In episode 10 of 7 vs. Wild on YouTube, the participants experience the 4th night alone on an island off the coast of Panama. Twitch streamer Jens ‘Knossi’ Knossalla speaks up in the middle of the night and explains how sad he finds the situation on television.
In the YouTube show 7 vs. Wild, 7 German-speaking influencers have been left on an island off the coast of Panama. They are supposed to survive alone for 7 days, cut off from civilization, with only a few items and camera equipment.
The most prominent participant of the 2nd season of 7 vs. Wild is Jens ‘Knossi’ Knossalla. In 2021, he was briefly the biggest Twitch streamer in the world, his Angelcamp format created a real hype around him.
However, Knossi was already very active in show business before Twitch: he appeared as an actor in court shows, participated in game shows, and even appeared for a short time in the soap opera Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten.
Knossi has always wanted to be in showbiz, and in 7 vs. Wild, he explained that television has always been the biggest stage for him. But, as television is currently running, he sees no future for the medium.
7 vs. Wild: Knossi – ‘I just want to get this off my chest’
It is the 4th night of 7 vs. Wild. No participant has been able to sleep well so far, not even Knossi. Now he also has toothaches – a bridge is apparently causing trouble.
Knossi spoke up three times during this night and shared his opinion on the current state of television. He seems visibly moved. For him, television has always been the thing, and he finds it very sad – it really bothers him – that the medium is not managing to reach new target groups:
Can I tell you something? About myself and something that really bothers me. It just bothers me, I want to get this off my chest.
Since I was a little boy, I’ve been fascinated by show business. I love it all. The glamour, the glitz, the studio lights, the smell, the red light of a camera.
I have been fascinated since I was a little boy. For me, it has always been clear – show business. I never thought it wouldn’t work out. Very strange. I never thought at any moment: ‘This won’t work, I need an alternative.’ Never had that.
I’m thinking about it for so long that it makes me so, so sad that television cannot reinvent itself. I can’t understand how someone can be so stupid. It’s unbelievable.
You know what I mean? First, we had the talk show wave, then the court show wave, then comes the scripted reality wave on television. And now they can’t manage to attract the new audience. All market shares are going to the internet.
Television was so big – you know what I mean? Television is the biggest stage. The biggest stage of all stages. We can’t keep up with the internet.
Of course, we are making our own creative stuff. But television has the most money. That will change eventually if they continue like this. They are doing a retro wave for the people who loved television back then, to keep them loving television.
You must urgently reinvent yourselves now. I am also thinking about what else can be done for you. You need to reinvent yourselves.
It just bothered me, I had to say it. It bothers me so much. It really bothers me.
We will embed the corresponding episode of 7 vs. Wild here. The segment with Knossi starts at minute 58:00:
Recently, a colleague of Knossi also expressed similar negative views about working in television. Together with Knossi, Trymacs, and UnsympathischTV, MontanaBlack participated in the Wok-WM by ProSieben. It didn’t go well for the team, Trymacs even got injured.
Monte also made a clear statement and explained what bothers him about television.
The media landscape has been changing for years. Younger target groups are watching less and less television – streaming is the new trend.
A study by the Commission for the Determination of Concentration in the Media Sector found that in 2021, people over 50 spent more than 5.5 hours a day in front of the TV. In contrast, the important and advertiser-relevant target group of 14 to 49-year-olds only managed 121 minutes per day (via kek-online.de).
Whether Knossi achieves anything with his appeal to television can be questioned. However, the success of such large formats like 7 vs. Wild cannot be denied – episode 10 stands at over 2.5 million views 16 hours after release.
