The practice of streaming video games has rapidly grown into a profitable and popular means of entertainment. Some streamers bring home pay checks thanks to donations and sponsorships, and even people who broadcast casual games find community in live play. But with that community still being so new, it’s bound to find some roadblocks that pop up within the ‘Wild West’ era of legal development. Earlier today, one streamer boldly broke the general rules of streaming on Twitch by broadcasting a live UFC fight — and how he got away with it will, at the very least, make you chuckle.
UFC 3 has great graphics #twitchclips @Alester2010 https://t.co/chkgJHGFMq
— AJ (@alester2010) December 3, 2017
It’s most certainly illegal to stream Pay Per View and branded or licensed content live on Twitch and other services, so most of these places have algorithms in place to detect streams that break the rules. But one streamer, Lester_Gaming, figured out a way around it. While we’re not sure exactly how long this streamer broadcast the fight, the clip (which he captioned with a mention of Electronic Arts’ UFC 3 graphics) posted from the stream is pretty hilarious.
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In it, he outright pretends to play a video game, loudly tapping on his controller and commenting on the match as though he were in control of one of the fighters. The clip serves as a reminder that audiences will always be smarter than companies think they are, especially when it comes to sharing content.
Unfortunately, it’s still against the rules. Per Twitch’s IRL Streaming FAQ:
Q: What can’t I broadcast under IRL?
- Content you do not have the rights to broadcast, including web browsing, movies, TV shows, music videos, sports matches, and live performances.
For anyone who is interested in playing EA Sports’ UFC 3, it arrives on Playstation 4 and Xbox One on February 2nd of next year.
