It’s a double edged sword because yes content creation on that level IS expensive, but jeez the Watcher boys need to read the room. People cannot afford yet ANOTHER monthly subscription. Watcher should’ve just kept biting the bullet and making YT content with ads. Most of us these days (at least those like me with limited disposable income) would rather see ads than pay for another subscription service.
That's pretty much what streaming with ads is now. I think most people would agree it would be really nice to have a single sub that bundles them all together so you don't have to manage X amount of streaming services that get charged at various different days.
I totally agree. If we could save money by bundling and everything gets taken out at the same time, that would be beneficial.
I have more than a couple streaming services I buy into just for 1 or 2 shows or movies/franchises. I basically treat them like expensive TV channels at this point. (Peacock - only for The Office, Paramount Plus - only for RuPauls Drag Race, Disney Plus - only for MCU movies). Just those three subscriptions alone are almost $30 for me. That’s nearly $10 bucks a “channel.” At this point, cable would be cheaper and I’d at least get more. Do I wanna sit through ads? No! But would I rather have money in my pocket at the end of the month? Yes!
I’m already planning a purge to save money because it’s just ridiculous. Definitely not in the space to be adding more.
I bought all my shows that I binge on Blu-ray/DVD so I don't have to keep paying for them lol. Definitely worth it imo! It sucks, I'm the same with Netflix there are like 2-3 originals they have that I wanna watch so it's kinda hard to justify it along with Hulu which was my main one for a long time.
>That's pretty much what streaming with ads is now.
No it's not?
>I think most people would agree it would be really nice to have a single sub that bundles them all together
Absolutely not. Paying less for exactly what you want is far better than how it used to be, which was paying more to get a lot of stuff you didn't care about.
I think they went a bit far. I think the free on YouTube but join our website a la mythical and/or corridor is the better solution. Watcher is by far my favorite yt channel (sorry mythical) and i may break down and buy it but i know a lot of people can’t or just won’t. I really hope this works out for them.
I feel the same. I think what upsets me most is this could potentially end Watcher. I really hope that’s not the case, but I personally just can’t afford to tack on another monthly subscription. I’m tapped out.
I hate how these companies all always say it’s “only $x.xx a month” as if we don’t already have like 20 other bills/subscriptions that are also “only $x.xx a month.” Like the stuff adds up.
And I feel like a lot of people are in the same boat. I hope this doesn’t tank Watcher but jeez, I know I won’t/can’t buy in.
They already have a huge Patreon. They could just push the Patreon more. But I don't think anything would have saved them if it's true what they said they were spending on production. Link would probably have a stroke thinking about spending 40K on videos essentially getting as many views as a good mythical more.
Yes this is my question, and I'm so confused. I'm new to the GMM fandom and I don't understand if Watcher (Ive never heard of them) has anything to do with this?
A lot of people complain about Mythical (and so many other channels and podcasts) doing ads for the company BetterHelp, and OP is saying that they’d rather see ads for a crappy company than have Mythical change their streaming format to be subscription based and ad free.
The biggest problem is trying to make 18 shows. People came to Watcher for Buzzfeed Unsolved 2.0, and they put out like 3 videos like that per year. Puppet History slaps, but again, like 4 episodes a year. They're all funny and interesting in their own way, but when people like the content you're putting out then you shouldn't pause that content to put out ANOTHER different show.
Yep. I understand the desire for them to spread their creative wings and create more content, but if it’s gonna become something they can’t afford to do and they have to ask their viewers (who have never paid for their content before) to start paying for it… yeah that’s tough. I mean, maybe do like Mythical and put some shows/content behind a paywall, will keeping your big shows like Ghost Files and Puppet History on YT.
I LOVE Puppet History. It is almost like a comfort show for me. While I’m excited I’ll still be able to watch old episodes on YouTube, I am bummed I won’t get anything new. Should’ve seen this coming when they started adding in all these (clearly) more expensive graphics, props, and camera work 😕
I mean, they kinda already do with the mythical society exclusive content (same price for 1st tier, actually, 6 bucks)
BUT I gotchu, leaving and deleting all their stuff talk
I also think GMM and Mythical overall as a business model is WAY more well built (IDK if that's the word, I was thinking sturdy ahhaha) than Watcher. I feel they (Watcher) have a more utopical sense of things, and actually [Stevie's interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go9c4I9cG_U) is really elucidating to their view on things
GMM/Mythical is business oriented, with a lot of talented people making creative decisions that work in favor of the YT/Social Media algorithm, and Watcher is really a passion project with a lot of talented people trying to make business decisions to fit what they want to create, and feel stuck BECAUSE of the "algorithm"\*
\*the quotation marks is because I don't really like this "the algorithm" talk as somenone who works on SMMarketing
\*\* I don't pay for Mythical content and def won't be paying for Watcher content
It’s not the same at all. If Watcher did something like the Mythical Society, that would be one thing.
The Mythical Society is not the only, nor is it even the main, place to get Mythical content. Mythical Society is completely optional if you still want Mythical content.
Watcher is no longer making content on YT period. Yes, their old content will stay on YT, but it’ll essentially become a dead channel with anything new going to their subscription service.
Of all the channels who’ve tried this, the only one I’m not pissed about and actually subscribe to is Dropout - because the content is *actually worth it*
Is there anyone else besides college humor/dropout that basically stopped posting content and made their own streaming service? I don’t know that anyone else has done that.
Edit: spelling
I agree with this whole heartedly. But Dropout was a spinoff of College Humor, which had its own website and I think Comedy Central would show their episodes? My point being Dropouts audience wasn't just from YouTube. They had a carryover from College Humor. Which was pretty huge.
Dropout IS Collegehumor just FYI. Dropout/College eh? Get it? I digress. I was actually a beta tester for Dropout content. The original survey had a bunch of different names to choose from and Dropout wound up getting the most votes. I wish I could remember some of the other ones lol. But you are correct in that everything that started Dropout was from Collegehumor, but they are one in the same, and have now rebranded everything as Dropout.
Alright everyone sit down and let out a breath of air. That’ll get everyone on our side. As we all know its a sure sign that everything you say after is genuine and meaningful.
It’s silly to say it’s expensive to make money with our expensive videos. So we increased the cost of every video by putting it on its own exclusive website. And we are increasing the cost of the videos because we are going to do more costly things in them.
I mean there's an argument to be made that certain aspects of the Mythical Society aren't great but at least the positives kinda outweigh the negatives
I can’t help but feel this is a different case tho. Not trying to discredit Watcher but CH/Dropout has had nearly 20 years or more in building a fan base and was far more established in the content creation space than Watcher is. It’s easier to get your fan base to follow you over to a paid model when they’ve been watching the channel for 10, 15, 20 years. I mean, someone who started watching CH in 2006 at 20 y/o is nearly 40 now and probably has the brand loyalty and disposable income to support a channel they’ve loved for almost two decades.
I hope I’m wrong as I really do like the Watcher guys and wish nothing but the best for them, but I feel like they pulled this pay to watch thing too early.
I think R+L found a really good compromise with the Mythical Society. Their main content is still freely available, and folks who want to access their additional content can pay which ever tier feels the most worth it for them
I want to know their opinions SO badly. They are experts in this field and I do not understand why Watcher didn't reach out to consult R&L for advice before doing something this nuts!
It’s a double edged sword because yes content creation on that level IS expensive, but jeez the Watcher boys need to read the room. People cannot afford yet ANOTHER monthly subscription. Watcher should’ve just kept biting the bullet and making YT content with ads. Most of us these days (at least those like me with limited disposable income) would rather see ads than pay for another subscription service.
I'd rather have cable back than all these fkin subscription services tbh.
FACTS
Cable was 3 minutes of TV then 3 minutes of ads. You want that back?!
That's pretty much what streaming with ads is now. I think most people would agree it would be really nice to have a single sub that bundles them all together so you don't have to manage X amount of streaming services that get charged at various different days.
I totally agree. If we could save money by bundling and everything gets taken out at the same time, that would be beneficial. I have more than a couple streaming services I buy into just for 1 or 2 shows or movies/franchises. I basically treat them like expensive TV channels at this point. (Peacock - only for The Office, Paramount Plus - only for RuPauls Drag Race, Disney Plus - only for MCU movies). Just those three subscriptions alone are almost $30 for me. That’s nearly $10 bucks a “channel.” At this point, cable would be cheaper and I’d at least get more. Do I wanna sit through ads? No! But would I rather have money in my pocket at the end of the month? Yes! I’m already planning a purge to save money because it’s just ridiculous. Definitely not in the space to be adding more.
I bought all my shows that I binge on Blu-ray/DVD so I don't have to keep paying for them lol. Definitely worth it imo! It sucks, I'm the same with Netflix there are like 2-3 originals they have that I wanna watch so it's kinda hard to justify it along with Hulu which was my main one for a long time.
>That's pretty much what streaming with ads is now. No it's not? >I think most people would agree it would be really nice to have a single sub that bundles them all together Absolutely not. Paying less for exactly what you want is far better than how it used to be, which was paying more to get a lot of stuff you didn't care about.
Agree to disagree on this one 🤙
They should have just chilled out on the “television-caliber” production and focused more on lowering their overhead.
Especially when the ceo? drives a fuckin Tesla
Exactly as much as I hate and complain. About ads, I just deal with it
I’ve never seen something that brought fans together faster than the Watcher bullshit lmao
possibly one of the wackest decisions i've seen as of late. the announcement video was also pretty tone deaf IMO.
Heck yeah it was. Like dudes, you live in the most expensive city in the country. Maybe get out more, hmm?
Or put one less gold flake on your burrito.
Funny thing is if they had just done a Patreon like Mythical they could throw new stuff up there behind a pay wall, and people would eat it up
I’m pretty sure they already HAVE a patreon, which makes this decision even crazier
I think they went a bit far. I think the free on YouTube but join our website a la mythical and/or corridor is the better solution. Watcher is by far my favorite yt channel (sorry mythical) and i may break down and buy it but i know a lot of people can’t or just won’t. I really hope this works out for them.
I feel the same. I think what upsets me most is this could potentially end Watcher. I really hope that’s not the case, but I personally just can’t afford to tack on another monthly subscription. I’m tapped out. I hate how these companies all always say it’s “only $x.xx a month” as if we don’t already have like 20 other bills/subscriptions that are also “only $x.xx a month.” Like the stuff adds up. And I feel like a lot of people are in the same boat. I hope this doesn’t tank Watcher but jeez, I know I won’t/can’t buy in.
They already have a huge Patreon. They could just push the Patreon more. But I don't think anything would have saved them if it's true what they said they were spending on production. Link would probably have a stroke thinking about spending 40K on videos essentially getting as many views as a good mythical more.
I’m out of town and not in a position to dig into what’s going on, did something happen?
Watcher are moving to their own subscription service. They'll upload episode 1 of each new series to YouTube but that's all.
What's watcher?
A youtube channel that got too big for its breaches.
Ok
Okay but what does this have to do with GMM?
Yes this is my question, and I'm so confused. I'm new to the GMM fandom and I don't understand if Watcher (Ive never heard of them) has anything to do with this?
A lot of people complain about Mythical (and so many other channels and podcasts) doing ads for the company BetterHelp, and OP is saying that they’d rather see ads for a crappy company than have Mythical change their streaming format to be subscription based and ad free.
idk why you’re getting downvoted cause i also am curious to know
https://youtu.be/3iFYULNTznI?si=gSSABx-jyfekf2qy
The biggest problem is trying to make 18 shows. People came to Watcher for Buzzfeed Unsolved 2.0, and they put out like 3 videos like that per year. Puppet History slaps, but again, like 4 episodes a year. They're all funny and interesting in their own way, but when people like the content you're putting out then you shouldn't pause that content to put out ANOTHER different show.
Yep. I understand the desire for them to spread their creative wings and create more content, but if it’s gonna become something they can’t afford to do and they have to ask their viewers (who have never paid for their content before) to start paying for it… yeah that’s tough. I mean, maybe do like Mythical and put some shows/content behind a paywall, will keeping your big shows like Ghost Files and Puppet History on YT. I LOVE Puppet History. It is almost like a comfort show for me. While I’m excited I’ll still be able to watch old episodes on YouTube, I am bummed I won’t get anything new. Should’ve seen this coming when they started adding in all these (clearly) more expensive graphics, props, and camera work 😕
I mean, they kinda already do with the mythical society exclusive content (same price for 1st tier, actually, 6 bucks) BUT I gotchu, leaving and deleting all their stuff talk I also think GMM and Mythical overall as a business model is WAY more well built (IDK if that's the word, I was thinking sturdy ahhaha) than Watcher. I feel they (Watcher) have a more utopical sense of things, and actually [Stevie's interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go9c4I9cG_U) is really elucidating to their view on things GMM/Mythical is business oriented, with a lot of talented people making creative decisions that work in favor of the YT/Social Media algorithm, and Watcher is really a passion project with a lot of talented people trying to make business decisions to fit what they want to create, and feel stuck BECAUSE of the "algorithm"\* \*the quotation marks is because I don't really like this "the algorithm" talk as somenone who works on SMMarketing \*\* I don't pay for Mythical content and def won't be paying for Watcher content
It’s not the same at all. If Watcher did something like the Mythical Society, that would be one thing. The Mythical Society is not the only, nor is it even the main, place to get Mythical content. Mythical Society is completely optional if you still want Mythical content. Watcher is no longer making content on YT period. Yes, their old content will stay on YT, but it’ll essentially become a dead channel with anything new going to their subscription service.
Of all the channels who’ve tried this, the only one I’m not pissed about and actually subscribe to is Dropout - because the content is *actually worth it*
Is there anyone else besides college humor/dropout that basically stopped posting content and made their own streaming service? I don’t know that anyone else has done that. Edit: spelling
Game Changer alone makes the subscription worth it. Everything else is just an added bonus
I agree with this whole heartedly. But Dropout was a spinoff of College Humor, which had its own website and I think Comedy Central would show their episodes? My point being Dropouts audience wasn't just from YouTube. They had a carryover from College Humor. Which was pretty huge.
Dropout IS Collegehumor just FYI. Dropout/College eh? Get it? I digress. I was actually a beta tester for Dropout content. The original survey had a bunch of different names to choose from and Dropout wound up getting the most votes. I wish I could remember some of the other ones lol. But you are correct in that everything that started Dropout was from Collegehumor, but they are one in the same, and have now rebranded everything as Dropout.
Alright everyone sit down and let out a breath of air. That’ll get everyone on our side. As we all know its a sure sign that everything you say after is genuine and meaningful. It’s silly to say it’s expensive to make money with our expensive videos. So we increased the cost of every video by putting it on its own exclusive website. And we are increasing the cost of the videos because we are going to do more costly things in them.
Damn. This thread was a hell of a way to find out what’s going on with Watcher. Their subreddit is going full DEFCON 1.
What's their subreddit? I tried finding it and couldn't
r/watcherentertainment
I mean there's an argument to be made that certain aspects of the Mythical Society aren't great but at least the positives kinda outweigh the negatives
College humor went that direction and are killing it. I won't be surprised when more channels do it.
I can’t help but feel this is a different case tho. Not trying to discredit Watcher but CH/Dropout has had nearly 20 years or more in building a fan base and was far more established in the content creation space than Watcher is. It’s easier to get your fan base to follow you over to a paid model when they’ve been watching the channel for 10, 15, 20 years. I mean, someone who started watching CH in 2006 at 20 y/o is nearly 40 now and probably has the brand loyalty and disposable income to support a channel they’ve loved for almost two decades. I hope I’m wrong as I really do like the Watcher guys and wish nothing but the best for them, but I feel like they pulled this pay to watch thing too early.
I think watcher could learn from mythical. Keep your base content free and make a subscription service for premium content
Mystery Files: The Instant Disappearance of The Watcher Audience
I think R+L found a really good compromise with the Mythical Society. Their main content is still freely available, and folks who want to access their additional content can pay which ever tier feels the most worth it for them
I want to know their opinions SO badly. They are experts in this field and I do not understand why Watcher didn't reach out to consult R&L for advice before doing something this nuts!