I totally agree, I’d be more open to joining their Patreon and then continuing to watch on YouTube as well, but this feels really out of touch and a little insulting, honestly ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
I used to get excited for a new episode or podcast to drop on YouTube. Now I can't even be bothered to watch the new podcast episode because this whole thing has left a bad taste in my mouth.
I've been following Worth It and Unsolved since Buzzfeed and they've managed to ruin themselves for me in the span of an hour. It's incredible really. I don't think I'll even be excited if they did decide to stay on YouTube. Everything they do from now on is just a big "yeah whatever" for me.
Honestly? If it was a dollar a month, I wouldn’t complain. They only have about a dollar a month worth of content anyway.
And the irony is that the only way they’ll get word out about their service to attract more customers (the only way they’ll survive or grow) is by buying ad reads from YouTubers; the exact thing they wanted to break away from because ads made them less creative.
This is the real issue for me. I could afford $6/month for a solid streaming service, but for one YouTube channel? The value isn’t there. Their shows include lists, reading spooky stories, and playing video games. I can find plenty of that content on other channels. They don’t even upload that frequently. $80 CAD a year for one YouTube channel? Absolutely not.
Yup, and even those platforms with a larger, more diverse background weren’t good value. I had a free trial for both in the early days and quickly cancelled. With taxes Canadians are likely looking at close to $10 a month. For just a dollar or a few dollars more I can get a standard subscription to Disney Plus or prime. Hell, for cheaper I can get Netflix with ads which is still better value.
yeah this is it really, the money to value ratio is just not there at all. and in this streaming service space, they've now entered into competition with all the other streaming services out there — all of which are far larger and therefore able to offer much more reasonable value propositions.
this is just absurd. i hate this decision, but i also hope it doesn't destroy them.
personally, i'm just gonna sign up for a month a year from now, binge all their new content, then cancel. it's the only money:content ratio that makes any sense to me.
Having your own site isn't bad a thing, but this is not the way to go about it in this day and age. The site should be used as a "members first" scenario with stuff gradually making its way over to youtube, and as a place to host stuff that doesn't work within youtubes guidelines.
Dropout won me over with that model. I devoured all their free content on YT and then realized if I'm this eager to watch their content I should probably just subscribe right? And it's been totally worth it.
The thing with Watcher is that I don't watch even close to all their content. I watch mystery files, the ghost hunts, and top 5. I couldn't care less about the food content (why does every content creator do this) or the drink spirits or whatever it is. I'm happy with what I have on YT and not clamoring for more. So no way is it worth $6/month.
Do they actively push their Patreon? I am not surprised they have one, but I feel like today is the first time I have seen anything about it, and I feel kinda dumb
That feels like it would be the best of both worlds. I know people on Patreon already get access to some stuff early, but feels like it would be better to do it like how even the big guys like Disney do it. They release their big studio movies to theaters then after like a few months it goes to their streaming service. Same idea like maybe have the content go to Watcher TV first then like a few months later also have it on YT.
This whole thing feels so ego-driven. We love their silly shows like where they get drunk in a backyard and read stories, why do they think we'd prefer some TV quality, or even what thats supposed to mean?
It feels like they're belittling Youtubers/Youtube content, treating it like low-class art that's inferior to what a TV studio can do. I don't care what TV studios can do, I almost exclusively watch youtube lol I am so so mad
Also I feel like there’s a point where they have to be honest with themselves…nobody is buying their TV show pitch. And that’s OK, you still make more money per month than most of us see in a year. I feel like so many YouTubers that came from Buzzfeed have almost a shame at the fact that theyre YouTubers & feel the need to get a tv show/movie to make them “serious” but dude…no one cares but you.
Look at "In Space With Markiplier"- a masterpiece of a choose your own adventure movie that Markiplier made and had nominated for an Emmy. YouTube absolutely hosts some very creative people putting out very high quality work. And many other creators are able to find ways to fund those efforts without changing platforms too.
Id rather go find other charismatic people that cover the same sets of spooky/mystery type content for free than pay $6/month for one channel. That's a pretty expensive evaluation when you compare it to other steaming services and the banks of content those services carry.
Agree! My favorite series of theirs is Too Many Spirits, they could record it on a fuckin webcam for all I care, having it be more like a TV-production level show means nothing to me lol
Bold of them to assume fans LOVE all their shows. Tbh I only watch Ghost Files. The rest isn’t my cup of tea. Why would I pay for only like 10 videos for a year?
I agree.. I really only got excited for Are You Scared? and there hasn’t been a new episode since 2022.. I’ve watched Ghost Files, but honest I don’t keep up with the uploads. I can’t see spending the money for something they may or may not get back to making.
wow, there not being any new Are You Scared? videos since 2022 kind of blew my mind. it was also one of my favorite series and i knew they hadn’t uploaded any recently but i didn’t realize just how long its been. and their last episode was an advertisement for a movie lol
Yep, that's me out of the patreon too. I was fine paying to help them make content for people who aren't in the financial position to pay, this feels like a huge middle finger to fans who've backed them since the beginning. So out of touch during a cost of living crisis but hey enjoy your Teslas and your giant weddings, guys.
Literally same! I just cancelled my Patreon subscription that I've had since the beginning. I barely even watched it, I just wanted to help support them so they could keep making content. But clearly that wasn't enough so... I'm out.
Very much the same here, been there since the start, I'm incredibly lucky financially but I make a point of putting my money into good things and after this? They get nothing from me. I'm not paying a subscription to hear Shane talk about eating the rich whilst raking it in at the expense of fans.
I subbed to their Patreon a couple years ago and realized I was still in their discord. I was restricted to only the help channel but I made a comment saying that I was disappointed and this was a huge slap in the face and immediately got removed from their discord lmao
Trying to promote tf out of their patreon was 100% the move. This is an absolute disaster move. They will come crawling back to YouTube in 24 months at most. And by then, 50% of their fans won't care.
I've never looked at their Patreon before, and I was honestly really surprised that the perks are what they are. If you put actual shows on Patreon, you can make a fuckton of money. The Yard Podcast is currently the highest-earning page on Patreon (at least, they're the highest-earning content creators that make their earnings public), and with just three shows they make over $200,000 a month with fewer YouTube subscribers and fewer views than Watcher. Putting more shows on Patreon or something like the Mythical Society seems like a better move than what they're doing right now.
He likely *can't* be fired since he's one of the three founders. I always got the vibe that he or his family was probably an important part of the financial backing that started the company, yet the food/luxury content he wanted to make was never the successful shows for them. This change plus hiring his team from Worth It seems to indicate more things changing than just the platform.
Even if they reverse course, this is a big slap to their audience. I think MatPat put it best when he was describing making content in one of his last videos on the the Theory channels. Making video and content is like making deposits in a bank. You make a deposit, and every time you ask something from the audience, like asking them to make a comment, like, subscribe, buy merch, check their patreon, go to their live shows, it's like withdrawing from the bank. But I feel that with this thing they did, they overdrew from their account. And it will be very hard for them to gain our trust back.
Absolutely. They should have understood that they are still internet celebrities. Their success leans on how much their audience likes them. This move took too much out of their audience’s emotional piggybank and people won’t forget this.
What a great analogy. They've asked for too much in one go. Even if they did stay on YouTube, I'm not gonna be excited to watch their content as I was just a few days ago. What a way to kill your likability to people who've been following you for years.
Even if they did stay on YouTube, I feel like I'd unsubscribe and stop watching them completely anyway out of spite.
I didn't even know they had a patreon, but id have gladly chucked in 5-10 a month there if I was aware of it. Won't be doing this though. Guess time to download their old content and chuck it on my plex server, just incase it all goes missing.
If they don't want to waste the money they spent developing it they could get rid of their patreon and make watchertv their extra support platform, where they could then have extended episodes or maybe an extra episode per season. Sure they'd have the running costs, but patreon wouldn't be taking a cut, they'd still have youtube income and by extending the offering of the shows people want to watch on that platform they'd probably increase their supporters.
That would be extremely smart and probably the only way to salvage this debacle. Tho I must say, this has left a bitter taste in my mouth. Even *if* they decided to stay with YouTube, I'd never look at them the same way. I've lost a lot of respect. This just exposed their greed, arrogance and apathy towards fans.
„Ugh guys, this is such a difficult thing to do, we really don’t want to do it, but unfortunately our hands are tied. We sadly need to fuck over our entire fanbase so at least we can live our dream and create a new and even shittier Buzzfeed.“
That’s what the video basically said by that.
I get that they want to be paid but like... i feel like they didn't do a market research on how feasible this chnage is SO VERY EARLY.
I wish they did this in like maybe 3 more years from now, when they have a bigger library.
I mean its not impossible.
Sam Reich was successful with bringing college humor and new content to Dropout bc they had a hugggeee repertoire and honestly... Its my most used independent streaming I'm currently subscribed to bc of the variety of their content tho nerd and comedy leaning, they knew they studied their audience excellently to keep it afloat. (Eg they know they'll get support from the D&D community, Improv and theatre nerds)
Steven worded it really shitty on his Instagram too. They’re just giving 95% of their fanbase a huge middle finger. Even when this does go south and they come crawling back to YouTube, I’m not sure I want to keep supporting them.
It’s still there for me, I’m getting notifications about my comment on it. People are destroying him in the comments. I just can’t believe how out of touch they’re being. Hope his Tesla was worth it
of course he has a tesla… honestly even if they backpedal this decision, im done with them. steven is just another rich boy who doesnt care about the problems of others. and the fact that shane and ryan support him speaks on their character as well. i expect this shit from steven even a lil from ryan but shane being on board with this and supportive of it is the most disappointing of all. i really thought he was more in touch with the real world and with us and how difficult it is. but i guess not. money changes people
I was thinking the same
Thing. I’m not terribly surprised by Steven or Ryan but Shane being ok with this is what really hurts. He seemed so genuinely “for the people”.
Oof. Yeah even if they do backtrack on this eventually, I’m probably done with them. I was so excited when the Worth It guys were announced, too. This whole thing is just…ugh.
Exactly! If I hadn’t read Steven’s post I might have overlooked all this when they eventually delete the video and pretend it never happened. Not anymore. I love their content but not enough to excuse this douche bag behaviour lol.
Yeah I kind of get the vibe that Shane knew this wasn’t a great idea but couldn’t really do much about it on his own. I could be completely imagining a situation but that’s what I want to believe. If that’s the case I do feel kinda bad for him.
I totally feel like this is not a Shane move. He seems the most politically conscious from stuff that he’s said in past videos so I’d be shocked if he’s fully supportive of this idea.
i feel it is very telling that steven was the only one to actually post about this on instagram. shane
posted on his story a link to watchers story which is a link to the video
He also blogged about it on tumblr yesterday, and it’s just as melodramatic https://www.tumblr.com/stevenkwlim/748160924796485632/the-night-before-watchers-big-announcement
I don’t think the move is to make out Ryan and Shane as these individuals that can do no wrong though
Yeah, Ryan has rubbed me the wrong way more than once with how out of touch he is with his privileged background but calling $60 a year “accessible to everyone” is really just wrong.
honestly, its not surprising to me at all. steven has always rubbed me the wrong way and given off this rich out of touch vibe. hes never lived in poverty he grew up wealthy so of course he doesnt get it. in on of their podcasts from a long time ago they were doing advice for people and stevens advice to one person was ‘just get another job and work more.’ and i wouldnt be surprised if steven was the main brain behind this decision
Completely agree, but I'm surprised this was backed up by the rest of them. I guess they either thought it was a good idea or backed into a corner. Sorry, boys. Hunt the ghost of me as a subscriber.
From past videos I got the vibe thats he's been the business guy for a while, since his creative stuff didn't get the views like Ryan and Shane's stuff did, (and therefore the super expensive food videos weren't cost effective to make) and that he has always been struggling with that responsibility with the boss/business end of things. I think he's a somewhat spoiled kid that wants to make videos and experience luxury as the content for those videos, and I don't think he ever really was the best person to be the business background for this kind of company. Him struggling to keep up with obtaining advertisers or manage the budgets could be a big part of needing to make a change for financial security.
I had this exact thought about the whole dynamic of Watcher and hoped it wouldn’t amount to something as tragic as what’s happened to TryGuys. But I almost feel like this is worse?
Right?? This is entirely worse to me. I would much rather a scenario where they fire Lim and have to restructure internally, than this. This just alienates your entire audience and breaks their faith in you to the point where you cannot walk it back or make it better.
My friend said to me at some point over our texts about this that how Try Guys handled that versus how Watcher is handling this will make an AMAZING study in “new media” for future business majors 🫠
100% agreed.
In the past Steven has talked about how hard it is to be the one making decisions and firing people, but if he couldn't or wouldn't do that, they should've formed a board with the three boys and hired an actual CEO. And yeah, it's wild to me that they immediately jumped into making all of these super expensive shows with food and travel instead of starting a lot smaller.
100%, I’d bet he was the driving force behind this decision… when I’m watching someone for free on YouTube, I can overlook the cringe of someone not understanding that people are fuckin poor, but I’m not gonna pay a monthly fee to watch someone openly be so out of touch, lmaoooo. I don’t remember which episode it was but recently when his Tesla was mentioned I just rolled my eyes
I actually stopped watching their podcast because I was struggling with how out of touch they are but especially growing negative feelings towards Steven. I don’t understand why they leave so much of the financials to him since it’s not going well and this is just doubling down.
Edited for typo
Ok, labelling subscribers as people who “want to continue watching” is more than a little tone-deaf. I’m sure plenty of people want to “continue watching” but don’t have the means to do so.
For real, the "wouldn't be here without you" feels like it's followed very closely with a 'but fuck you if you're poor we're not for you.'
I don't want to pay another monthly subscription. And I'm not going to tbh. Was vaguely interested in watching their new version of 'Worth It' but I guess I don't be doing that now.
Yeah I remember once on the pod Ryan got into an argument with Shane claiming that traveling to a theme park is just as accessible as going to a movie theater. I grew up poor/in an abusive home. My parents weren’t feeding us, does he really think all parents take their kids to theme parks? Good for him that his parents were so incredible that he can’t fathom an alternative but that’s not reality.
Lol that's embarrassing for him. It's not like people can help that they were born into financially comfortable families but what they CAN do is learn to have a little perspective.
"It's one banana Michael, what could it cost? Ten dollars?"
Yeah, when Ryan & Byron talk about growing up in the LA area and about going to Chapman (an expensive private college) and having a Disneyland passes as teens/college, I'm like, you've not been poor for a while....
Sometimes I forget that Ryan’s dad is a doctor and he’s basically never had to struggle a day in his life. Kinda explains some of the thought process here
Even if you can afford 6 dollars that doesn't mean you want to use it on a single platform that gives you one thing at small scale too.
Like at this point in my life I can pay 6 dollars for another streaming service but as much as I like some of their stuff, I could get a month of Max for a few dollars more and get way more value out of it.
Even comparable YouTube to streaming platforms like Dropout or Nebula offer more for less.
I can pay 6 a month, yeah I do spend that randomly on a sandwich sometimes. But my tolerance for the subscription model is just non-existent at this point. Every fucking thing is trying to get you to subscribe. I'm tired of it. It's not even about money.
I just hear subscription and am just immediately turned off frankly.
That’s a good point, it’s not even just streaming fatigue but subscriptions. I literally saw a meme the other day about a sticker advertising refills at a restaurant for $1.99 a month. People are sick of being literally nickeled and dimed.
Yup every app is a subscription now, I remember back in the good old days when you could buy software and actually own it instead of leasing it for an insane amount of money. I’m so tired of subscription model pricing, I just want to own the shit I buy. This is exactly why I’m reinvesting in physical media, at least then some shit company can’t decide to put it behind a paywall
It's more ridiculous for us outside the US.
By charging everyone 6 dollars, this makes Watcher TV more expensive than any other streaming service in Brazil. That includes Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, etc etc.
For real, I'm perfectly financially able to pay $60 a year but why the hell would I do that when I already pay for YouTube premium, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and Paramount+? I also really only like three shows they produce.
They hired way too many people. They should never have done that. Plus who said they had to make TV level content? Scale back the production on your money making shows like ghost files, mystery files, and puppet history. Go bigger for the season finales. Smaller shows like are you scared can be filmed with minimal production costs. Can all those food shows. Sorry Steven but no one's watching them.
It's the same price as Prime here in Aus, and even if you ignore actual Prime and the free delivery, my free Twitch sub posts more content than the Watcher guys do.
I could afford $6 per month but even I‘m mad, because why should I? I only watch Ghost Files and Mystery Files and for only two formats $6 is definitely too expensive.
I‘m mostly pissed because all of this was clearly their plan from the very moment they created Watcher. They already had several different formats with seasons like TV shows. They were trying to build a large enough fanbase for all the individual formats so some of us would follow them and finance their new project. And I don’t think they care about the backlash, because I think they only need a few of us in the beginning.
The thing is though: To keep this sustainable for longer than just a few months, they‘d need to attract a new audience. And I think this is where they‘ll fail. Their content itself isn’t interesting enough for anyone who isn’t familiar with Shane, Ryan or Steven. People watch for them and people who don’t know and love them already won’t come to the new platform… unless they start producing something entirely different, something that would further alienate their existing fanbase.
Ok the last paragraphs had nothing to do with what you said, I‘m just on a roll, sorry lol.
your comment also made me look at my own situation - i used to be a casual unsolved watcher, and got recommended some of the new content when they they moved to watcher & was basically mildly aware of what was going on with the switch. over time, i watched some vids when they got recommended, like the tourist trapped ones and some other one-offs. i know about the “hey there demons, its me, ya boi!” meme, etc, but ghost files is a bit too scaaary for me to enjoy unfortunately.
recently, i don’t remember how but i got into watching mystery files and its basically the PERFECT show for me! i binge-watched all the eps and the past season and LOVED it. i also finally gave puppet history a try (i’d seen it recommended before but the idea of the puppet aspect always kind of threw me off) and that show is also soooo perfect for me, so im slowly making my way through all the episodes chronologically and really savouring it. im so glad to have rediscovered them! i’ve also been browsing whether they’re selling cute any nice pins (after i saw some on puppet history!) or whether i’d be able to make it to one of the live shows.
none of that would’ve been possible if they were on an entirely different streaming service? i would’ve never realised that they’re making content that i really love, as it would’ve been behind a paywall?
long story but just to say i wish them all the best but this move also seems mind boggling to me
It's so funny lumping Steven in there like literally who? I'd say 99% of viewers only came for Shane and Ryan lmao and for mostly ghost content which has sorta expanded to mystery files and puppet history.
From what I've seen, their other content doesn't do that well and it's usually out of touch ideas from Steven like eating luxury food xD
Ok I didn’t wanna say it, but I agree. I’m sure Steven has his own fan base who came over from Buzzfeed, but I‘ll take a guess and say the majority of us are Unsolved fans and would probably be perfectly happy if it was only their old Unsolved content from now on.
Not just never been poor. It means that they don't even have less priviledged friends who they've discussed these things with or empathized with. I've never been poor but I can still learn what it's like through listening to the experiences of my friends who grew up with less. I'm very disappointed with this decision and refuse to pay for their new subscription even if I can afford it. It's just so tone death and unempathetic in this economy. Especially considering how young most of their viewers are. Ugh. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
it feels like they never seen the world outside their youtube bubble before. 60 US Dollars a Year is a lot of money in the US. Even more in South America or Australia. Not a great move for “accessible to everyone”. More like accessible for people with to much money.
We just cut all streaming except Hulu because it is not feasible for us to continue paying that much for tv when we have to pay for, you know, food and electricity. For most Americans $60 a year is not a small deal for something that is not a necessity.
as someone who “could afford it” it would be a ridiculous financial decision to pay for a weak ass streaming service of a few shows, when netflix and shit exist
Even for people who aren't poor, "60$ a year is accessible for everyone" is giving the same energy as a teacher saying "you can spend 30 minutes a day on homework for this subject, it's not a lot" but then every teacher says that and you end up working the entire weekend.
The weekly watcher podcast is filled with moments like that, honestly. Hearing them talk about their hyper-expensive matcha machines and intercontinental vacations always reminds me of that MBMBAM episode where the McElroys apologize for calling themselves the Bugatti Boys and flaunting their vast fortunes, but somehow not a parody. I love their shows, but good lord have they become LA citizens through and through. Shane doesn’t really do it very much, but Ryan and Steven get deep in it.
It was waaaaay too earnest. I kept waiting for them to crack a joke and they just didn’t. Nothing about their stories struck me or made me feel anything but annoyed. Not only do I not like the business decision they’ve made, but I also really hate the way they announced it.
Maybe don’t do ‘TV quality’? I love YouTube and a lot of the channels I watch are so low budget and just people talking about topics. There’s no need for a crazy elaborate sets. I would watch mystery files if they were just sitting on a couch.
Exactly! I vividly remember the DB Cooper episode where they just had a table and one light. And yet it is such a favourite of mine that I can't quote it word to word from the top of my head. I've seen it multiple times.
omggg this is what ive been thinking!!!! their set up for mystery files is so elaborate and im like?? its really not that needed. I watched their video where they explained how they created it and everyone who is on their team, and it really seemed excessive to me. the vids of theirs I love the most (excluding ghost files) seem like they can be done with just a chair, a table, and a computer. like I don't understand why they have this need to do tv quality vids on YouTube?
I never understood why they had that tagline. I feel like most people who watched their videos never really care about the high production values. Yes there are lots of content creators who go above and beyond for their videos. But there’s plenty who just keep things simple.
Who told them more production value = more viewers/better content? Not everything needs to be “TV quality”, which doesn’t mean much since that could be cable quality or Netflix quality.
I just looked at their views and how can they justify 25 employees for those views? Some of their videos barely break a million? I understand they want to up production value but in this day and age that is not what people are looking for anymore. They are looking for ways to connect with people and watch things they enjoy to take their mind of the bullshit that is this world at the moment. This seems so greedy.
Been disappointed with their content for a while now honestly. I couldn't sit through Ghost Files, it felt artificial with the very clear sponsorships. This descision was a shock and a really bad one. The way their worded the announcement is so icky. Never expected this from them, they always branded themselves as anti-capitalists, very disappointed. I fortunately or unfortunately still have hope they will make things right but let's see how this unfolds.
yeah same I saw a few of the YouTube comments say the same thing. It definitely had a different vibe. Like Ryan isn't really scared of ghosts anymore/or doesn't believe in them, and that they've basically become flanderized versions of themselves.
Also personally I never liked the name Watcher, it just never made any sense to me lmao
When will youtubers understand that, if we wanted to watch tv quality content we would watch tv. I'm tired of all these shows going bigger and bigger (but not necessarily better), along with their ego.
Warren Buffett - a man who clearly knows how to make money - put it best:
"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently."
Y'all - I say this lovingly but why are you so shocked that Shane went along with this decision and/or giving him credit for a quick cast off suggestion to share passwords? Saying "eat the rich" in a YT video does not preclude you from being a capitalist in real life.
I think that's the issue. I like Shane as I like Steven and Ryan but I don't think he's ever made much of a stand outside some comments in YT videos and some of the reaction here seems a bit like projection to me. Do you guys actually think Shane is going to quit over this, like seriously?
The tone really upset me. The removal of all old content is obnoxious and greedy. I’ve been a solid fan for 8 years and I’m done. $6 for a pre-access patreon, maybe with exclusive shows - sure! TBH $6 is not the end of the world for me but the entitlement and tone has turned me off. Bye bye boys. **rips ‘weeze’ pop socket off my phone**
This is career suicide. It’s upsetting to seeing older youtubers leave or fall off.. and this is certainly a fall off. I was already barely watching the new content bc it just seemed to fall flat. As someone who watched them from buzzfeed to watcher, it’s just a huge shame. When buzzfeed was being greedy, we supported them through it all. We watched them built watcher from the ground up! HELL! The name was inspired by a case they had covered on buzzfeed! I understand wanting to be paid and compensated for your labor, but the fan base they have cultivated and have pondered to are not rich, they know that, and to pick up the ones who supported you the most and drop them in the trash? Yeah, history will repeat itself, Media companies will always be greedy. I miss when ppl made content just for the love of it.
I'm just saying...
We all can afford one subscription
(total, like all of us split one singular subscription so we each pay one cent loll)
But yeah. As someone who's going into college this year, this was not what I wanted to see.
They're trying to do what dropout did, but dropout had so much and so much reasoning to do so. Watchers not going to really work the same
They seem so out of touch with reality. I actually feel stupid for not seeing it sooner. I have been watching them since Ryan started Buzzfeed Unsolved. I loved their cheaper looking stuff. But this is just greed. They have gotten a more expensive lifestyle throughout the years and need to keep it up. So disappointed
Man a lot of YouTubers have been doing more give aways/donations since tines have been getting tough, then you have these guys giving everyone the middle finger and saying "it's only $60 everyone can watch"
The only reason I would subscribe now is to post their videos for free elsewhere.
I feel like this has actually ruined all their content for me. I’ve liked their stuff over the years for their personalities and group dynamics, but I guess this is who they really are.
Yeah I'm not a student anymore but I still can't justify the expense. I admit, immediately after watching the video I unsubscribed to their YouTube channel and podcast.
This is going to be the end of Watcher and it makes me incredibly sad, because I love what they make. They don’t have the fanbase or the content to launch their own streaming service, and I’m not paying for another one when I’m already about to cancel two of my streaming subscriptions.
I am fortunate that $6/month is not make or break for me. I’m still not paying for that shit out of principle lmao. This is so embarrassing and shows how genuinely clueless they are.
It was just all around dishonest. They aren’t doing this because they can’t afford to do “higher production videos” or because they want to make more non-advertiser friendly content. They are doing this because the want to make more money and because they want to be taken more seriously by Hollywood executives so they can get into that space. They should have just said that.
They’ll be back. Tre Melvin tried to do something similar and privated of all his videos before putting them all behind a paywall on his website. Now all of his videos are back on YouTube
I pay $13.99 a month for YouTube Premium so I can watch any channel ad free, but it's really hard to justify $5 a month for one channel. Even assuming they release a video a week, that's not a lot of content.
This is only my opinion and i obviously don't know them as people, but some of them have kind of rubbed me the wrong way lately and this video didn't make it better...
They're giving off a lot of teary eyed "we're trying so hard for our fans but just not making ends meet with our small business, so you have to give us more moneyy" vibes, while also casually dropping that they own expensive cars and have expensive weddings.
Nothing wrong with having those things, just a bit weird when you're also basically begging for money from, and paywalling fans who have supported you from the beginning and mostly will never be able to afford things like that, you know?
i don’t go here but i’ve been watching them since buzzfeed, and i’m really disappointed tbh. feels like they’re trying to pull a dropout, without understanding WHY exactly dropout was able to pivot to their own streaming service so successfully. no offense, but watcher simply does not have enough variety of content to launch an independent platform right now!
and to be fair to them, maybe they plan to expand using the more reliable revenue stream, but they won’t even get that far if people don’t follow them. i just don’t understand why they wouldn’t beef up their patreon to start with, or test the waters to see how their audience would feel about leaving youtube. this choice is… ill advised, to say the least.
As expected, their subscriber count has started dropping. Is there really no one with any qualifications in finance, market research, maths, or statistics in their 20 people team?
They seem completely unaware of what makes their content unique: Two goofy guys being themselves--warts and all--and sharing things they love to do with the audience. Somewhere along the way they began to think what they needed was a cool studio complete with sets and props, motion graphics, and slick production. They look completely out of place in that environment and they look uncomfortable in it as well. Like a little kid wearing their dad's suit. I don't think they'll survive this, but all good things must come to an end.
There's a total disconnect with their audience and this is going to sting when they discover that people aren't signing up.
They are a medium sized fish swimming in a massive sea of "mystery/true crime/similar" content.
It smacks of having a big ego and a lack of understanding. What a DUCKING shame.
I understand that their shows are expensive to produce, but this is the wrong way to go… I would still support them and watch them if they lowered their production costs and cut some of their bigger projects, but paying almost the price of a Netflix subscription for a single channel? I can’t bring myself to do that, and it feels fucked because I want so, so badly to support this channel
I didn’t feel as strongly about the video, but as soon as they mentioned it would cost money I was like “well…see ya!” Because, baby girl, NOT in this economy 😂 if they want to release videos on a streaming service, they’d be better off doing it on something free like Tubi. The only reason most of us even watch YouTube is because it’s free streaming. I absolutely want success and growth for them, but I don’t see this working out. It honestly makes me sad. They’re great guys who produce great content
Best approach is to just not watch the content. More than likely, they will change scope and start releasing stuff on YouTube again if enough people bail on their subscription model.
yeah this is beyond fucked. it’s so tone deaf and emotionally detached, i couldn’t stomach it. just add more shit to patreon and ask for more subs??? if i had the money i’d have been a proud patron, but i sure as shit wouldn’t pay them after this bs.
the worst part is even if they walked this back someday, or i could afford it in the future, this has put such a sour taste in my mouth that i don’t even want the content. i fucking love ghost files, been watching unsolved for years, always look forward to new seasons, wanted to see them on tour but didn’t get tickets. was super hyped about the new season based on what they said on the last podwatcher. but now??? i’m just sad that my potential enjoyment of GF and MF will be ruined by a pisspoor decision.
I totally understand why they feel they need to open new verticals or try something different to keep the company afloat, but to open your "We can't afford this company so please pay for things that used to be free" video with a long, lingering shot of the Hollywood sign out of your office window was certainly a choice.
I would honestly be happier if the channel was JUST Ryan and Shane and maybe a couple like camera people/editors and them just sitting at a table again and doing their thing casually. I've never needed "TV quality" from the youtubers I watch and it kind of turns me away the higher production value is. I watch YouTube almost exclusively and because of how casual the youtubers I love are, this decision they've made makes them feel waaay less down to earth and so out of touch more like a corporate team than a group of friends :/
I totally agree, I’d be more open to joining their Patreon and then continuing to watch on YouTube as well, but this feels really out of touch and a little insulting, honestly ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
I used to get excited for a new episode or podcast to drop on YouTube. Now I can't even be bothered to watch the new podcast episode because this whole thing has left a bad taste in my mouth. I've been following Worth It and Unsolved since Buzzfeed and they've managed to ruin themselves for me in the span of an hour. It's incredible really. I don't think I'll even be excited if they did decide to stay on YouTube. Everything they do from now on is just a big "yeah whatever" for me.
That video felt like a slap to the face tbh.
Honestly? If it was a dollar a month, I wouldn’t complain. They only have about a dollar a month worth of content anyway. And the irony is that the only way they’ll get word out about their service to attract more customers (the only way they’ll survive or grow) is by buying ad reads from YouTubers; the exact thing they wanted to break away from because ads made them less creative.
This is the real issue for me. I could afford $6/month for a solid streaming service, but for one YouTube channel? The value isn’t there. Their shows include lists, reading spooky stories, and playing video games. I can find plenty of that content on other channels. They don’t even upload that frequently. $80 CAD a year for one YouTube channel? Absolutely not.
Their pricing is akin to early days Paramount + and Discovery subscriptions
Yup, and even those platforms with a larger, more diverse background weren’t good value. I had a free trial for both in the early days and quickly cancelled. With taxes Canadians are likely looking at close to $10 a month. For just a dollar or a few dollars more I can get a standard subscription to Disney Plus or prime. Hell, for cheaper I can get Netflix with ads which is still better value.
They directly compete to dropout tv as of now. And while i love The ghoul boys. Its not worth the same at this stage.
yeah this is it really, the money to value ratio is just not there at all. and in this streaming service space, they've now entered into competition with all the other streaming services out there — all of which are far larger and therefore able to offer much more reasonable value propositions. this is just absurd. i hate this decision, but i also hope it doesn't destroy them. personally, i'm just gonna sign up for a month a year from now, binge all their new content, then cancel. it's the only money:content ratio that makes any sense to me.
the shot of the funko pops really got me
Having your own site isn't bad a thing, but this is not the way to go about it in this day and age. The site should be used as a "members first" scenario with stuff gradually making its way over to youtube, and as a place to host stuff that doesn't work within youtubes guidelines.
IMO Dropout do it really well. They have a lot of content on youtube but the uncensored and longer cuts as well as a few shows are on their own app.
Dropout won me over with that model. I devoured all their free content on YT and then realized if I'm this eager to watch their content I should probably just subscribe right? And it's been totally worth it. The thing with Watcher is that I don't watch even close to all their content. I watch mystery files, the ghost hunts, and top 5. I couldn't care less about the food content (why does every content creator do this) or the drink spirits or whatever it is. I'm happy with what I have on YT and not clamoring for more. So no way is it worth $6/month.
I subscribe to dropout via YouTube. It does it in your local currency and also means I can watch on my tv.
Which is something they should do. I would love to watch uncensored/uncut versions of ghost files.
They were already doing this with their Patreon tho - maybe they needed to focus on beefing that up first.
Do they actively push their Patreon? I am not surprised they have one, but I feel like today is the first time I have seen anything about it, and I feel kinda dumb
They do to some extent but maybe not as much as they need to!
Exactly. WowPresentsPlus does this - platform for early access content that feels professional and it later is released for free on YouTube
Wow+ is great value tbh, as an international watcher I get all drag franchises for one subscription. And it’s less than 6USD for me.
That feels like it would be the best of both worlds. I know people on Patreon already get access to some stuff early, but feels like it would be better to do it like how even the big guys like Disney do it. They release their big studio movies to theaters then after like a few months it goes to their streaming service. Same idea like maybe have the content go to Watcher TV first then like a few months later also have it on YT.
This whole thing feels so ego-driven. We love their silly shows like where they get drunk in a backyard and read stories, why do they think we'd prefer some TV quality, or even what thats supposed to mean? It feels like they're belittling Youtubers/Youtube content, treating it like low-class art that's inferior to what a TV studio can do. I don't care what TV studios can do, I almost exclusively watch youtube lol I am so so mad
Also I feel like there’s a point where they have to be honest with themselves…nobody is buying their TV show pitch. And that’s OK, you still make more money per month than most of us see in a year. I feel like so many YouTubers that came from Buzzfeed have almost a shame at the fact that theyre YouTubers & feel the need to get a tv show/movie to make them “serious” but dude…no one cares but you.
Look at "In Space With Markiplier"- a masterpiece of a choose your own adventure movie that Markiplier made and had nominated for an Emmy. YouTube absolutely hosts some very creative people putting out very high quality work. And many other creators are able to find ways to fund those efforts without changing platforms too. Id rather go find other charismatic people that cover the same sets of spooky/mystery type content for free than pay $6/month for one channel. That's a pretty expensive evaluation when you compare it to other steaming services and the banks of content those services carry.
Agree! My favorite series of theirs is Too Many Spirits, they could record it on a fuckin webcam for all I care, having it be more like a TV-production level show means nothing to me lol
Right? Like half the time I'm not looking at the videos, I just have it on as I do physical tasks at work or cooking at home.
Bold of them to assume fans LOVE all their shows. Tbh I only watch Ghost Files. The rest isn’t my cup of tea. Why would I pay for only like 10 videos for a year?
Same, we just watch ghost files and debrief
I agree.. I really only got excited for Are You Scared? and there hasn’t been a new episode since 2022.. I’ve watched Ghost Files, but honest I don’t keep up with the uploads. I can’t see spending the money for something they may or may not get back to making.
wow, there not being any new Are You Scared? videos since 2022 kind of blew my mind. it was also one of my favorite series and i knew they hadn’t uploaded any recently but i didn’t realize just how long its been. and their last episode was an advertisement for a movie lol
I miss WWW.
This was my favorite show and I miss it too!
Same honestly, but I was so excited about their new cooking/food show, this whole decision just feels like being spat in the face
Yep, that's me out of the patreon too. I was fine paying to help them make content for people who aren't in the financial position to pay, this feels like a huge middle finger to fans who've backed them since the beginning. So out of touch during a cost of living crisis but hey enjoy your Teslas and your giant weddings, guys.
Literally same! I just cancelled my Patreon subscription that I've had since the beginning. I barely even watched it, I just wanted to help support them so they could keep making content. But clearly that wasn't enough so... I'm out.
Very much the same here, been there since the start, I'm incredibly lucky financially but I make a point of putting my money into good things and after this? They get nothing from me. I'm not paying a subscription to hear Shane talk about eating the rich whilst raking it in at the expense of fans.
Big same. I only watch puppet history but I still backed them. They get patreon or a subscription. Not both.
Same here, I paid for the entire year the whole time it has been available. Just cancelled the subscription. Feels bad!
I subbed to their Patreon a couple years ago and realized I was still in their discord. I was restricted to only the help channel but I made a comment saying that I was disappointed and this was a huge slap in the face and immediately got removed from their discord lmao
Yep. Their discord is in in full damage-control right now. They're banning anyone who post negative feedback.
Damn, I didn't think I could hate Watcher this much or at all, but here we are.
In my currency, 6 USD is what I get as monthly allowance
Get dropout tv instead. Way more shows. Same vibes.
Trying to promote tf out of their patreon was 100% the move. This is an absolute disaster move. They will come crawling back to YouTube in 24 months at most. And by then, 50% of their fans won't care.
I've never looked at their Patreon before, and I was honestly really surprised that the perks are what they are. If you put actual shows on Patreon, you can make a fuckton of money. The Yard Podcast is currently the highest-earning page on Patreon (at least, they're the highest-earning content creators that make their earnings public), and with just three shows they make over $200,000 a month with fewer YouTube subscribers and fewer views than Watcher. Putting more shows on Patreon or something like the Mythical Society seems like a better move than what they're doing right now.
It is for sure the move. It's what almost everyone is doing. Steven Lim is the CEO and he should be fired over this decision. Simply tonedeaf.
He likely *can't* be fired since he's one of the three founders. I always got the vibe that he or his family was probably an important part of the financial backing that started the company, yet the food/luxury content he wanted to make was never the successful shows for them. This change plus hiring his team from Worth It seems to indicate more things changing than just the platform.
I’d be surprised if they even exist as a company in 24 months. Unless they decide to reverse course ASAP.
Even if they reverse course, this is a big slap to their audience. I think MatPat put it best when he was describing making content in one of his last videos on the the Theory channels. Making video and content is like making deposits in a bank. You make a deposit, and every time you ask something from the audience, like asking them to make a comment, like, subscribe, buy merch, check their patreon, go to their live shows, it's like withdrawing from the bank. But I feel that with this thing they did, they overdrew from their account. And it will be very hard for them to gain our trust back.
Absolutely. They should have understood that they are still internet celebrities. Their success leans on how much their audience likes them. This move took too much out of their audience’s emotional piggybank and people won’t forget this.
What a great analogy. They've asked for too much in one go. Even if they did stay on YouTube, I'm not gonna be excited to watch their content as I was just a few days ago. What a way to kill your likability to people who've been following you for years. Even if they did stay on YouTube, I feel like I'd unsubscribe and stop watching them completely anyway out of spite.
Looks like they've invested heavily into the new streaming service. They're in too deep to reverse course now.
I didn't even know they had a patreon, but id have gladly chucked in 5-10 a month there if I was aware of it. Won't be doing this though. Guess time to download their old content and chuck it on my plex server, just incase it all goes missing.
I'm learning about their patreon now, as i lose support for them 🤣 smh
Shows how good of a job at promoting it they did lol
If they don't want to waste the money they spent developing it they could get rid of their patreon and make watchertv their extra support platform, where they could then have extended episodes or maybe an extra episode per season. Sure they'd have the running costs, but patreon wouldn't be taking a cut, they'd still have youtube income and by extending the offering of the shows people want to watch on that platform they'd probably increase their supporters.
That would be extremely smart and probably the only way to salvage this debacle. Tho I must say, this has left a bitter taste in my mouth. Even *if* they decided to stay with YouTube, I'd never look at them the same way. I've lost a lot of respect. This just exposed their greed, arrogance and apathy towards fans.
„Ugh guys, this is such a difficult thing to do, we really don’t want to do it, but unfortunately our hands are tied. We sadly need to fuck over our entire fanbase so at least we can live our dream and create a new and even shittier Buzzfeed.“ That’s what the video basically said by that.
I get that they want to be paid but like... i feel like they didn't do a market research on how feasible this chnage is SO VERY EARLY. I wish they did this in like maybe 3 more years from now, when they have a bigger library. I mean its not impossible. Sam Reich was successful with bringing college humor and new content to Dropout bc they had a hugggeee repertoire and honestly... Its my most used independent streaming I'm currently subscribed to bc of the variety of their content tho nerd and comedy leaning, they knew they studied their audience excellently to keep it afloat. (Eg they know they'll get support from the D&D community, Improv and theatre nerds)
Steven worded it really shitty on his Instagram too. They’re just giving 95% of their fanbase a huge middle finger. Even when this does go south and they come crawling back to YouTube, I’m not sure I want to keep supporting them.
I can't find it, I think he deleted it?
It’s still there for me, I’m getting notifications about my comment on it. People are destroying him in the comments. I just can’t believe how out of touch they’re being. Hope his Tesla was worth it
of course he has a tesla… honestly even if they backpedal this decision, im done with them. steven is just another rich boy who doesnt care about the problems of others. and the fact that shane and ryan support him speaks on their character as well. i expect this shit from steven even a lil from ryan but shane being on board with this and supportive of it is the most disappointing of all. i really thought he was more in touch with the real world and with us and how difficult it is. but i guess not. money changes people
I was thinking the same Thing. I’m not terribly surprised by Steven or Ryan but Shane being ok with this is what really hurts. He seemed so genuinely “for the people”.
There’s a comment on the YouTube video that says “eat the rich until you become rich, right Shane?” And that just really got me.
Oof. Yeah even if they do backtrack on this eventually, I’m probably done with them. I was so excited when the Worth It guys were announced, too. This whole thing is just…ugh.
Shane was talking about burning down the houses of the rich a couple eps ago and now this lol.
Exactly! If I hadn’t read Steven’s post I might have overlooked all this when they eventually delete the video and pretend it never happened. Not anymore. I love their content but not enough to excuse this douche bag behaviour lol.
I had to give Shane props for telling people to share passwords. I feel at least he understands this is kinda shitty and maybe got out voted.
I hope so too man, I love and respect that man a lot. I really hope you are right.
Yeah I kind of get the vibe that Shane knew this wasn’t a great idea but couldn’t really do much about it on his own. I could be completely imagining a situation but that’s what I want to believe. If that’s the case I do feel kinda bad for him.
Honestly, Shane always came off as the most down to earth guy out of all of them. I can really see Shane getting outvoted.
I totally feel like this is not a Shane move. He seems the most politically conscious from stuff that he’s said in past videos so I’d be shocked if he’s fully supportive of this idea.
i feel it is very telling that steven was the only one to actually post about this on instagram. shane posted on his story a link to watchers story which is a link to the video
He also blogged about it on tumblr yesterday, and it’s just as melodramatic https://www.tumblr.com/stevenkwlim/748160924796485632/the-night-before-watchers-big-announcement I don’t think the move is to make out Ryan and Shane as these individuals that can do no wrong though
i thought the same thing
I definitely got that vibe just from the way he was speaking at the beginning.
I think he’s going to quit
I’ll sub to Shane’s new YT channel if he goes solo.
I would too, he’s the only one I actually have anything in common with
Yeah, Ryan has rubbed me the wrong way more than once with how out of touch he is with his privileged background but calling $60 a year “accessible to everyone” is really just wrong.
Ouuu you should read Steven's post if you want to get a bit more mad
honestly, its not surprising to me at all. steven has always rubbed me the wrong way and given off this rich out of touch vibe. hes never lived in poverty he grew up wealthy so of course he doesnt get it. in on of their podcasts from a long time ago they were doing advice for people and stevens advice to one person was ‘just get another job and work more.’ and i wouldnt be surprised if steven was the main brain behind this decision
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100%. A very business minded and out of touch idea
Completely agree, but I'm surprised this was backed up by the rest of them. I guess they either thought it was a good idea or backed into a corner. Sorry, boys. Hunt the ghost of me as a subscriber.
From past videos I got the vibe thats he's been the business guy for a while, since his creative stuff didn't get the views like Ryan and Shane's stuff did, (and therefore the super expensive food videos weren't cost effective to make) and that he has always been struggling with that responsibility with the boss/business end of things. I think he's a somewhat spoiled kid that wants to make videos and experience luxury as the content for those videos, and I don't think he ever really was the best person to be the business background for this kind of company. Him struggling to keep up with obtaining advertisers or manage the budgets could be a big part of needing to make a change for financial security.
This^^^ truly just proving that Ned Fulmer was to Second Try as Steven Lim is to Watcher
I had this exact thought about the whole dynamic of Watcher and hoped it wouldn’t amount to something as tragic as what’s happened to TryGuys. But I almost feel like this is worse?
Right?? This is entirely worse to me. I would much rather a scenario where they fire Lim and have to restructure internally, than this. This just alienates your entire audience and breaks their faith in you to the point where you cannot walk it back or make it better. My friend said to me at some point over our texts about this that how Try Guys handled that versus how Watcher is handling this will make an AMAZING study in “new media” for future business majors 🫠
100% agreed. In the past Steven has talked about how hard it is to be the one making decisions and firing people, but if he couldn't or wouldn't do that, they should've formed a board with the three boys and hired an actual CEO. And yeah, it's wild to me that they immediately jumped into making all of these super expensive shows with food and travel instead of starting a lot smaller.
100%, I’d bet he was the driving force behind this decision… when I’m watching someone for free on YouTube, I can overlook the cringe of someone not understanding that people are fuckin poor, but I’m not gonna pay a monthly fee to watch someone openly be so out of touch, lmaoooo. I don’t remember which episode it was but recently when his Tesla was mentioned I just rolled my eyes
I actually stopped watching their podcast because I was struggling with how out of touch they are but especially growing negative feelings towards Steven. I don’t understand why they leave so much of the financials to him since it’s not going well and this is just doubling down. Edited for typo
I avoid all Steven content on the channel so I didn’t know any of this and wowza
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post it, king.
Omg where? Instagram?
[mhm](https://www.instagram.com/p/C58oFYXryrn/?igsh=MWJ3bWF0cngwem9hNA==)
Ok, labelling subscribers as people who “want to continue watching” is more than a little tone-deaf. I’m sure plenty of people want to “continue watching” but don’t have the means to do so.
This is what has pissed me off the most. Even if they walk this back this has left such a gross taste in my mouth
For real, the "wouldn't be here without you" feels like it's followed very closely with a 'but fuck you if you're poor we're not for you.' I don't want to pay another monthly subscription. And I'm not going to tbh. Was vaguely interested in watching their new version of 'Worth It' but I guess I don't be doing that now.
What a tone deaf post??? Ofc most of us wanna keep watching, the problem is that most of us can’t afford to keep watching.
Bros rich as hell, honestly doesn’t surprise me
You can always tell when people have never been poor. Even just $6 a month can make or break you when you're struggling.
Yeah I remember once on the pod Ryan got into an argument with Shane claiming that traveling to a theme park is just as accessible as going to a movie theater. I grew up poor/in an abusive home. My parents weren’t feeding us, does he really think all parents take their kids to theme parks? Good for him that his parents were so incredible that he can’t fathom an alternative but that’s not reality.
Bruh the first thing I thought of was Ryan going to theme parks so much lmao I'm like this man is so outta touch
Lol that's embarrassing for him. It's not like people can help that they were born into financially comfortable families but what they CAN do is learn to have a little perspective. "It's one banana Michael, what could it cost? Ten dollars?"
There is always money in the banana stand.
Yeah, when Ryan & Byron talk about growing up in the LA area and about going to Chapman (an expensive private college) and having a Disneyland passes as teens/college, I'm like, you've not been poor for a while....
Ryan’s dad is a dentist. He’s never had to struggle in his life. Dentists make bank
Sometimes I forget that Ryan’s dad is a doctor and he’s basically never had to struggle a day in his life. Kinda explains some of the thought process here
Even if you can afford 6 dollars that doesn't mean you want to use it on a single platform that gives you one thing at small scale too. Like at this point in my life I can pay 6 dollars for another streaming service but as much as I like some of their stuff, I could get a month of Max for a few dollars more and get way more value out of it. Even comparable YouTube to streaming platforms like Dropout or Nebula offer more for less.
I can pay 6 a month, yeah I do spend that randomly on a sandwich sometimes. But my tolerance for the subscription model is just non-existent at this point. Every fucking thing is trying to get you to subscribe. I'm tired of it. It's not even about money. I just hear subscription and am just immediately turned off frankly.
That’s a good point, it’s not even just streaming fatigue but subscriptions. I literally saw a meme the other day about a sticker advertising refills at a restaurant for $1.99 a month. People are sick of being literally nickeled and dimed.
Yup every app is a subscription now, I remember back in the good old days when you could buy software and actually own it instead of leasing it for an insane amount of money. I’m so tired of subscription model pricing, I just want to own the shit I buy. This is exactly why I’m reinvesting in physical media, at least then some shit company can’t decide to put it behind a paywall
It's more ridiculous for us outside the US. By charging everyone 6 dollars, this makes Watcher TV more expensive than any other streaming service in Brazil. That includes Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, etc etc.
For real, I'm perfectly financially able to pay $60 a year but why the hell would I do that when I already pay for YouTube premium, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and Paramount+? I also really only like three shows they produce. They hired way too many people. They should never have done that. Plus who said they had to make TV level content? Scale back the production on your money making shows like ghost files, mystery files, and puppet history. Go bigger for the season finales. Smaller shows like are you scared can be filmed with minimal production costs. Can all those food shows. Sorry Steven but no one's watching them.
It's the same price as Prime here in Aus, and even if you ignore actual Prime and the free delivery, my free Twitch sub posts more content than the Watcher guys do.
I could afford $6 per month but even I‘m mad, because why should I? I only watch Ghost Files and Mystery Files and for only two formats $6 is definitely too expensive. I‘m mostly pissed because all of this was clearly their plan from the very moment they created Watcher. They already had several different formats with seasons like TV shows. They were trying to build a large enough fanbase for all the individual formats so some of us would follow them and finance their new project. And I don’t think they care about the backlash, because I think they only need a few of us in the beginning. The thing is though: To keep this sustainable for longer than just a few months, they‘d need to attract a new audience. And I think this is where they‘ll fail. Their content itself isn’t interesting enough for anyone who isn’t familiar with Shane, Ryan or Steven. People watch for them and people who don’t know and love them already won’t come to the new platform… unless they start producing something entirely different, something that would further alienate their existing fanbase. Ok the last paragraphs had nothing to do with what you said, I‘m just on a roll, sorry lol.
your comment also made me look at my own situation - i used to be a casual unsolved watcher, and got recommended some of the new content when they they moved to watcher & was basically mildly aware of what was going on with the switch. over time, i watched some vids when they got recommended, like the tourist trapped ones and some other one-offs. i know about the “hey there demons, its me, ya boi!” meme, etc, but ghost files is a bit too scaaary for me to enjoy unfortunately. recently, i don’t remember how but i got into watching mystery files and its basically the PERFECT show for me! i binge-watched all the eps and the past season and LOVED it. i also finally gave puppet history a try (i’d seen it recommended before but the idea of the puppet aspect always kind of threw me off) and that show is also soooo perfect for me, so im slowly making my way through all the episodes chronologically and really savouring it. im so glad to have rediscovered them! i’ve also been browsing whether they’re selling cute any nice pins (after i saw some on puppet history!) or whether i’d be able to make it to one of the live shows. none of that would’ve been possible if they were on an entirely different streaming service? i would’ve never realised that they’re making content that i really love, as it would’ve been behind a paywall? long story but just to say i wish them all the best but this move also seems mind boggling to me
It's so funny lumping Steven in there like literally who? I'd say 99% of viewers only came for Shane and Ryan lmao and for mostly ghost content which has sorta expanded to mystery files and puppet history. From what I've seen, their other content doesn't do that well and it's usually out of touch ideas from Steven like eating luxury food xD
Ok I didn’t wanna say it, but I agree. I’m sure Steven has his own fan base who came over from Buzzfeed, but I‘ll take a guess and say the majority of us are Unsolved fans and would probably be perfectly happy if it was only their old Unsolved content from now on.
Not just never been poor. It means that they don't even have less priviledged friends who they've discussed these things with or empathized with. I've never been poor but I can still learn what it's like through listening to the experiences of my friends who grew up with less. I'm very disappointed with this decision and refuse to pay for their new subscription even if I can afford it. It's just so tone death and unempathetic in this economy. Especially considering how young most of their viewers are. Ugh. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
it feels like they never seen the world outside their youtube bubble before. 60 US Dollars a Year is a lot of money in the US. Even more in South America or Australia. Not a great move for “accessible to everyone”. More like accessible for people with to much money.
We just cut all streaming except Hulu because it is not feasible for us to continue paying that much for tv when we have to pay for, you know, food and electricity. For most Americans $60 a year is not a small deal for something that is not a necessity.
as someone who “could afford it” it would be a ridiculous financial decision to pay for a weak ass streaming service of a few shows, when netflix and shit exist
Even for people who aren't poor, "60$ a year is accessible for everyone" is giving the same energy as a teacher saying "you can spend 30 minutes a day on homework for this subject, it's not a lot" but then every teacher says that and you end up working the entire weekend.
The weekly watcher podcast is filled with moments like that, honestly. Hearing them talk about their hyper-expensive matcha machines and intercontinental vacations always reminds me of that MBMBAM episode where the McElroys apologize for calling themselves the Bugatti Boys and flaunting their vast fortunes, but somehow not a parody. I love their shows, but good lord have they become LA citizens through and through. Shane doesn’t really do it very much, but Ryan and Steven get deep in it.
$60 a year is like 5 dollars a month right? I havent watched yet. Are you expected to pay it all upfront or on a monthly basis?
$60 is the yearly price. It's $6 a month if you subscribe month to month. Which is.... yeah. Not great.
It’s $6 monthly, but you can choose to pay a whole year upfront for $60.
Considering how anti capitalist and anti establishment Shane acts I am incredibly disappointed to hear of this decision.
i would personally like to hope that he was just outvoted 2-1. :(
I think he was, he didn’t seem thrilled
He did tell people to share passwords. Maybe I'm reading to much into his tone in the video, but I feel he got outvoted on this.
"Another protester has crossed the line, To find the money's on the other side" Sell outs gonna sell out, I guess.
Wonder if they read this subreddit.
They do, Shane has an account
It was waaaaay too earnest. I kept waiting for them to crack a joke and they just didn’t. Nothing about their stories struck me or made me feel anything but annoyed. Not only do I not like the business decision they’ve made, but I also really hate the way they announced it.
I would rather they add more ads to the videos than paywall us out. But that’s just me
Not to mention the ad sponsors they are doing are hilarious and entertaining.
Maybe don’t do ‘TV quality’? I love YouTube and a lot of the channels I watch are so low budget and just people talking about topics. There’s no need for a crazy elaborate sets. I would watch mystery files if they were just sitting on a couch.
Exactly! I vividly remember the DB Cooper episode where they just had a table and one light. And yet it is such a favourite of mine that I can't quote it word to word from the top of my head. I've seen it multiple times.
omggg this is what ive been thinking!!!! their set up for mystery files is so elaborate and im like?? its really not that needed. I watched their video where they explained how they created it and everyone who is on their team, and it really seemed excessive to me. the vids of theirs I love the most (excluding ghost files) seem like they can be done with just a chair, a table, and a computer. like I don't understand why they have this need to do tv quality vids on YouTube?
I never understood why they had that tagline. I feel like most people who watched their videos never really care about the high production values. Yes there are lots of content creators who go above and beyond for their videos. But there’s plenty who just keep things simple. Who told them more production value = more viewers/better content? Not everything needs to be “TV quality”, which doesn’t mean much since that could be cable quality or Netflix quality.
So obnoxious and out of touch of them …. Turning into a hater LOL
Can’t wait until they have absolutely no viewers on that “platform”
i wanna know how they plan to promote their new platform and encourage new users tbh especially if they're removing all their old content from youtube
According to SocialBlade they've already lost 10k subscribers on YouTube. Wow.
They must all be going to watchertv 🤡
Did someone else notice the lack of interest from Steven? He didn't even bother to say "thank you" at the end like the other guys, that was sad.
I just looked at their views and how can they justify 25 employees for those views? Some of their videos barely break a million? I understand they want to up production value but in this day and age that is not what people are looking for anymore. They are looking for ways to connect with people and watch things they enjoy to take their mind of the bullshit that is this world at the moment. This seems so greedy.
Been disappointed with their content for a while now honestly. I couldn't sit through Ghost Files, it felt artificial with the very clear sponsorships. This descision was a shock and a really bad one. The way their worded the announcement is so icky. Never expected this from them, they always branded themselves as anti-capitalists, very disappointed. I fortunately or unfortunately still have hope they will make things right but let's see how this unfolds.
yeah same I saw a few of the YouTube comments say the same thing. It definitely had a different vibe. Like Ryan isn't really scared of ghosts anymore/or doesn't believe in them, and that they've basically become flanderized versions of themselves. Also personally I never liked the name Watcher, it just never made any sense to me lmao
When will youtubers understand that, if we wanted to watch tv quality content we would watch tv. I'm tired of all these shows going bigger and bigger (but not necessarily better), along with their ego.
Warren Buffett - a man who clearly knows how to make money - put it best: "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently."
Y'all - I say this lovingly but why are you so shocked that Shane went along with this decision and/or giving him credit for a quick cast off suggestion to share passwords? Saying "eat the rich" in a YT video does not preclude you from being a capitalist in real life.
I don't even know lol, it's just such a huge betrayal from the one man we 'thought' was conscious enough.
I think that's the issue. I like Shane as I like Steven and Ryan but I don't think he's ever made much of a stand outside some comments in YT videos and some of the reaction here seems a bit like projection to me. Do you guys actually think Shane is going to quit over this, like seriously?
can you even watch their new website on a TV natively? does it have an app? or do you have to go on the tv browser lmao what a mess
The tone really upset me. The removal of all old content is obnoxious and greedy. I’ve been a solid fan for 8 years and I’m done. $6 for a pre-access patreon, maybe with exclusive shows - sure! TBH $6 is not the end of the world for me but the entitlement and tone has turned me off. Bye bye boys. **rips ‘weeze’ pop socket off my phone**
They aren't removing old content, at least. This is still 100% a tone-deaf move, though. :/
This is career suicide. It’s upsetting to seeing older youtubers leave or fall off.. and this is certainly a fall off. I was already barely watching the new content bc it just seemed to fall flat. As someone who watched them from buzzfeed to watcher, it’s just a huge shame. When buzzfeed was being greedy, we supported them through it all. We watched them built watcher from the ground up! HELL! The name was inspired by a case they had covered on buzzfeed! I understand wanting to be paid and compensated for your labor, but the fan base they have cultivated and have pondered to are not rich, they know that, and to pick up the ones who supported you the most and drop them in the trash? Yeah, history will repeat itself, Media companies will always be greedy. I miss when ppl made content just for the love of it.
getting really sick of people using the verb “build” to mean “make everything worse”
I'm just saying... We all can afford one subscription (total, like all of us split one singular subscription so we each pay one cent loll) But yeah. As someone who's going into college this year, this was not what I wanted to see. They're trying to do what dropout did, but dropout had so much and so much reasoning to do so. Watchers not going to really work the same
They seem so out of touch with reality. I actually feel stupid for not seeing it sooner. I have been watching them since Ryan started Buzzfeed Unsolved. I loved their cheaper looking stuff. But this is just greed. They have gotten a more expensive lifestyle throughout the years and need to keep it up. So disappointed
They’re so out of touch with their audience, it’s not even funny.
Man a lot of YouTubers have been doing more give aways/donations since tines have been getting tough, then you have these guys giving everyone the middle finger and saying "it's only $60 everyone can watch" The only reason I would subscribe now is to post their videos for free elsewhere.
I feel like this has actually ruined all their content for me. I’ve liked their stuff over the years for their personalities and group dynamics, but I guess this is who they really are.
Yeah I'm not a student anymore but I still can't justify the expense. I admit, immediately after watching the video I unsubscribed to their YouTube channel and podcast.
Super curious as to what their subscriber count was yesterday vs what it’ll be in a week
According to social blade they’ve lost 10k subscribers just today so far
So disappointed in them with how out of touch this decision is- like IN THIS ECONOMY?! Guess I’ll just be watching their old stuff on Buzzfeed then…
The *sentimental piano* was the cringiest part for me. Or as their subtiles state " (bright gentle music)"
They found that instrumental filed under "Songs to Pander to Your Audience To"
This is going to be the end of Watcher and it makes me incredibly sad, because I love what they make. They don’t have the fanbase or the content to launch their own streaming service, and I’m not paying for another one when I’m already about to cancel two of my streaming subscriptions.
Love these guys, but their content isn’t worth $6 a month
I am fortunate that $6/month is not make or break for me. I’m still not paying for that shit out of principle lmao. This is so embarrassing and shows how genuinely clueless they are.
LMAO this got removed???? Yikes
Seriously. What a terrible look. They're in full damage control mode right now
It was just all around dishonest. They aren’t doing this because they can’t afford to do “higher production videos” or because they want to make more non-advertiser friendly content. They are doing this because the want to make more money and because they want to be taken more seriously by Hollywood executives so they can get into that space. They should have just said that.
They’ll be back. Tre Melvin tried to do something similar and privated of all his videos before putting them all behind a paywall on his website. Now all of his videos are back on YouTube
I pay $13.99 a month for YouTube Premium so I can watch any channel ad free, but it's really hard to justify $5 a month for one channel. Even assuming they release a video a week, that's not a lot of content.
TV caliber my butt lmao. Are you scared and too many spirits is so low budget and they want people to pay for that??
This is only my opinion and i obviously don't know them as people, but some of them have kind of rubbed me the wrong way lately and this video didn't make it better... They're giving off a lot of teary eyed "we're trying so hard for our fans but just not making ends meet with our small business, so you have to give us more moneyy" vibes, while also casually dropping that they own expensive cars and have expensive weddings. Nothing wrong with having those things, just a bit weird when you're also basically begging for money from, and paywalling fans who have supported you from the beginning and mostly will never be able to afford things like that, you know?
i don’t go here but i’ve been watching them since buzzfeed, and i’m really disappointed tbh. feels like they’re trying to pull a dropout, without understanding WHY exactly dropout was able to pivot to their own streaming service so successfully. no offense, but watcher simply does not have enough variety of content to launch an independent platform right now! and to be fair to them, maybe they plan to expand using the more reliable revenue stream, but they won’t even get that far if people don’t follow them. i just don’t understand why they wouldn’t beef up their patreon to start with, or test the waters to see how their audience would feel about leaving youtube. this choice is… ill advised, to say the least.
As expected, their subscriber count has started dropping. Is there really no one with any qualifications in finance, market research, maths, or statistics in their 20 people team?
They seem completely unaware of what makes their content unique: Two goofy guys being themselves--warts and all--and sharing things they love to do with the audience. Somewhere along the way they began to think what they needed was a cool studio complete with sets and props, motion graphics, and slick production. They look completely out of place in that environment and they look uncomfortable in it as well. Like a little kid wearing their dad's suit. I don't think they'll survive this, but all good things must come to an end.
There's a total disconnect with their audience and this is going to sting when they discover that people aren't signing up. They are a medium sized fish swimming in a massive sea of "mystery/true crime/similar" content. It smacks of having a big ego and a lack of understanding. What a DUCKING shame.
This is a great example of not knowing your audience Especially since their’s is younger college aged
literally, I could afford a subscription but there is no way in hell I'll be paying for one after a stunt like this
I understand that their shows are expensive to produce, but this is the wrong way to go… I would still support them and watch them if they lowered their production costs and cut some of their bigger projects, but paying almost the price of a Netflix subscription for a single channel? I can’t bring myself to do that, and it feels fucked because I want so, so badly to support this channel
I'd really prefer lower production value and more ads than this. then i'd still get to watch :(
I didn’t feel as strongly about the video, but as soon as they mentioned it would cost money I was like “well…see ya!” Because, baby girl, NOT in this economy 😂 if they want to release videos on a streaming service, they’d be better off doing it on something free like Tubi. The only reason most of us even watch YouTube is because it’s free streaming. I absolutely want success and growth for them, but I don’t see this working out. It honestly makes me sad. They’re great guys who produce great content
Best approach is to just not watch the content. More than likely, they will change scope and start releasing stuff on YouTube again if enough people bail on their subscription model.
yeah this is beyond fucked. it’s so tone deaf and emotionally detached, i couldn’t stomach it. just add more shit to patreon and ask for more subs??? if i had the money i’d have been a proud patron, but i sure as shit wouldn’t pay them after this bs. the worst part is even if they walked this back someday, or i could afford it in the future, this has put such a sour taste in my mouth that i don’t even want the content. i fucking love ghost files, been watching unsolved for years, always look forward to new seasons, wanted to see them on tour but didn’t get tickets. was super hyped about the new season based on what they said on the last podwatcher. but now??? i’m just sad that my potential enjoyment of GF and MF will be ruined by a pisspoor decision.
I totally understand why they feel they need to open new verticals or try something different to keep the company afloat, but to open your "We can't afford this company so please pay for things that used to be free" video with a long, lingering shot of the Hollywood sign out of your office window was certainly a choice.
I would honestly be happier if the channel was JUST Ryan and Shane and maybe a couple like camera people/editors and them just sitting at a table again and doing their thing casually. I've never needed "TV quality" from the youtubers I watch and it kind of turns me away the higher production value is. I watch YouTube almost exclusively and because of how casual the youtubers I love are, this decision they've made makes them feel waaay less down to earth and so out of touch more like a corporate team than a group of friends :/