Even the greatest of us can fall. On Friday evening, Imane “Pokimane” Anys, one of the most popular streamers on Twitch with over 8.5 million followers, was banned from the platform after streaming the popular cartoon series Avatar: The Last Airbender. The cause of the ban is still unknown, but it is likely the result of a DMCA strike.
According to Twitch tracker, the streamer watched the Nickelodeon show and threw it to approximately 25,000 simultaneous viewers during the stream. Anys didn’t comment directly on how long the ban would last on her other social media platforms. However, at the time of publication, Anys’ Twitch channel is down. Twitch has a three strike policy when it comes to DMCA claims, so their channel will likely be restored.
Anys is a face of the Twitch brand at a time when other popular streamers like Ludwig Ahgren have hit YouTube. In 2020, the streamer signed a multi-year contract to stay on Twitch. After the ban Years joked on Twitter that the Fire Nation was attacked, which is a reference to a popular meme from the show that it was likely banned from streaming.
Streamers broadcasting and commenting on TV is a new trend on Twitch. Known as the “TV meta,” it has become a popular method of attracting viewers’ attention. In December, popular variety show streamer like Félix “xQc” Polish and Hasan “HasanAbi” Piker streamed the presentations of the competitive cooking show Master chef on their channels.
Still, the strategy is risky as Twitch has historically removed content after receiving deactivation requests from companies. In 2020, the streaming platform encouraged Streamer to remove content in order to respect music copyrights. Twitch responds to notifications from copyright owners who have made DMCA requests. In this case, Viacom ownsCBS Avatar: The Last Airbender so his legal team would apply.
A likely DMCA strike against such a popular streamer could have a huge impact on Twitch’s larger TV meta-trend. While Anys’ channel is likely to be restored, it remains to be seen whether other wide variety streamers will continue to respond to shows with threats of an impending takedown.
