PORTRAIT – At the age of 26, the web prodigy inaugurated his first show on France 2, “HugoDécrypte: The face hidden interview”.
There is a YouTuber and youtuber. Those who make their money by delivering their experience of the latest video game. Those who consider themselves comedians – some, in fact, are very good. Those who broadcast their militant messages ad nauseam. And finally others, for whom social networks are an information medium in their own right which, as its definition requires, “participates in the proper functioning of democracy in that it allows public opinion to become aware of current events”.
Graduate of Sciences Po Paris, vlogger, podcaster, YouTuber, entrepreneur and journalist, Hugo Travers , a disheveled escogriffe (1.92 m under the height chart), belongs to the latter category. In 2015, he launched HugoDécrypte on YouTube, a channel aimed at young people, based on a journalistic and accessible treatment of current events. In 2017, he received several presidential candidates there. He repeats in 2019 as part of the European elections. The health crisis inspired a daily broadcast in 2020.
Last September, he welcomes President Emmanuel Macron, with whom he discusses subjects as diverse as the new ferry, the 49 euro rail p and the ban on wearing the abaya. At 26 years old, just named Knight of Arts and Letters, this millennial with the smile of a well-bred boy has 10 million followers, all networks combined (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitch, etc.). It’s no surprise that a linear dinosaur, sometimes in a desperate search for elixirs of youth, is eyeing Travers and its huge audiences.
On October 28, France 2 broadcast at 1:20 p.m. after the television news the very first issue of “HugoDécrypte: The face-down interview”. A new monthly current affairs event inspired by its digital format but reworked and expanded – it lasts thirty minutes – to meet television codes. The journalist received French astronaut Thomas Pesquet there. The show, entrusted to Henri Poulain, also director of “Papotin Meetings”is rhythmic, pleasant, open to both the intimate and the world.
Web and TV, the right combo
“ I don’t see any particular opposition between traditional media and new ones. The more I advance, the more I see, on the contrary, a synergy and a complementarity. TV producers need to rejuvenate their targets and renew themselves. Web content producers want to free themselves from the limits imposed by social networks. If the two worlds match and the audiences respond, for me, it’s the perfect combo”explains the person concerned.
Then he adds: “ I love the job I have chosen, I love information and I love the prospect of making it something lively, human, while remaining simple. » His ambition? Meet personalities who have things to say about the state of the planet and offer them a slightly original way to confide. Its goal ? Make “HugoDécrypte” a lasting television event, while continuing to create web content. And of course continue to create bridges between the internet and the small screen.
Overflowing ambition
“I am convinced that there are still lots of great things to be invented », he says again with overflowing ambition. The young man is already supported by a team of around twenty people, journalists, editors, salespeople. At this point, his range of possibilities seems endless. And if he says nothing about his next guests, or his projects, the history of his YouTube channel shows his desire to attract personalities as diverse as they are influential, Bill Gates to Christopher Nolan, via Pierre Niney.
Note, for its premiere, Hugo Travers received astronaut Thomas Pesquet. The show was watched by 1.85 million viewers. For comparison, last week, “1:15 p.m. on Saturday” was followed by 2.18 million people, or 18% audience share. An average score therefore, but certainly does not bode for the worst. Especially since the format is intended to live a double and long life on the web. The next issue is scheduled to air on Saturday, November 25, 2023.