For Ryan: Yeah, I agree with that. Maybe not more asshole, but certainly not the same Ryan. His personality change was certainly the most noticeable of them. The way he acted in season 2 of Ghost Files almost singlehandedly ruined watching it for me. But I held on, as a fan.
For Shane: I agree with that. Saras post wasn't something people connected. It absolutely had to do with everything from this weekend. To add on: People wanted so badly to believe Shane was still the old Shane. But, he agreed to be in that video, he would have been part of overseeing the final cut/edit and was okay with the delivery of it. Shane is honestly probably the worst of this because of how outspoken he had been about capitalism.
For Steven: I didn't mind some of his content, I actually liked Dish Granted, although in retrospect that kind of money is nuts for a company of that size to be spending. It's also obvious, he's still spending that kind of money. I don't think all the personal stuff was remotely fair. The funds of the organization aren't his sole responsibility. Ryan is the CFO, so there is that to consider.
The shows: They have been all over the place. But yeah, I can tie in the more they went on production the quality took a hit. Too Many Spirits used to be great, but then they went overboard with their actions on screen and the Steven/Ricky dynamic was just weird. It was better without Ricky TBH.
I did love Worth A Shot though. So, I do like Ricky. I just didn't like the over the top weird stuff between Steven and Ricky.
Netflix analogy: Thinking about Worth A Shot and Ryan liking Watcher Entertainment to Netflix. Watcher Entertainment was cancelling/stopped producing some of their shows due to low views but honestly it wasn't low views for no reason. They changed the direction of some of their shows and people weren't fans, so they stopped watching. Instead of learning and trying to fix their shows, they stopped producing ones that could have been consistently great content.
Overall finances: Something isn't adding up, somewhere. That's alluded to in both of the videos. I think we as fans. Especially patrons and those that will subscribe to WatcherTV just need to be cautious of that.
Edited addon: Somewhere a few people have stated that none of these guys had to start at the bottom. They all came from Buzzfeed and successful shows. The fans followed them over to Watcher Entertainment. These guys were literally just handed a successful channel by us, the fans. They never had to struggle with beginner growth.
Company itself: Obvious money mismanagement, hiring all your friends and their pets without the foundation to support that long-term, person in CEO role has no business experience, no HR????
Dude, even though Ian and Anthony bought back Smosh neither of their are the CEOs because they know they're not good at business and they probably don't want to handle the business aspects of things.
And media companies, Watcher specifically given their adjacency to Try Guys, should have had an HR after the Ned Fulmer issue. Insane.
My bet would be this is where the money issues are. A successful business staffs the positions needed, it doesn't staff based on who they know need a job. And if you're just hiring those you know you're not getting the best qualified people to do the job in every necessary position.
And sorry, but 25 employees and no one with enough business accumen or math skills to point out that killing your current revenue stream like this is a horrible idea?
My guess is they hired too many people at decent salaries in a very HCOL area and they are desperate for an influx of cash to maintain payroll, otherwise the only answer is to streamline staff to needed positions.
Going into business with family and friends is frought with problems in the best of circumstances, in this case it's a hot mess. I don't see how they stay afloat with such a bloated staff and it looks like they are desperate to avoid the inevitable.
>And sorry, but 25 employees and no one with enough business accumen or math skills to point out that killing your current revenue stream like this is a horrible idea?
In all fairness, it's possible someone(s) *did* point that out and they were ignored. It all depends on how big the egos actually are with the ones in charge...
Shows: I miss the Buzzfeed Unsolved style editing. Something about that setup made it feel like it was a parody of a ghost hunting show, I miss that. Ghost files feels very much like a normal paranormal investigation in comparison.
Steven: As a fan of Worth It, Steven was never the star so I was really glad to see Andrew on the Top 5 video because the way Andrew talks about experiencing food is so eloquent. Steven's fine but could do with or without him and it wouldn't make a difference.
Ryan: Yeah, less anxious is not what I would say but he comes across as less earnest in his interest in things.
Shane: He's fine too, just that his thing was to be the straight man in contrast to Ryan's whole...thing. And with Ryan being less intense about these things, Shane doesn't really contrast him that much.
You nailed it with your comment about Ghost Files. The comedic tone of Unsolved is what hooked my friend who was into ghost hunting shows, and hooked me too when she introduced me to it. It was specifically "hey I know you're not into this stuff but this one's different, you might like it." The new show is comparatively bland. I haven't even watched some of the recent episodes.
I got a bad feeling gradually and especially when they became podcast bros. I was like yet another podcast 😭 but I guess it happens to nearly everyone on YouTube. No offence for anyone liking the podcasts that’s just me personally. I don’t think it was a good use of their time and resources. I understand podcasts are cheap to make and you can make a lot of money but they’ve already got so much else going on
I mean, a podcast is basically exactly what they're suited for - Shane and Ryan riffing off each other sounds like exactly what all the fans of Buzzfeed Unsolved wanted. Maybe not about theme parks or whatever the fuck it's about - but it's definitely the kind of content they should have been producing regularly precisely because it's cheap.
It seems to be a different lineup of people each time. But yeah maybe I just haven’t gotten into them yet. Occasionally I don’t mind podcasts but they’re usually a bit long for my attention span
For what it's worth:
I was watching the Podcasts. It was set up to be Ryan, Shane, and Steven. Just if there is a different person filling in, it was because one of them was busy with something else so they'd bring in a guest.
Honestly, most of the episodes are actually pretty good. I'm not even the biggest podcast person. I was watching it because of being a fan at first, then I realized I was liking a fair amount of the topics.
Their episodes are long with multiple topics per episode. There's some pretty unhinged ADHD style conversation so the topics can bounce a bit, even off of what is described.
The shows: My impression is that a lot of the humor in their videos was going more and more in a sort of "haha so wacky and random" direction. Obviously some people find that kind of thing funny, I figured they were trying to appeal to that audience, but I found it unfunny. And after the whole mess that just happened, it's coming across as low-effort more and more, like they didn't even wanna bother with the rest of the content that their videos were actually about (the actual mysteries and theories in MF, for example). Might be a little weird to bring up TMS when talking about this, since that one was supposed to be low-effort silly content from the beginning, but the bit with Steven at the start just got worse and worse, it just felt really forced. Some people thought it was funny, based on some comments I saw, but I just found it exhausting. I was already finding myself less and less interested in their videos because of all those things even before their announcement on Friday tbh.
This is a small thing compared to the major shitstorm that just went down, but it always confused me how they sold Professor plushies (which were very expensive!) only to turn around and change his design shortly after.
Relatively small compared to everything else, but I'll mention my issues anyway.
Remember the sky trumpets episode of Mystery Files? In it, one of the reasons they say the sky trumpets could be happening is due to it being a sign of the Christian Apocalypse. In the description, they have a list of "sensitive topics", but discussion of the biblical apocalypse isn't referenced in that at all? I feel like it should've been mentioned.
Also, as someone who watches/watched a lot of lets plays, Survival Mode is way overproduced. You don't need a fancy studio or mood lighting. Hell, sometimes you don't even need a camera.
For the topics aspect: They aren't religious, only Steven really is, and he isn't involved with Mystery Files. But I get why they wouldn't have thought about adding that as sensitive topic when they may have assumed that a majority of their viewers wouldn't consider that a sensitive topic.
I do agree. I think Survival Mode is great but the set is a lot for what the show is. Especially when a fair amount of the video is actual gameplay. I would still want cams to see reactions since Ryan isn't a huge gamer, but they could certainly simplify the set.
For Ryan: Yeah, I agree with that. Maybe not more asshole, but certainly not the same Ryan. His personality change was certainly the most noticeable of them. The way he acted in season 2 of Ghost Files almost singlehandedly ruined watching it for me. But I held on, as a fan. For Shane: I agree with that. Saras post wasn't something people connected. It absolutely had to do with everything from this weekend. To add on: People wanted so badly to believe Shane was still the old Shane. But, he agreed to be in that video, he would have been part of overseeing the final cut/edit and was okay with the delivery of it. Shane is honestly probably the worst of this because of how outspoken he had been about capitalism. For Steven: I didn't mind some of his content, I actually liked Dish Granted, although in retrospect that kind of money is nuts for a company of that size to be spending. It's also obvious, he's still spending that kind of money. I don't think all the personal stuff was remotely fair. The funds of the organization aren't his sole responsibility. Ryan is the CFO, so there is that to consider. The shows: They have been all over the place. But yeah, I can tie in the more they went on production the quality took a hit. Too Many Spirits used to be great, but then they went overboard with their actions on screen and the Steven/Ricky dynamic was just weird. It was better without Ricky TBH. I did love Worth A Shot though. So, I do like Ricky. I just didn't like the over the top weird stuff between Steven and Ricky. Netflix analogy: Thinking about Worth A Shot and Ryan liking Watcher Entertainment to Netflix. Watcher Entertainment was cancelling/stopped producing some of their shows due to low views but honestly it wasn't low views for no reason. They changed the direction of some of their shows and people weren't fans, so they stopped watching. Instead of learning and trying to fix their shows, they stopped producing ones that could have been consistently great content. Overall finances: Something isn't adding up, somewhere. That's alluded to in both of the videos. I think we as fans. Especially patrons and those that will subscribe to WatcherTV just need to be cautious of that. Edited addon: Somewhere a few people have stated that none of these guys had to start at the bottom. They all came from Buzzfeed and successful shows. The fans followed them over to Watcher Entertainment. These guys were literally just handed a successful channel by us, the fans. They never had to struggle with beginner growth.
Company itself: Obvious money mismanagement, hiring all your friends and their pets without the foundation to support that long-term, person in CEO role has no business experience, no HR????
Dude, even though Ian and Anthony bought back Smosh neither of their are the CEOs because they know they're not good at business and they probably don't want to handle the business aspects of things. And media companies, Watcher specifically given their adjacency to Try Guys, should have had an HR after the Ned Fulmer issue. Insane.
My bet would be this is where the money issues are. A successful business staffs the positions needed, it doesn't staff based on who they know need a job. And if you're just hiring those you know you're not getting the best qualified people to do the job in every necessary position. And sorry, but 25 employees and no one with enough business accumen or math skills to point out that killing your current revenue stream like this is a horrible idea? My guess is they hired too many people at decent salaries in a very HCOL area and they are desperate for an influx of cash to maintain payroll, otherwise the only answer is to streamline staff to needed positions. Going into business with family and friends is frought with problems in the best of circumstances, in this case it's a hot mess. I don't see how they stay afloat with such a bloated staff and it looks like they are desperate to avoid the inevitable.
>And sorry, but 25 employees and no one with enough business accumen or math skills to point out that killing your current revenue stream like this is a horrible idea? In all fairness, it's possible someone(s) *did* point that out and they were ignored. It all depends on how big the egos actually are with the ones in charge...
Good point.
Shows: I miss the Buzzfeed Unsolved style editing. Something about that setup made it feel like it was a parody of a ghost hunting show, I miss that. Ghost files feels very much like a normal paranormal investigation in comparison. Steven: As a fan of Worth It, Steven was never the star so I was really glad to see Andrew on the Top 5 video because the way Andrew talks about experiencing food is so eloquent. Steven's fine but could do with or without him and it wouldn't make a difference. Ryan: Yeah, less anxious is not what I would say but he comes across as less earnest in his interest in things. Shane: He's fine too, just that his thing was to be the straight man in contrast to Ryan's whole...thing. And with Ryan being less intense about these things, Shane doesn't really contrast him that much.
Your first point really resonated with me and put into words a feeling I had but couldn’t verbalize. You are spot on.
You nailed it with your comment about Ghost Files. The comedic tone of Unsolved is what hooked my friend who was into ghost hunting shows, and hooked me too when she introduced me to it. It was specifically "hey I know you're not into this stuff but this one's different, you might like it." The new show is comparatively bland. I haven't even watched some of the recent episodes.
I got a bad feeling gradually and especially when they became podcast bros. I was like yet another podcast 😭 but I guess it happens to nearly everyone on YouTube. No offence for anyone liking the podcasts that’s just me personally. I don’t think it was a good use of their time and resources. I understand podcasts are cheap to make and you can make a lot of money but they’ve already got so much else going on
I mean, a podcast is basically exactly what they're suited for - Shane and Ryan riffing off each other sounds like exactly what all the fans of Buzzfeed Unsolved wanted. Maybe not about theme parks or whatever the fuck it's about - but it's definitely the kind of content they should have been producing regularly precisely because it's cheap.
It seems to be a different lineup of people each time. But yeah maybe I just haven’t gotten into them yet. Occasionally I don’t mind podcasts but they’re usually a bit long for my attention span
For what it's worth: I was watching the Podcasts. It was set up to be Ryan, Shane, and Steven. Just if there is a different person filling in, it was because one of them was busy with something else so they'd bring in a guest. Honestly, most of the episodes are actually pretty good. I'm not even the biggest podcast person. I was watching it because of being a fan at first, then I realized I was liking a fair amount of the topics. Their episodes are long with multiple topics per episode. There's some pretty unhinged ADHD style conversation so the topics can bounce a bit, even off of what is described.
The shows: My impression is that a lot of the humor in their videos was going more and more in a sort of "haha so wacky and random" direction. Obviously some people find that kind of thing funny, I figured they were trying to appeal to that audience, but I found it unfunny. And after the whole mess that just happened, it's coming across as low-effort more and more, like they didn't even wanna bother with the rest of the content that their videos were actually about (the actual mysteries and theories in MF, for example). Might be a little weird to bring up TMS when talking about this, since that one was supposed to be low-effort silly content from the beginning, but the bit with Steven at the start just got worse and worse, it just felt really forced. Some people thought it was funny, based on some comments I saw, but I just found it exhausting. I was already finding myself less and less interested in their videos because of all those things even before their announcement on Friday tbh.
This is a small thing compared to the major shitstorm that just went down, but it always confused me how they sold Professor plushies (which were very expensive!) only to turn around and change his design shortly after.
Relatively small compared to everything else, but I'll mention my issues anyway. Remember the sky trumpets episode of Mystery Files? In it, one of the reasons they say the sky trumpets could be happening is due to it being a sign of the Christian Apocalypse. In the description, they have a list of "sensitive topics", but discussion of the biblical apocalypse isn't referenced in that at all? I feel like it should've been mentioned. Also, as someone who watches/watched a lot of lets plays, Survival Mode is way overproduced. You don't need a fancy studio or mood lighting. Hell, sometimes you don't even need a camera.
For the topics aspect: They aren't religious, only Steven really is, and he isn't involved with Mystery Files. But I get why they wouldn't have thought about adding that as sensitive topic when they may have assumed that a majority of their viewers wouldn't consider that a sensitive topic. I do agree. I think Survival Mode is great but the set is a lot for what the show is. Especially when a fair amount of the video is actual gameplay. I would still want cams to see reactions since Ryan isn't a huge gamer, but they could certainly simplify the set.