and websites :(‘
- Some fans are confused, Sebastian S summarizes: “I’m getting too old… I don’t understand it anymore.”
- Daniel Hebel notes: “You forget something: Twitch and YouTube partly have different target groups. I find it disappointing that you’re relocating parts of a format (e.g. speedrun training) to Twitch. I would love to absorb the full program – but have nothing to do with Twitch. I can hardly imagine that the majority will hop between platforms to catch everything. You say you’re giving the platforms what they want. Instead, you should ask the viewer what they want. Please make everything available as VOD on YouTube. Thank you.”
- User Mac is concerned but supports the Beans: “I won’t lie: I have a pretty bad feeling about this and I’m worried, but I will continue to support you.”
Part of the community believes: The change could lead to certain formats fading away or the community having to go on a long search to find individual and suitable content for themselves. It remains to be seen whether the new motto will be successful or whether the Rocket Beans will benefit less from it.
What do you think about the program changes of the Rocket Beans? Do you still follow the Rocket Beans or do you want to watch their shows now? Feel free to leave us a comment.
