For streaming a Madden NFL video game during the Super Bowl, Twitch content creators are mistakenly banned from the platform.
It’s common knowledge that Twitch does not allow the streaming of copyrighted content. There have been numerous reports of content creators being banned or warned for illegally sharing content on their Twitch channel over the years. This content ban obviously includes live or pay-per-view sporting events like the Super Bowl and UFC fights, as well as streaming Madden NFL.
A couple of Twitch’s most popular streamers were recently temporarily banned from the platform due to their anime streaming. Pokimane received a 48-hour Twitch ban for streaming Avatar, and DisguisedToast received a one-month Twitch ban for broadcasting Death Note. DisguisedToast claimed he was banned on purpose in order to deter others from watching anime on the platform. However, because it took so long for the streamer to be kicked — the entirety of Naruto and almost all of Death Note — some people may have concluded that they wouldn’t get in trouble if they did something similar.
On February 13, during the Super Bowl, a large number of Twitch streamers decided to put the platform’s ban hammer to the test once more. Several people live streamed the Super Bowl, some openly and others more subtly by giving their stream a misleading title to make it appear as if they were playing Madden NFL, while others, in an attempt to attract an audience, titled their streams to make viewers believe they were watching the Super Bowl when, in fact, they were playing a video game.
However, Twitch’s ban bots were in full force, and a large number of people were kicked off the platform for illegally streaming the Super Bowl, including those who had mistitled their streams. People who were legitimately playing Madden NFL on Twitch were caught up in the net and banned as well during the trawl.
Hopefully, Twitch streamers who were simply playing Madden NFL on their channels and did not break any rules will have their accounts quickly reinstated. VODs of the streamers’ activity at the time of the bans should help to clarify things.
Unfortunately, bots were responsible for the majority of the bans, as they were likely unable to distinguish between real football coverage and a video game. That means real people will have to double-check all of the support requests and make decisions on a case-by-case basis, which could take some time.
The NPD Group, a market research firm that focuses on a variety of industries, recently released data on video game hardware and software sales for January 2022. Madden NFL 22 came in fifth place on the month’s best-selling games list, so it’s understandable that many streamers were inspired to play the popular game during the Super Bowl.
