Since January 2016, Samuel Étienne has been in charge of the daily game of France 3, “Questions for a champion”. The journalist and presenter had to face the Covid health crisis in March 2020, which impacted all TV presenters and producers. Faced with the crisis, confinements and restrictions, the PAF had to adapt, and all broadcasts had to be done without an audience. This is the case of Do not touch My TVLes 12 coups de midi or even Do not forget the lyrics, who had opted for giant tablets showing spectators from their homes. Since then, although the public has returned to the stands, a few ideas have remained; for example, in Les 12 coups de midi, those close to the champions and candidates always appear via FaceTime. An idea that might not have seen the light of day without Covid…
In reality, not all the shows have found their audience… If Quotidien by Yann Barthès took many months to accept spectators again, Samuel Étienne’s game Questions pour un champion, for his part, did not never found its audience. A decision carefully considered by the production, which noted that the audiences did not decline and remained as efficient as ever, and motivated by the candidates, who realized that the spectators destabilized them and prevented them from hearing the questions asked by the host!
Candidates benefit more from their experience
Guest of the show Culture Media on Europe 1 this Monday, September 25, 2023, Samuel Étienne revealed on the microphone of Thomas Isle that the candidates were doing better since they were no longer disturbed or intimidated by the spectators present in the stands: ”The candidates very quickly got to us says We like it without the audience because we hear the questions better, we concentrate more easily. As the game is really based on the hardness of the questions and the excellence of the candidates, these new conditions are validated by the candidates. The candidates are happier and have a better experience,” underlined the one who regularly officiates on Twitch.
CG