AFTV

AFTV (formerly known as ArsenalFanTV) is a football fan YouTube channel and website directed at Arsenal supporters. Based in England, the channel started in 2012. Their channel includes fan interviews, previews and reviews of Arsenal players. They have interviewed past and current players including Olivier Giroud, Ian Wright and Thierry Henry.
History.
The channel was created on YouTube in October 2012, and was founded by former BBC reggae radio host Robbie Lyle. Lyle had worked as a surveyor before quitting his job to work on ArsenalFanTV full-time. He created the channel with his cameraman 'Tao' who had also quit his job to pursue a career on YouTube.
Their first fan interviews were after Arsenal's 5–2 win against local rivals Tottenham Hotspur. When asked by Vice on why he created the channel Lyle said "we've all had enough of the so-called pundits, most of whom aren't even at the games. So I started my own channel to hear from the real fans, with real opinions. That was my aim with the site". ArsenalFanTV pioneered the concept of supporters led TV or "Fan TV" which has led to other club supporters creating similar channels on YouTube.
Since its creation, the channel has continued to provide viewers with fan interviews and content about Arsenal on social media. But its rise in the YouTube community occurred as a result of many viral videos it has posted from fan interviews. The channel has posted interviews of many angry rants from Arsenal supporters directed at the club's ownership. Many of these fan interviews include Chris Hudson's rant after the loss to Aston Villa in 2013 and Troopz in 2017 following Arsenal's 5–1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
The rise of the channel has been helped by viral videos it has posted from fan interviews, with fans venting their frustration at the club following defeats. Much of the anger from supporters on the channel was directed towards former manager Arsène Wenger, who many believed should have resigned following his long tenure at the London-based club, especially during the 2016–17 season where there was a divide among Arsenal fans, with a minority being 'Wenger In' and a majority being 'Wenger Out' There has also been criticism towards major shareholder Stan Kroenke who many Arsenal fans believe he should sell his shares to the next major shareholder Alisher Usmanov, following claims of his lack of desire towards the club, and comments made by Kroenke himself stating that he "didn't buy Arsenal stakes to win trophies". This was referenced on BT Sport by the former England international Rio Ferdinand when he mentioned the frustration of Arsenal supporters with Wenger on ArsenalFanTV in 2016.
On 20 April 2018, Channel 4 premiered a new late-night football show called "The Real Football Fan Show" hosted by Lyle and featuring many ArsenalFanTV regulars. In March 2020, Lyle was also the subject of an ITV documentary "Robbie Lyle: Football Fans Under Their Skin" in which he discusses racism within football and the experiences of black football supporters.
Notable contributors.
Although the channel interviews a variety of Arsenal supporters after every game, there are a few supporters who are regularly interviewed by Robbie Lyle and are well known by many of the channel's viewers.
Controversies.
2017.
The channel has received many criticisms. Lawrence Tallis, the creative director of Big Balls Films (which launched COPA90), questioned whether many viewers were watching the channel for analysis of Arsenal or for the entertainment. Similarly, former Manchester United player and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville criticised Arsenal fans who appeared on the channel for being too harsh on Wenger. "I was watching Arsenal fans slating and slanging into him, and I thought, 'he doesn't deserve that'". ArsenalFanTV later extended an invitation for Neville to discuss his comments on the channel, which he accepted. After Arsenal's 2–2 draw against Manchester City in April 2017, many Arsenal supporters attempted to attack Robbie as well as other regulars such as Claude.
That same month, ArsenalFanTV came under criticism for a video they posted in association with "The Sun" newspaper. The video, which featured Lyle, DT and Ty, received backlash from many football fans, especially Liverpool supporters, who have boycotted "The Sun" due to its controversial reporting of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster which killed 96 Liverpool fans, which included allegations of Liverpool fans urinating on police officers and pickpocketing dying supporters. Liverpool had recently banned the newspaper from attending press conferences and Everton followed, following an article posted about Ross Barkley, which they had compared him to a gorilla which was considered offensive due to his grandfather's Nigerian heritage. In response to the criticism, Lyle appeared on the "Ball Street" YouTube channel and apologised to the people of Liverpool for offence that was taken, and has promised to not work with the tabloid in the future, with the video having since been deleted from the channel.
Following Arsenal's 2–0 defeat to Tottenham in April 2017, Lyle was escorted out of White Hart Lane with police protection after being abused by many Tottenham fans, and was unable to film ArsenalFanTV after that match. In a video afterwards, Lyle stated that much of the abuse he received was racist and was not something he experienced for years. Tottenham Hotspur condemned any racial abuse and was working with the Metropolitan Police on the issue.
2018.
In August 2018, ArsenalFanTV were forced to change their name to AFTV following discussions with Arsenal regarding the channel breaching Arsenal's copyright by using the term "Arsenal" without authorisation which had a negative effect on the club. Some media outlets claimed Arsenal had issued a cease and desist letter against ArsenalFanTV, however they confirmed this was not true.
2020.
In July 2020, contributor Claude Callegari made a racial slur about South Korean Tottenham Hotspur player Heung-Min Son during a live stream, referring to him as a DVD. This has been considered a racial slur since at least 2005, referencing the large number of Asian people who sell DVDs around the East London area. After making a video on the platform alongside Lyle, where the issue was discussed but no apology given, channel sponsor Harry's issued a statement that they would no longer be working with AFTV. Following this, AFTV announced that Callegari would be removed from the channel "indefinitely". During the same live steam, contributor Troopz made a comment “Harry Kane is white so he must be right”. However, no action was taken against Troopz.
In August 2020, AFTV were criticised during a live stream watching the 2020 FA Cup Final, after some fans celebrated when Chelsea player Christian Pulisic was injured and had to be taken off.
Influence.
The success of AFTV led to fans of other clubs setting up similar channels such as United Stand and Stretford Paddock (Manchester United F.C.) and The Redmen TV (Liverpool F.C.).