@@dbz9393 mm here's the thing. Going entirely paid was an absolutely garbage thing to do. And this apology was mediocre at best. But honestly dude, there's way more important things to worry about in the world than whether or not I want to genuinely forgive them for this. So, I'm not surprised people are chill with this. I'm going to continue to watch their content because I enjoy it and it's a pretty good escape from said bigger worries in the world. Getting on a moral high ground about some dudes on RUclips and whether or not their apology was "good enough" isn't in the spoons for me or anyone right now. They acknowledged it was shit, corrected it, and we can move on 🤷 warily. But we can move on nonetheless.
@@Emily-do2jyhe takes those things so personally. I'm sure he's prob toyed with resigning. I really hope he's seeing his therapist to process his feelings and knows these thing blow over. They just do.
@@Emily-do2jy he’s the one who addressed the money stuff too, to backtrack what HE said - the price that anyone and everyone can afford. It took an entire reckoning to get them to realize how out of touch that was? Not a good look for him
as someone who STILL binge watches buzzfeed unsolved videos to this day, i have to say that it really saddens me to see how these guys have evolved. we never asked for these fancy production rooms and effects, we watched because of the relationship between ryan and shane. you guys could shoot a video inside a cardboard box and i wouldn't care because i’m here for the personality, not the special graphics
Artists always want to challenge themselves though, this is the problem when you make a living doing what you're passionate about in a capitalist society, balancing your "vision" with keeping spectators happy and making enough money. I agree the decision to abondon RUclips and the way it was announced was stupid and insensitive but I don't begrudge them wanting to make higher production value vids if that's what they want.
@@RaverHates i’m all for them wanting to challenge themselves, but why at our expense you know? it kinda felt like they were saying, “we don’t have enough money to do what we want so instead of learning how to manage it responsibly, we’ll just make you pay to watch our content.” they were making it seem as if WE were the ones that demanded these higher production videos. at least that’s how i took it, but i do agree with your response
I'll pay for the relationship and enjoy it, you can watch for free a month late. I'll give Ryan and Shane 6 bucks a month while you pay 6 bucks a day at starbucks, bucko.
My favorite videos from Watcher are still the pandemic “are you scared” vids where it’s just Ryan and Shane on zoom. Please don’t feel like you have to blow your budget on production when we just want to see y’all hang out and tell each other scary stories. I love you guys and felt like your shows gave me some much needed laughs during a difficult time. Thank you for hearing our concerns and actually making changes. It really means a lot.
same i love are you scared so much. it's just ryan telling his best friend spooky horror stories in a dark room but it's so enjoyable. the contrast of the horror of the story and their silly jokes works so well.
@@akachino03I’ve also been a fan since buzzfeed. I’ve been to the live shows, hell I’ve even gotten my husband so into the lore he insists I play Too Many Spirits on audio while we take road trips. But I was not about to contribute what could be a domino effect of every damn RUclipsr deciding it’s time to start their own streaming service. It’s already bad enough having to pay for 20 different streaming services that have 100s of shows, why add another for just a single creator? It comes down to the principle of it. With the way they have it set up going forward I may actually purchase it. If they never fixed it I probably would have forgotten about watcher forever if you gave it enough time lol
High production quality causes me to watch less. I prefer RUclips to AVOID syndicated refined media. I liked the raw and genuine feeling the older videos had. Not sure how Watcher will do moving forward :(
I think it depends on the channel and personal taste. I prefer high-production quality, as I am a graphic designer. The poor use of fonts, graphics, and layout is off-putting to me. I often find videos that would benefit from just a cursory knowledge about graphic design. For example, a wall of text without any white space looks pretty ugly and is hard to read. Shorter text and bigger breaks between paragraphs is a simple fix to this problem. That being said, there are times when I'm in the mood for those raw and genuine videos that don't have all the bells and whistles. It's like when I want something home-cooked over a restaurant. However, homecooked does not mean low-quality. It's about the passion you put into your work. This can translate through production quality but also with better writing, deeper research, and so forth. RUclips content is awkwardly sandwiched in the middle between high-production media and raw, genuine media. Sometimes, a RUclipsr is able to transcend the limits of this platform to create a true work of art, like the Astartes fan animations. I do believe that high production quality is what separates art from content. It's not as if everything needs to be art, there's enough room for all sort of creators.
@@zachhecitaI highly doubt these high production videos were made to satisfy graphic designers buddy. The original comment is referring to the general viewers, not savvy watchers with high opinions such as yourself.
I agree. I don’t watch it as much as I used to. I liked the too many spirits during Covid, but the over produced stuff is not that entertaining to me. I just like hearing them banter, they were so funny.
@@elenakirk5007the raw banter, the funny costumes, games and cute garden set ups of props/decor for the Halloween and Christmas Too Many Spirits was so fuuuun and down to earth and genuine fr makes ya feel cosy
I'm from the future. Their latest ghost hunt from 8 days ago has 1m+ views, and I'm just NOW discovering this controversy. For it to only be six months ago, I can't believe how well they steered the waters.
Y'all need to know we would watch Shane and Ryan walk through and ambiguously haunted vet clinic with two iphone cameras live streaming. We dont need the fancy stuff. My favourite videos are where its just those two reading stories/hanging out. Youve got two great personalities and a dynamic duo. No need to overpower it with a bunch of unnecessary expenses
Like they said..it’s their dream to be “tv show” producers. They think they are better than RUclips but they can’t actually move off so they came up with this shit show
That should have been the first person hired. They also should not be hiring camera and production people freelance if they TWENTY-FIVE people on the staff already. Not having those people screams mismanagement. You would have thought they would have learned from Buzzfeed's waste.
“nonono you don’t understand, it’s the YOUTOOOB LANDSCAPE that is economically unviable, it’s not our mismanagement of the company and slowly worse content!!!!”
They weren't struggling. That was a pretext to cover up their avaricious business practices. RUclips was much better before all of these vultures came here. You can thank Google for monetizing the place. Creators my rump, Thomas Edison was a creator, not these guys. They're saying whatever they can to conciliate their customers, which are what their subscribers are to them.
Adam isn’t a host, he works bts, Steven is the boss but yes Andrew is a new host. If they wanted both Adam and Andrew, staff changes should have been made. 25 employees is absolutely insane for a small company/channel like this And it seems like they hired a lot of ex buzzfeed employees too which is bad, even the try guys team have a mixed staff, a few from buzzfeed & others not
I don't think it was about struggling to pay their staff, I think they had personal goals to make their shows bigger & better from their perspective as creators, & neglected to reflect on whether the audience demand matched that
the funniest thing to me is that their patreon already existed at nearly the same price and we already got content early through it. this whole thing could've been avoided if they just upped the patreon price by one dollar, released ad-free content a month early rather than a day early, and advertised it more on their youtube channel. plus patreon has a comment section so the community would be more engaged and still get to discuss new episodes as they come out.
That’s one reason why I don’t love the idea of watching it on the streaming service. I don’t think there’s a comment section there and half the fun of Ghost Files is reading the comments and feeling like I’m watching it with the community.
I didn’t even know they had a Patreon? This seems redundant to have both. I don’t understand what the pull for a second paid platform is if they’re getting the same stuff.
So? That's where they live. Should they sell their houses and move to a different city so that a bunch of strangers talking smack to them online can keep accessing their content for free?
@medukameguca8529 lol they're complaining about money despite already having a patron, and already have lucrative sponsors. As business owners they need to be in touch with how much people are willing to spend, and they're overstepping.
@@medukameguca8529 Those strangers are the only thing affording them that studio facing the hollywood sign. So you know what? Yeah it would be a smart business decision to move...
Honestly, I miss the low budget buzzfeed unsolved videos. They were charming and authentic. The production value on Ghost Files is amazing, but it detracts from the down-to-Earth feeling that made me love unsolved so much. I’d rather watch Ryan bringing a water pistol full of holy water to Goatman’s Bridge, and Shane then claiming the bridge as his own than watch a more conventional high production TV episode.
I agree. I think a lot of content creators ALWAYS forget how they all started and how they got their following in the first place. And it's always bc they are resonating to their audience. The production is not the main thing people loved them, it's the duo's personality and also how they deliver their story. They dont need multi million dollar set and stage, they can put more money and time into researching interesting stories and maybe do a mini series where they travel but honestly, people just want to watch THEM!
Please, for the love of god. You could just put Shane and Ryan in a room with a table and two folding chairs and people would watch the hell out of it. Seriously, we don’t need elaborate editing or sets. The unserious and poor quality of buzzfeed unsolved made it endearing!!!
Must get boring for them to do the same low quality videos for over a decade tho. They are not the same people they were 10 years ago, so of course the content they create is going to be different too.
You also need to look at it from their perspective, they may WANT to make higher quality stuff. Sure WE love even the low production stuff, but making the low production quality stuff may not be fulfilling to them anymore. Nobody wants to have a job that isn't fulfilling for themselves.
i def agree, people love just seeing them as people, but necessarily the production value. i think they were trying at least somewhat to make us and themselves proud in growing their content but overlooked the effects it may have. i do really think they just want, at least in part, to give us their best
thank you. they def need cameramen, traveling IT, for the ghost files, etc, i get that, but the sets dont need recliners and their own retro TV sets , projectors, and fictional machines. that was all nice when it wasn't costing me 5.99 a month, but its not necessary
production quality? I would have said the flights and luxury spending should have been the first concern. Changes to production quality are last thing that takes a hit. Always be on the look out for creative ways to save on production but the quality of experience for the viewer must remain or improve to some degree or the savings will be moot.
@@werethless12probably thought it was good at first, but it should’ve been asked about through a community post at first. with the correcting part i gotta say it was the weekend…meaning they’re probably with their family.
Ppl need to learn the difference between a mistake and a calculated decision. It's not that they didn't know what they were doing and were oblivious to it and made an oopsie, it's that they thought they could get away with sucking our pockets dry and we proved them wrong which forced them to backtrack. Don't be naive.
Okay, so most of us are coming from Buzzfeed to watch Ryan and Shanes ghost boy shows and Mystery files. I didnt come to watch some people go out and eat expensive food. I wanted the goul boys to go on adventures, to make fun of each other.
Omg I was looking for this comment, I literally balk when I see some of the titles such as "we compare food truck hot dog with $300 hot dog". Hurts more because Steven is the main "character" in those episodes and I don't watch them because of that, he has no "stage" presence, he tries too hard to be fun and it shows. I can just about bear him on "too many spirits" where let's be honest he nor Ricky or needed. Shane and Ryan make that show, some intern can make them drinks in the background lol., ditch the unnecessary bartenders 😁 So there's one expense taken care of
@maryirish8382 and it feels copied from The Try Guys, that's their gimmick and I watch them for that. I want the spooky bestie or going over unsolved crimes.
This is definitely an improvement, but please keep in mind that we're totally okay with downscaled production and less expensive shows. If you're not making enough money to fund your productions with a patreon, youtube ads, merch, and now a streaming service, then it's not a question of how to make more money, but of how to spend less. Because no one watches you for the fancy effects and intros, we watch because we like you guys. Regardless, best of luck.
I think they clearly want the big production to keep it fulfilling to them. I think finding a way to compromise what they want to make with what’s sustainable for fans like they’ve done here makes the most sense going forward.
I think it’s more about that THEY want high production, they want to make polished well produced shows, as they’ve been saying, but yea, I feel like they could maybe work on getting more bang for their buck
Exactly this. I think they care more about the production because it’s something they enjoy doing but as a viewer, I really couldn’t care less about it. My favorite series are Shane in Ryan sitting in a room or around a camp fire reading stories. Or them walking around a supposedly haunted place. I watch their videos because I like Ryan and Shane and their chemistry together and that’s it.
It's what they (or at least Ryan) clearly wants to make, though. Which is a shame, because he's built his career around youtube, a place for low-budget personality-driven content, not high production value. I could see Ryan leaving to do just that, follow what makes him happy, if he weren't now locked in to this WatcherTV thing, because it's clear the fan base (myself included) just aren't as interested in watching what he's interested in making. I love the low-budget content. I hope he can find a balance that makes him happy.
Well their personalities is obviously greed , is that what your here for , they just see u as a dollar sign and u so lonely u view RUclipsrs as your friends hahahah losers
About 12 years ago I got sick, when I found Buzzfeed Unsolved you were a bright spot in many dismal days. I’d often watch an episode twice. Once for Shane and Ryan and once to read community commentary. Your community was honestly as funny as you two. I was happily to see you guys grow and followed you to Watcher…. But it’s never felt the same. It’s overproduced and lacks the integrity of 2 friends being themselves hanging out. Today it feels over scripted and overproduced. I understand wanting a legacy of something to be proud of but your legacy honestly is the authenticity of the Buzzfeed days. I don’t know how you solve that as I understand people grow up, change and mature. However like others have mentioned hiring more employees to solve a money problem isn’t the answer. I understand wanting to be good employers but you may be better off scaling back especially with the economy the way it is. Honestly most people are cutting back on subscriptions to be able to afford food, gas and housing. It’s simply NOT the right time to make your followers foot your bills. If you want to hire someone I’d suggest hiring someone who will help you bring in more and better advertising and not on production and new on screen talent. Just thoughts to ponder It’s a tough time financially for many.
Same here, Buzzfeed Unsolved was truly my comfort show. I think that at this point, they should have stopped everything and tried new ideas rather than trying to continue an adventure that no longer seems to suit them anyway. I agree with you, the videos now don't feel sincere at all. And the way they manage all their income looks disastrous. At the end of the day, not knowing how to manage money (and let's be honest, they seem to get a lot of it) shouldn't penalize an audience that's binging on sponsor-packed videos that are practically scams. What a (sad) mess.
Tbh the more tv show-y the show got, the less funny it became? I remember laughing my ass of at the “just subtitles of what Shane and Ryan are saying” formate. I also loved the “Are you scared” series, while they were just on zoom and narrating cool images. (Props to the artist.) Just two guys telling us spooky stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I like it when someone is creative and wants to improve, I don’t think we should stay the same all the time, but I just want to express how I think it went the “wrong” direction. As for my taste. I just like feeling like those guys are just regular people I can relate to…( ps. English isn’t my 1st lango, sorry if this is a little messy.)
@@user-il3hx1cs5r I can always go down to the bank for a cashier's check once a month, but online? Yeah that's no longer free. I swear the middle class has gotten the piss attitude of "charge them a subscription" too death
Won't lie, I've been ruminating on how upsetting all this is... But man I'm happy to see there's multiple efforts in the works to try and right wrongs.
We love it when they listen. And they acted relatively immediately. If they phase out the patreon and make Watcher like the new patreon, I think this is fine. This should work for everyone. but they have to phase out that patreon to prove this wasn't motivated solely by greed (which I don't think, on the part of Ryan and Shane, that it was. It's hard for me to say it wasn't regarding Steven...)
@@ashesacediaive felt crap these passed few days because i honestly couldnt have imagined how badly (understandably) the fans reacted. So happy they came back to us
I told my mom about all this mess and when I told her about how they said "$6 a month is something everyone can afford" she said "That's a gallon of milk" and that's what really put this into perspective. Someone who's struggling with money, especially if they have a family, needs to prioritize buying a gallon of milk that month to feed themself or their family over being subscribed to a single platform to watch a single channel's content. But the guys don't see $6 as a gallon of milk, they see it as just a few bucks that aren't a problem to spend, something a lot of us don't have right now
If you find having $6 less a month is a real struggle, then the problem is you. Let's not pretend that it's a tonne of cash they're asking for and the whole online community is only being shitty because they once had it for free and therefore would require to pay for it. Video editing isn't free, the monitization is a joke and so is the ad payrate. To succeed properly, they made the right choice. But... And this is BIG BUTT, I don't think the way they did the whole "cyaa RUclips" thing was the right thing to do.
Ok and? They don't "owe" anyone making videos for you for free. The person who can't or won't buy the subscription won't die if they don't get to see a couple guys tell ghost stories. The Watcher crew deserves to get paid for the content they make and the person struggling to buy milk deserves to be able to buy milk. These aren't some how opposite ideas. Does your mom get offended when products advertise themselves as "cheap" or "affordable"?
@@TheeRyanBriceI hope you’re joking because not everyone can afford . Some watch it for entertainment and prefer not to pay . And that’s ok , people can watch it late and whoever can actually afford to pay can pay . U don’t need to put down people who can’t pay to justify their behaviour.some people don’t have jobs but still want to support . They didn’t handle it in a good way ? I don’t think so .Theyre asking whoever can pay pay .who can’t ? Well watch it late .thats it . Tbh they have to capitalise since they also have bills to pay so I understand. It might be unfair for us but very fair for them making a livelihood
Imma be honest with you boys, mystery/ghost files could be shot over zoom with all visual aids being terrible doodles and I'd still watch the hell out of it. We don't watch these shows for the graphics and effects, we watch them for you guys. The graphics and effects are just a neat little bit of icing on the cupake.
It's sad, I actually enjoyed watching them. I followed them from BuzzFeed bc I enjoyed their content. After their goodbye video, I was heartbroken, but then I realized that their r millions of other content creators I enjoy that didn't expect money 2 watch their videos. They can try 2 justify themselves, but if they were a single mother of multiple children, then maybe they would have thought more b4 demanding funding 2 sustain their lifestyles.
@@michellemitchell3640if they were single mothers of multiple children they’d be MORE justified in asking for more money lmao. If you’re saying YOU’RE a single mother of multiple children and can’t afford it, then, it’s not for you. But for 5.99 a month you’d have to be poorer than me to never afford that, and I’m an unemployed college student lmao.
@@aarishowton8037That should never be the excuse. $5 a month racks up fairly quickly. And when you have bills, groceries, gas, and other expenses to pay, suddenly your bank account is gonna start missing that $5. Now granted, that's true for every streaming service. But the issue is that RUclips is free. They were originally taking free entertainment that everyone with Internet access and a device to view it on could enjoy and locking it behind a paywall. Imagine if you had to pay $5 for every time you wanted to watch a RUclips channel? And not just RUclips in general, an individual RUclips channel
While I get what you mean, I definitely don't want to see what they were going through. There were some horrible and very personal comments being made (not just talking about feeling betrayed etc) 😢 I'm just glad they did at least listen to the feedback.
While it is hilarious that they had to pull together this video so quickly, I am acknowledging that it takes balls to come on and say "yeah we fucked up but here's how we're gonna fix it". Thank you guys for apologising for your insensitive comments and for making changes.
I personally think it's pathetic. I'm not a fan of theirs and have never watched a video of theirs, but I predicted that they would shoot a video like this one. People will do anything for money these days.
@@DumplingDoodle Thank you! Everyone's commending them for "taking accountability" and "listening to their community" but it was the backlash and promise of financial ruin that made them whip this up so fast. Their entire comment section was lit up, NO ONE thought this was a good idea. If they actually knew their community AT ALL, they wouldn't have even tried this venture in the first place
@@vincent4258 There's a difference between making a mistake and betraying your true intentions (in this case, exploiting people for financial gain). You would have never heard of these guys if this site weren't monetized.
I agree with all of the very valid points in these comments, but the greed accusations are really underestimating the bigger factor here: dumb. They're dumb. This was dumb. And my point is not that they're innocent idiots, it's that they are content creators who failed to recognize their inability to run a company and refused to hire professionals with the skills to do so for them.
@havi8-0-9 I'm not sure if anyone else did it but afaik, the last time this happened was with the Try Guys and their Ned Fulmer issue. If I remember correctly, SNL even made a skit about it
Watcher, never forget: we're here for you as people, personalities, and the friendship that exists between you. That means 90% of would watch a return to blue and yellow (wheeze) text scrolls if need be. It's your biggest strength -- who you are. Always lead with that and the rest will follow. Bravo and thanks for listening. I'm sure it was rough. But take away from this the MASSIVE compliment this is to you as people, that your audience is here for you. Not the budget, the production quality, the locations -- for you. That's a huge statement. Don't lose sight of that in all this. And this is a great compromise and only reinforces your core strengths. Thanks for listening. Stay you!
I want to see Steven work a few food drives for the underprivileged. That would be good content for Watcher. Show him how hard life really is for some of us. Look out, Steven. Poverty can come at you real fast...
Have him make a series where he tries to live in poverty like in some communities. Try moving here in the Philippines and live with the poor, together with the increasing 48-50 degree-Celsius temperature. That should give him the insight of whether eating gold-plated shit is still a good idea.
That would be great, but instead of giving out food, they could gift one year subscriptions to their new streaming service. Watching them travel the world ghost hunting and getting their opinion on $20k steaks would easily be more important than life’s essentials.
“It was so insensitive, we made concrete changes immediately, and we are very sorry we made this mistake in the first place” I’m a grudge holding jerk, but that was what we needed.
@@aviewfromtheinterior If you think it got as far as a public goodbye without 2/3rds of the team, your clinically insane. They all wanted to do this, get over it.
If y’all are still struggling financially after patreon, live shows, merch, brand deals, ad revenue and tours then youse might wanna take a moment and realise ur not cut out for this
Oh, absolutely, steven lim is the CEO but isn’t in the middle, Shane is, and shane and ryan are doing most of the talking. people are mad at Steven bc they expect it from him but not shane and ryan.
I'm glad they apologized and came up with a compromise, but I still wish they'd realize they don't need such high budgets or a huge staff. Their amateur video days were their best.
I just hate all the hate Cr1tical, Jacksfilms, and their fans are giving them. Yes, they made a mistake that alienated their audience, but they're not greedy scumbags, and this apology doesn't feel fake in the slightest.
coming back to say, it's incredibly disingenuous of yall to provide ONLY a 3-month watcher tv pass for patreon members. patreon members not automatically having watcher tv included in their tiers seems like such a slap in the face. why would i be paying you $5 on one platform, and then another $6 on another platform to continue watching /only/ your content?? that would be poor financial planning on OUR part. to give people a 3-month pass only is just bonkers to me, and i really hope more people become aware that this was their little "fix" and give the boys further pushback. this isn't cool on their part at all and I'm really disappointed with this whole situation. yall have 25+ employees, have one of them send out a new watcher tv code at the beginning of each month when patreon charges patron membership fees.
Wait, wait. So originally, they were offering 30% off a $59.99 annual subscription, which is a couple cents short of $18 off. In fact, the site is still offering that to anyone who signs up before May 30. But ~now~ they're offering Patrons 3 months free at $5.99/month, which is... also a couple cents short of $18 off. Wow, what a sweet deal for Patrons: the same discount everyone gets, but without locking in for a year in advance! Which will presumably prevent them from also getting the discounted rate for the first year they pay for, since by the end of their free 3 months it will be well past May 30. This "gift" to their Patrons is costing them less than nothing. It's the difference between $17.997 and $17.97 -- between two and three cents -- except that you ultimately save $0.027 LESS if you take the Patrons' three free months and still want to subscribe after that. All this does is offer the people who've already been willing to financially support them directly the opportunity to pay three cents more for the privilege of not being locked in for a year.
Cutting sets doesn't pay bills. That's what people are missing in all this. Running a large channel on RUclips if you don't directly have RUclips's ear simply isn't sustainable. They can demonitize your entire channel, permanently, without resource, at any time. That kills the business. The only real solution that allows the business to keep growing, the people running it to live good, happy, prosperous lives and putting out good content is to move the revenue streams to another model.
@@frankdobs 1) Citation needed, and 2) running an entertainment business is expensive. The idea that hundreds of thousands of dollars is going into 3 guys' pockets is naive, to say the least.
They actually listened and I am so grateful for it. This model is more sustainable and accessible for the people. Damage has been done but accountability was taken.
They didn’t listen. They still want to overspend on their fancy office/studio etc. we all just now have to wait longer for unnecessary production values for no reason other than ego.
@@CertifiedForkLiftOperator69420 4 days, 25 staff and 3 mins does not make an apology any less meaningful - I don't know what your point is with bringing up these numbers as if they mean or say anything in this context.
they wouldn't have to take accountability if they didn't see/treat their fanbase as negligible in the first place, but well... it's what we have for today.
I genuinely cannot comprehend how RUclipsrs don’t understand that a lot of people watch long-form RUclips content because they are sick of over produced TV content. We literally do not want more over-produced content or more streaming services.
"I think a lot of times, when you're creating something, you get so caught up wanting to make it as good as it could possibly be that you forget what the show can mean to people." - Ryan (Buzzfeed Unsolved: The Making of the Final Investigation 27:50) Just thought it kinda connects together here. Farewell👻
All ex-buzzfeed employees who start their own channel need to schedule a consultation with Safiya. Absolutely none of them have done it as well as she has, and her content isn’t behind a paywall.
Nah they need to talk to rhett and link. They have the right business model. They have the mythical society which has teirs, gives gifts quarterly, and special content and podcasts. And they still make gmm everyday and have the mythical kitchen channel. Plus rhett and link already helped smosh rebrand and become more successful when they bought it after Anthony left, so they have success stories.
Shocked they didn’t seem to have done a focus group in the first place, since there’s no way one representative of the fans would’ve suggested going ahead with the original model
@@saraknapp7909 Idk, social media and online content creation is still such a new branch of entertainment. Part of their appeal is that they arent part of a major broadcast company, their creativity and sincerity isnt stifled by executive oversight. But that also means they cant benefit from a major broadcast company's DECADES of experience from calculating trends to PR management. At the end of the day, Watcher is a team of young people, measuring the temp of the water with their hands and hoping their sincerity will carry them through. They're bound to make mistakes, but they're also willing to listen.
@@violet7773 They would have still been against the idea when they find out early that they still have to subscribe to another platform when they're subscribed to Patreon already.
I completely understand business needs. The fact that you guys listened to the fans and didn't get defensive (which is a knee-jerk human reaction) but instead addressed everything, is why I love you guys.
Ya, I think their current direction is the correct one. The streaming platform offers new shows, and the original shows earlier, but the RUclips audience isn't fully abandoned (plus it makes RUclips an advertisement for their Streaming service). I can completely accept that relying on RUclips alone is unreliable, being a slave the algorithm means you might suddenly have the rug pulled out from under you. But the original plan of just suddenly dumping RUclips and paywalling all content but episode 1s was a business decision that I think we all agree was a bad one.
There are so so so many ways they could cut costs though before screwing over their community. It’s not a business need, they just think they’re too big for their britches and need to make “Netflix quality content”.
But it's not just about cutting costs but about the restrictions on content from YT. They could cut costs but they would still be holden to corporate censorship.
I think you confuse simple with mediocre and low-cost productions with bad content. The reason why I love this channel and you guys so much isn't because of the great sets, expensive cameras or fancy gear. I think we all followed you from buzzfeed and stayed because you have chemistry, you have great storytelling and mostly you have heart! I can see why you made the move to leave but I think you should consider staying and making a few budget cuts, rest assured we will love the content anyways :)
i really hope shane saw that one comment about how his past self would’ve told the fans to pirate it. he’s become what he sought to destroy (something something buzzfeed you get me)
When I clicked on this I expected an apology, but I DIDNT expect an actual change. It takes balls to admit to messing up and fixing the mistake. I think we all respect you guys a lot for this. People feel a sense of relief and blah blah parasocial relationships blah blah betrayal, but I’m also just genuinely glad I’ll be able to continue to watch these shows that I really enjoy (and when I have the means, support this content by purchasing merch or going to a live show).
I’m impressed that they’ve listened to the fans, I wasn’t expecting a walk back. If the company is at risk of closing, I’d suggest cutting down production value for the shows, because as I’m sure you’ve read, we watch for you guys and the chemistry, not for fancy production value. All in all, probably the best response you could’ve given I think. I’m willing to give you guys another chance
they clearly want more money dude its not about production value thats why they "listened" because if they didnt they would literally kill their own careers
This, absolutely. I watch for Ryan and Shane. Steven isnt really a personality i click with, and I've tried to watch so many. Too many spirits..i ended up skipping the drink tutorials after three episodes. Food episodes..kind of awkward and i havent watched any in years. So, sorry Steven. I also get they have people to pay, but if they went back to low budget film sets, I would still watch. The banter is the best part.
@@donkyoofficial I think that the original comment was actually referring to the more elaborate sets, and high budget show concepts like flying stephen, Andrew and adam around to eat expensive food
I can't describe how much I don't want high budget anything. Use puppets to teach me about WWI and have Shane and Ryan go ghosthunting. that's it. that's all we want
The thing that gets me is that this whole thing must have been in the works for _months_ . It takes time to build a website and a streaming platform, even one that doesn't have a mobile app or work for non-US viewers. This wasn't just a barely-thought-out idea. It took planning, and monetary outlay, meetings, probably working with outside vendors. It was a _project_ . How, in _all_ that time, did they not think they should maybe check with their viewers and see if they were down for such a massive change? How, in a decade have they not in any way gotten to know their fanbase? I mean, months...
That’s where I get stuck too. But I also know that the longer you have the easier it is to lie to yourself and push down a voice that says WTF ARE YOU DOING?! I really hope it’s that option instead of being fine with it and only backtracking once it was clear they wouldn’t get the support they needed….
What impresses me even more is how fast (just two days) it took them to scrape that months-long project completely when they realized that it didnt land well.
@@Ilovedallthepeople They didn't scrap it completely. The website would still be able to fit their new plan and run the same way it did previously, they just have to upload the video twice. Their website is just getting content a month earlier so they just upload it there and then youtube a month later. Their website doesn't have to change at all for this to work.
@@JakeDJY which is something that I'm sure was discussed before going with the worse option of pay walling content, but mistakes can and will be made and thankfully really vocal and negative responses from consumers still works to some degree.
If there’s one lesson yall take away from this, please let it be this: SURVEY YOUR AUDIENCE before these kinds of things! I’m not a patreon, so it’s possible they did a survey there, but that has a clear bias. Patreon members aren’t the full picture, since they’ve already proven themselves to be able to afford a subscription to support the channel. Surveys will help to make sure those who are marginalized in the community (international, poorer, etc) get heard. I’m so pleased with the way the watcher team has handled this. I may even become a patreon supporter now. It takes guts to issue a big ole “oops, our bad”, and I’m so happy that’s what they’ve done.
maybe i am a naive baby... but it genuinely seems they didnt pay for some market research OR maybe they got some baaaad market research... but im choosing to be a positive person and take this apology at face value because that makes me a happier person.
According to one Patreon member on TikTok - they were not consulted and they changed the Patreon tier pricing as well what content they would actually be getting without really telling them either. It went from T1 - $5, T2 - $10, T3 - $25 to T1 - $5, T2 - $25, T3 - $100. And it was just going to give them Podwatcher content *only* without even including a subscription to the streaming platform, which is why I'm guessing they announced that change as well for the Patreon members.
I'm glad they actually listened. I hope in the future they have a sit down like this before making huge announcements like that. If they had done this as a "hey, this is what we are thinking, what do you guys all think?" I think it would have avoided a lot of this. They are a company built on the support of their community, so listening to the opinions of the community is important. I'm happy with the new approach, and I wish them all the best going forward. Also super happy to say that I will still be able to watch
"Worth It" is a concept that means nothing to me. Like others have said, it doesn't feel good to watch one guy spend more money than I have in my bank account to eat one meal. But you know what did feel good to watch? Steven Lim cooking genuinely outstanding dishes for his friends. Those episodes were so heartfelt as well as wonderful to watch. I'd much rather watch a person spend too much money to cook a great meal for their friend than to throw it away for a meal for themselves.
to be fair, it doesnt appeal to you but it does to many others.. i found them because i used to watch worth it with my friends. It is a big part of how steven got to be known. i was pissed about the news and i would prefer live without the worth it stuff to maintain the free videos but clearly that had a big following and to pretty much tell them you dont care for the content they want to make, well, it doesnt make sense. they want to make what they love to make and sure they want support but they dont just make theses videos for fans.. they make them because they like to.
I didn’t get the hype around Worth It either. If it was a series like Business Insider’s “Why is _ so expensive?” where it’s just them talking to artisans producing and handcrafting expensive products about it, that would be cool but them going around bragging trying gold leaf covered steak isn’t interesting or exciting.
@seola3026 worth it did have a lot of fans though. And they probably believed if they brought the original guys back they could bring it back to what it was with buzzfeed. I mean ryan and shane are definitely the face of this channel though but I don't blame him for still wanting to create his own videos that had a following. It would bring in more fans in my opinion, not just appeal to the current ones. Also I think the point is that the channel needs more money to make the videos, and not them. I don't think they're trying to get pay raises but rather grow their brand and channel. We as fans also have to understand they need to get paid and can't expect them to take a pay cut and invest more of their own money into the channel.. at the end of the day it is a business and they need to be able to make money too or else they wouldn't be doing any of it.
taking feedback and listening and responding substantively?? in THIS economy??? love this for us. we love to see maturity like this. I havent finished the video yet but i don't need to in the sense that my heart is warmed, my skin is clear, my crops do be watered. fwiw, im keeping my subscription to the new platform! I'm lucky, the price of a full year (especially with that tasty 30% discount) is no big deal for me, and it's one more way i can support y'all! I believe in this company and you boys and all of the kickass people you work with. and hey, if i have the privilege of being able to afford this stuff, i can help out to cover for some of the people who might like to support you financially but can't due to the pressures of capitalism because i totally get not being able to support the stuff you love, that was me for years.
@@hbelle5491 haha I'm glad I could get a laugh. I'm working with, like, five brain cells today so I'm glad I can contribute to something good lol (the something good being someone's brief amusement!)
I can't speak for anyone else but all I ever wanted was Ryan and Shane goofing around whilst telling crime/spooky/history stories. I never wanted it to come to this😓
A simple survey could have avoided all of this mess. Once again, we're here for the dynamics between you guys. While we appreciate the high-tech SFX and animations, remember that we were ok with powerpoints and blue/yellow texts on a screen.
This!! I hope they understand that is enough for their fans. The drunk around the campfire series is one of my favorites and it took no special effects
That's what I'm struggling to wrap my head around too... like, did nobody think to ask? Or even mention it? At least warm people up to the idea, like you said send out few surveys gathering the thoughts of your fans about this decision.
YES We don't need extremely high production values, my favorite shows are often the ones filmed the cheapest, like too many spirits or the podcasts.. No need for commissioned art or all the fancy bells and whistles they seem insistant on..
Agree! Some of us come to their video for their personalities, their humors, their randomness. They can just sit on the couch and talking nonsense and I will still be watching.
1. You don't need 25 employees. 2. You don't need an office in Los Angeles. 3. Shop around for decent financial advisors bc you're clearly not getting your money's worth. 4. You could have easily gotten funds through a fundraising video/livestream event, rather than just expecting your fans to suddenly pay £60 a year to watch Steven eat gold covered steak, and have Shane and Ryan teach us obscure history facts. 5. Some of your best work on watcher took place over a split screen Zoom meeting during the pandemic, not with £100k+ sets.
They somehow still thinks that we as viewers really care about their expensive set or equipments... I just want to listen to my fav duo bantering back and forth about something stupid while i do my cleaning... This guy just forgot whats about them that made them so popular 🤦
The employees definitely aren’t the problem unless they’re making WAY above average. Smaller channels than this have managed to have a lot of employees, this channel makes a ton of money, they should be able to afford it. It’s probably all going to equipment and travel
@@annataymond9529sure but these are LA production/media salaries. He also mentioned paying them ‘fairly’ There’s no way in hell they can pay fairly in LA if they’re not giving out $60k to $100k+ salaries (times 25) Absolutely unnecessary and complete overkill for them
Sure but they have the employees they have now and it's not ok to just fire people. It's hard out here. Some things should be free for sure but having certain content behind a pay wall for fan who can afford it is perfectly OK
When I watched the first episode of Ghost Files, I remember noticing the high production quality and thinking, “wow, I hope they can afford this”, I never once thought that it made the video or the content more enjoyable, because all I cared about was seeing these 2 best friends having fun and working hard to make great content together for their fans.
Just keep it simple, guys. We really don't care about "better" production value. I miss the days when it was just Ryan and Shane talking about mysteries and visiting spooky places. Thank you for at least considering the feedback you received.
Have you considered that no grown up man wants to be stuck doing the same stuff for over a decade? Its fine if we want the old content, those videos still exist, but they are different people now so of course they want to create different stuff.
Yeah i really think that they listened and honestly feel bad. Plus, I'm sure it is really scary to see your career/life potentially go up in flames within hours. ❤
i would too tbh imagine thinking you have supportive fans, doing what’s best for you and your channel then come to find out the comments and comments of hate and harassment from some people who can’t afford 5$. but i’m sure at least half could scrape up more than that for illegal shi lmaoo
You guys seriously should hire someone who has a financial background. If you are this close to shutdown while having so many revenue streams, means something is going wrong. Maybe you have to big a staff (which you have just grown by hiring to extra personalities, while being close to shutdown?!).
@@zaneplatt3533 they are talking about hiring more people while begging for money. Maybe one of those people should be a CFO instead of another ex-buzzfeeder to host a new over produced show idk
I have no financial experience but here to offer my unqualified opinion: maybe stop spending an entire families yearly food budget for a whole year on one meal? Might not be a magic bullet but it's a start!
Ill be honest....just shane and ryan ever really caught my attention to watch a video to its entirety. Most of the other shows on watcher.....not worth it to me. They really failed the mark when theyve had it in their hands the whole time....i hate to see it
Almost two weeks and still no new videos. They really took this L and the repercussions are still echoing. Honestly speaking, we can all agree that it is Steven's shows that are way too expensive, considering the things that he does in his videos. It didn't help considering fans took a deep look in his personal life (the Tesla bit). Though, his shows will work on a global audience than Ryan and Shane's. The reason why fans are loving the duo is because they grew up to love the chemistry. The general public would have no idea what the duo are talking about and, most definitely, they would drop Watcher TV and go back to other, more entertaining streaming platforms.
And one of those was specifically to apologise for the "anyone can afford" comment, which I appreciate. Even if he was clearly reading off a script, but I imagine they wanted to be super careful with how they worded this so hey.
They would have kept more interest if he had stayed this way since the beginning. Scripts and production value went way down as his lines and pay have increased.
@@mommyyoungbloodthat seemed unnecessarily mean to me, as someone who only subscribed to watcher bc of Steven I can only hope he is “worth it” for the company but would be devastated if he stopped being on screen bc of this
You know what’s budget friendly and way better than what you’re doing now? Going back to your roots, cutting the fancy out. All we want is Shane, Ryan, an implied ghost and a dumb ass spirit box.
Other people in the comments have made this point, I'll reiterate. I think I can understand why they want a bigger budget to try bigger things. As creative people they probably don't want to do the same thing over again (as much as we enjoy watching) think about ghost files and mystery files, in foundation they are the same as the BuzzFeed unsolved videos we watched, but done up and with more creativity, just as they envisioned. They probably have a million different creative ideas they want to try out so the bigger budget makes sense.
“Fancy stuff” is what it takes to get ad revenue on RUclips or through any other platform. Ad revenue is also taking a lot of cuts from whoever is hosting the show (RUclips notorious for demonetizing shows over anything remotely not ad-friendly). Ticket sales and merch sales is great but it also costs money to travel for shows, to make merch, etc. so they need ad revenue to make shows like Ghost Files, which is without a doubt one of the most expensive shows they make (travel expenses for ghoul boys + production crew, location filming rights, production and post production crew salaries, plus project managers to keep track of all the contracts, hotels, flights, and shooting schedules, etc.) No matter what people say, it’s going to be an expensive show and the only way to make a smaller budget for that is less episodes and less locations taking a 6-8 episode show and bringing it down to 2-3 a season and that’s STILL expensive to make.
sad to see how low views have gotten since the entire reveal and this apology video… 0:28 gonna be honest most of us just miss the old content that they made. Where we could just sit on our couches and watch two men go to hunted places with a slight bit of comedy to enjoy. This whole entire thing is just unnecessary…. We didn’t ask for all this fancy stuff so sad to see how they ended up- this is coming from someone who used to watch them on buzzfeed on the daily and now has them unsubscribed 😢
Honestly this is a good response. Having the content come out a month earlier then on RUclips feel pretty fair. I’m glad you guys came up with this fix so quickly and apologize for your comments
My favorite content from you guys is honestly just the sitting around a fire laughing and having drinks. For the ghost hunting and mystery stuff, the best part is you guys, not the money or the production value.
Coming back to this months later, it still just sorta baffles me. I understand that many shows were prerecorded, but to claim you no longer have the funds to do larger shows you want to do, then you have episodes where you are in Korea enjoying high end foods, still rubs me the wrong way. I understand doing shows you are passionate about, but at a certain point, you have to not make content that is self indulging if you are that strapped for cash. Make what you are passionate about, but it may have to be a side project rather than a main production. I’m still holding out hope that this will become better, but after seeing those types of shows just a couple videos after this, it kinda stays in your mind and makes you feel less comfortable watching the shows.
This optional early access model sounds a lot better. I still wish they'd realize their videos don't need to be so high budget, and it will take a long time to build back the trust they lost, but I'm glad they at least listened to their audience and came up with a compromise.
It's *better* for sure, but it still sucks in general. They should just stick to RUclips instead of going with a dumb streaming service and releasing their videos for free a month later on here.
they haven't apologized for making their youtube viewers feel like they don't deserve to watch their content anymore when they literally got them to this point. this is damage control, not accountability.
They could even eventually make longer, sponsor free, content for their videos exclusive for their platform. Free option, cooler paid option to work towards their goal of television quality production
i dont really think its manipulation, it like js fits the theme and whats going on. with the platform launch they thought its be a “better” step and itd be whatd overall pay off, but here they realized its not. it’s literally the same thing utilized in every piece of media, i get they messed up but i feel like calling them manipulative is a little bit of a stretch
I had a good feeling you guys would handle the feedback with grace and respect, and that’s exactly how this comes off to me at least. Love you guys, this seems like an excellent compromise.
impressed because they received huge backlash and probably no one signed up to their service and lost big numbers of subscribers so had to apologise and walk it back... dam some people are easily impressed.
As someone else in these comments said, it doesn’t “Take balls…” it is out of financial necessity. It was either take it back immediately or watch their cash flow dwindle. And fans like you are exactly why they knew they could get away with just an apology and a plan they should have done INITIALLY. They’ve got a bunch of sheep for fans Fr if this is the main thought coming out of this.
@@reececisneros1622 It's possible to recognize that they're doing this out of necessity for their business and yet still appreciate the apology and backtracking. Those things can coexist. I'm baffled by how so many people think there's no middle ground - either you're a sheep or a hater. Nuance is a thing that exists, folks.
They come across as incredibly fake. I know the type. I've seen enough of these hipsters in my lifetime. They were going nuts - histrionics, plate throwing, and all.
Honestly, the fact that it’s now optional makes me feel much better about the possibility of giving you money. I always wanted to support you, I just didn’t want to be extorted.
This! It's kind of like Patreon, which is why it works. If you entice people with content, and let them pay what they want to support, they they will be inclined to pay and support, while receiving something in return. However if you just block content and pay wall it all, then it's not good.
Exactly! I budget $5 a month to one patreon creator and change it every now and then as which content I am enjoying most changes. I could have switched to support them but it didn't feel right. Now it will be a perk, I might consider it.
It's been 2 months in and this is the LAST video they got a million views with. Everything after this at this point has never breached 500k views even, with the biggest being 570k, but that's it. Almost all of their videos are 1 mil a pop, but now they couldn't even reach that milestone again.
One day my feed will just be men saying sorry on sofas.
With tears I hope?
💀
Yes. And I will not be accepting the apologies because I'm tired. There's no lack of content out there.
@@dbz9393 mm here's the thing. Going entirely paid was an absolutely garbage thing to do. And this apology was mediocre at best. But honestly dude, there's way more important things to worry about in the world than whether or not I want to genuinely forgive them for this. So, I'm not surprised people are chill with this. I'm going to continue to watch their content because I enjoy it and it's a pretty good escape from said bigger worries in the world. Getting on a moral high ground about some dudes on RUclips and whether or not their apology was "good enough" isn't in the spoons for me or anyone right now. They acknowledged it was shit, corrected it, and we can move on 🤷 warily. But we can move on nonetheless.
What a profound statement lol
the comment reading party in that room must have been TENSE
I wonder how Steven felt considering everyone was blaming him 😭
@@Emily-do2jyimagine how he feels now, knowing that most of his own fandom does not like him 💀
@@Emily-do2jyhe takes those things so personally. I'm sure he's prob toyed with resigning. I really hope he's seeing his therapist to process his feelings and knows these thing blow over. They just do.
@@bornana269 Well, it's hilarious he'd even think the shane/ryan fandom cared for him.. like, why, since when? What for?
@@Emily-do2jy he’s the one who addressed the money stuff too, to backtrack what HE said - the price that anyone and everyone can afford. It took an entire reckoning to get them to realize how out of touch that was? Not a good look for him
The absolute crisis mode these guys must have been in over the weekend.
They look exhausted or like they have been crying.
“Good” - Buzzfeed Shane, probably.
I was just thinking the same thing!
@@cathyshook9993ryan looks like he saw a ghost
@@cathyshook9993 no they don't lmaooo
as someone who STILL binge watches buzzfeed unsolved videos to this day, i have to say that it really saddens me to see how these guys have evolved. we never asked for these fancy production rooms and effects, we watched because of the relationship between ryan and shane. you guys could shoot a video inside a cardboard box and i wouldn't care because i’m here for the personality, not the special graphics
Artists always want to challenge themselves though, this is the problem when you make a living doing what you're passionate about in a capitalist society, balancing your "vision" with keeping spectators happy and making enough money. I agree the decision to abondon RUclips and the way it was announced was stupid and insensitive but I don't begrudge them wanting to make higher production value vids if that's what they want.
@@RaverHates i’m all for them wanting to challenge themselves, but why at our expense you know? it kinda felt like they were saying, “we don’t have enough money to do what we want so instead of learning how to manage it responsibly, we’ll just make you pay to watch our content.” they were making it seem as if WE were the ones that demanded these higher production videos. at least that’s how i took it, but i do agree with your response
EXACTLY
I'll pay for the relationship and enjoy it, you can watch for free a month late.
I'll give Ryan and Shane 6 bucks a month while you pay 6 bucks a day at starbucks, bucko.
@@Joedithas wow you showed them😂
My favorite videos from Watcher are still the pandemic “are you scared” vids where it’s just Ryan and Shane on zoom. Please don’t feel like you have to blow your budget on production when we just want to see y’all hang out and tell each other scary stories. I love you guys and felt like your shows gave me some much needed laughs during a difficult time. Thank you for hearing our concerns and actually making changes. It really means a lot.
I miss old are you scared so much, it was one of my faves
same i love are you scared so much. it's just ryan telling his best friend spooky horror stories in a dark room but it's so enjoyable. the contrast of the horror of the story and their silly jokes works so well.
I completely agree!!!!
Are you scared was my favorite series too!
it's really wholesome how much the community cares
The ex-buzzfeed employee to three guys on the apology couch pipeline is insane 💀
It’s an open market
😂😂
2? Theres literally been 2. Hardly a pipeline. Maybe a leaking straw... But go on, be dramatic and flamboyant. Do you.
@@spoons250 my brother in Christ it was a joke, obviously hyperbole
@@spoons250if I had a nickel for everytime this happened..
I'd pay $5.99 to be a fly on the wall at the Watcher office these last 72 hours.
Man I been a fan since buzzfeed I never saw nothing wrong w the last video, real fans gon watch it😂
@@akachino03so I’m not a real fan if I’m not rich? If ur paying I’ll be a real fan ig.
if I had a penny for everytime I see a copy of this comment, I'd have a total of $5.99
😂😂😂
@@akachino03I’ve also been a fan since buzzfeed. I’ve been to the live shows, hell I’ve even gotten my husband so into the lore he insists I play Too Many Spirits on audio while we take road trips.
But I was not about to contribute what could be a domino effect of every damn RUclipsr deciding it’s time to start their own streaming service. It’s already bad enough having to pay for 20 different streaming services that have 100s of shows, why add another for just a single creator?
It comes down to the principle of it. With the way they have it set up going forward I may actually purchase it. If they never fixed it I probably would have forgotten about watcher forever if you gave it enough time lol
High production quality causes me to watch less. I prefer RUclips to AVOID syndicated refined media. I liked the raw and genuine feeling the older videos had. Not sure how Watcher will do moving forward :(
I think it depends on the channel and personal taste. I prefer high-production quality, as I am a graphic designer. The poor use of fonts, graphics, and layout is off-putting to me.
I often find videos that would benefit from just a cursory knowledge about graphic design. For example, a wall of text without any white space looks pretty ugly and is hard to read. Shorter text and bigger breaks between paragraphs is a simple fix to this problem.
That being said, there are times when I'm in the mood for those raw and genuine videos that don't have all the bells and whistles. It's like when I want something home-cooked over a restaurant. However, homecooked does not mean low-quality. It's about the passion you put into your work. This can translate through production quality but also with better writing, deeper research, and so forth.
RUclips content is awkwardly sandwiched in the middle between high-production media and raw, genuine media. Sometimes, a RUclipsr is able to transcend the limits of this platform to create a true work of art, like the Astartes fan animations. I do believe that high production quality is what separates art from content. It's not as if everything needs to be art, there's enough room for all sort of creators.
@@zachhecitaI highly doubt these high production videos were made to satisfy graphic designers buddy. The original comment is referring to the general viewers, not savvy watchers with high opinions such as yourself.
I agree. I don’t watch it as much as I used to. I liked the too many spirits during Covid, but the over produced stuff is not that entertaining to me. I just like hearing them banter, they were so funny.
@@elenakirk5007the raw banter, the funny costumes, games and cute garden set ups of props/decor for the Halloween and Christmas Too Many Spirits was so fuuuun and down to earth and genuine fr makes ya feel cosy
I'm from the future. Their latest ghost hunt from 8 days ago has 1m+ views, and I'm just NOW discovering this controversy. For it to only be six months ago, I can't believe how well they steered the waters.
Y'all need to know we would watch Shane and Ryan walk through and ambiguously haunted vet clinic with two iphone cameras live streaming. We dont need the fancy stuff.
My favourite videos are where its just those two reading stories/hanging out. Youve got two great personalities and a dynamic duo. No need to overpower it with a bunch of unnecessary expenses
I completely agree
Like they said..it’s their dream to be “tv show” producers. They think they are better than RUclips but they can’t actually move off so they came up with this shit show
Agree 10000%
Omg I love their are you scared stories! I been hoping for a new season of it.
I might agree if there was correct grammar?
Just please remember the audience is here for you guys and not the "high budget production"
this!! honestly i just want them making content and being themselves, it doesn’t need all the extra flair and production
The Observe video made this exact... well, observation lol
This is very important I hope they see it
So true! also we know that is code for steven cooking with 24k gold flakes
@@kookoochim they need money to pay their life expenses girlie use ur brain ❤
you either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become 3 guys on a couch
They wouldn't have been the hero if they didn't apologize
Yo! Nice Sandlot reference ❤
3 guys 1 couch?
3 guys on a couch needs to be their next show.
omg this.
I saw a comment saying that Not one Of Those 25 Employees Is A Financial Planner..😂
That should have been the first person hired.
They also should not be hiring camera and production people freelance if they TWENTY-FIVE people on the staff already.
Not having those people screams mismanagement. You would have thought they would have learned from Buzzfeed's waste.
Go cry bussy.
I'm no economist, but if you're struggling to pay your existing staff, I doubt hiring three new hosts is the way to resolve that issue.
ill make more money....by losing more money...AAHAHAHAHAHAHA GENIUS
“nonono you don’t understand, it’s the YOUTOOOB LANDSCAPE that is economically unviable, it’s not our mismanagement of the company and slowly worse content!!!!”
They weren't struggling. That was a pretext to cover up their avaricious business practices. RUclips was much better before all of these vultures came here. You can thank Google for monetizing the place. Creators my rump, Thomas Edison was a creator, not these guys. They're saying whatever they can to conciliate their customers, which are what their subscribers are to them.
Adam isn’t a host, he works bts, Steven is the boss but yes Andrew is a new host.
If they wanted both Adam and Andrew, staff changes should have been made. 25 employees is absolutely insane for a small company/channel like this
And it seems like they hired a lot of ex buzzfeed employees too which is bad, even the try guys team have a mixed staff, a few from buzzfeed & others not
I don't think it was about struggling to pay their staff, I think they had personal goals to make their shows bigger & better from their perspective as creators, & neglected to reflect on whether the audience demand matched that
the funniest thing to me is that their patreon already existed at nearly the same price and we already got content early through it. this whole thing could've been avoided if they just upped the patreon price by one dollar, released ad-free content a month early rather than a day early, and advertised it more on their youtube channel. plus patreon has a comment section so the community would be more engaged and still get to discuss new episodes as they come out.
That’s one reason why I don’t love the idea of watching it on the streaming service. I don’t think there’s a comment section there and half the fun of Ghost Files is reading the comments and feeling like I’m watching it with the community.
I didn’t even know they had a Patreon? This seems redundant to have both. I don’t understand what the pull for a second paid platform is if they’re getting the same stuff.
I don’t understand how they did not think about this💀
this is what they would’ve done if they cared about their audience *more than* caring to to get their money lol
i think patreon mooches off a ton of the money so they want it all to go directly to them no third party involved lol
You can smell how hard they’ve been sweating over the damage control.
They didn't sigh so that's a plus
I can only imagine how Ryan & Shanes butts sweating, tightening and relaxing with every sentence they say 😂
@@Melons2580 That's so fucking hot. 😫💦
I have no idea who these guys are but the drama is worth following 🤓
@@eglantinepapeau1582 It's two lesbians and a trans-man. Please be respectful.
You guys literally have your office facing the Hollywood sign.......that's a you problem
So? That's where they live. Should they sell their houses and move to a different city so that a bunch of strangers talking smack to them online can keep accessing their content for free?
@medukameguca8529 lol they're complaining about money despite already having a patron, and already have lucrative sponsors. As business owners they need to be in touch with how much people are willing to spend, and they're overstepping.
@@medukameguca8529 There's a lot of space in the LA area that's far cheaper.
@@medukameguca8529 Those strangers are the only thing affording them that studio facing the hollywood sign. So you know what? Yeah it would be a smart business decision to move...
@@medukameguca8529 If they're desperately in need of money, yeah, they should move to a cheaper place.
3 guys on a couch always means shit went down
Bruh I nearly died reading this 😂😂
3 guys 1 couch
FACT 😂
Guys is a stretch
No comment accurately captures content creation in the 21st century like this comment. Well done!
Honestly, I miss the low budget buzzfeed unsolved videos. They were charming and authentic. The production value on Ghost Files is amazing, but it detracts from the down-to-Earth feeling that made me love unsolved so much. I’d rather watch Ryan bringing a water pistol full of holy water to Goatman’s Bridge, and Shane then claiming the bridge as his own than watch a more conventional high production TV episode.
I agree
I completely agree
Yep. Less was more.
I agree. I think a lot of content creators ALWAYS forget how they all started and how they got their following in the first place. And it's always bc they are resonating to their audience. The production is not the main thing people loved them, it's the duo's personality and also how they deliver their story. They dont need multi million dollar set and stage, they can put more money and time into researching interesting stories and maybe do a mini series where they travel but honestly, people just want to watch THEM!
@@crikeypie3750 True, if we wanted to watch tv we can just... watch tv
Shane looks like he finally saw a ghost
😭😭😭😭😭
I am cackling 😂
This comment to the top IMMEDIATELY!😂😭
Banger comment
The ghost of his career for a second 😭
25 employees for a RUclips channel of this size seems insane
But they need the new Jordan's
And Steven needs to eat gold-covered shit😢
They need to hire *more* family and friends.
Seriously and for as little content as the put out
@@whiskeygordon2452 they need to do unloved again
Please, for the love of god. You could just put Shane and Ryan in a room with a table and two folding chairs and people would watch the hell out of it. Seriously, we don’t need elaborate editing or sets. The unserious and poor quality of buzzfeed unsolved made it endearing!!!
Honestly, I'd prefer it.
Must get boring for them to do the same low quality videos for over a decade tho. They are not the same people they were 10 years ago, so of course the content they create is going to be different too.
yes i 100% agree
You also need to look at it from their perspective, they may WANT to make higher quality stuff. Sure WE love even the low production stuff, but making the low production quality stuff may not be fulfilling to them anymore. Nobody wants to have a job that isn't fulfilling for themselves.
i def agree, people love just seeing them as people, but necessarily the production value. i think they were trying at least somewhat to make us and themselves proud in growing their content but overlooked the effects it may have. i do really think they just want, at least in part, to give us their best
Step 1: Stop hiring friends.
Step 2: Hire a financial advisor.
Step 3: Stop spending money on production quality that you cannot afford.
exactly.
@@DARKINBLADE.that little room and table that buzzfeed unsolved started on was perfect imo
thank you. they def need cameramen, traveling IT, for the ghost files, etc, i get that, but the sets dont need recliners and their own retro TV sets , projectors, and fictional machines. that was all nice when it wasn't costing me 5.99 a month, but its not necessary
production quality? I would have said the flights and luxury spending should have been the first concern. Changes to production quality are last thing that takes a hit. Always be on the look out for creative ways to save on production but the quality of experience for the viewer must remain or improve to some degree or the savings will be moot.
@@maddsraddliterally step 2 could solve the entire issue
I appreciate the fact they could recognize the mistake and fix it, but the 3 guys on a couch thing is just so damn funny.
The fact that they came up with the idea, recorded a video, edited it, and then waited 3 days to correct it says more than this video does.
Damage is already done imo. They’d drop us for more money at the drop of a hat
@@werethless12probably thought it was good at first, but it should’ve been asked about through a community post at first. with the correcting part i gotta say it was the weekend…meaning they’re probably with their family.
fr i thought demonic goatman cheated on his wife or something
Ppl need to learn the difference between a mistake and a calculated decision. It's not that they didn't know what they were doing and were oblivious to it and made an oopsie, it's that they thought they could get away with sucking our pockets dry and we proved them wrong which forced them to backtrack. Don't be naive.
Okay, so most of us are coming from Buzzfeed to watch Ryan and Shanes ghost boy shows and Mystery files. I didnt come to watch some people go out and eat expensive food. I wanted the goul boys to go on adventures, to make fun of each other.
Im here from Worth it, so speak for yourself ;)
Omg I was looking for this comment, I literally balk when I see some of the titles such as "we compare food truck hot dog with $300 hot dog".
Hurts more because Steven is the main "character" in those episodes and I don't watch them because of that, he has no "stage" presence, he tries too hard to be fun and it shows.
I can just about bear him on "too many spirits" where let's be honest he nor Ricky or needed.
Shane and Ryan make that show, some intern can make them drinks in the background lol., ditch the unnecessary bartenders 😁
So there's one expense taken care of
@maryirish8382 and it feels copied from The Try Guys, that's their gimmick and I watch them for that. I want the spooky bestie or going over unsolved crimes.
@@rappepappe123No one cares where you came from. They said "most of us," goof.
@@rappepappe123 someone can't read 👀
This feels like when you were a kid at your friends house and then they get yelled at by their parents and then the vibe afterwards is weird.
too accurate lmao
They should have done the apology video in the Mystery Files basement for max effect.
you are so right.
LITERALLY LMAOO
Yes!!
This is definitely an improvement, but please keep in mind that we're totally okay with downscaled production and less expensive shows. If you're not making enough money to fund your productions with a patreon, youtube ads, merch, and now a streaming service, then it's not a question of how to make more money, but of how to spend less. Because no one watches you for the fancy effects and intros, we watch because we like you guys. Regardless, best of luck.
I think they clearly want the big production to keep it fulfilling to them. I think finding a way to compromise what they want to make with what’s sustainable for fans like they’ve done here makes the most sense going forward.
And nevermind that Steven is flaunting his wealth a lot... Pay yourself less
I think it’s more about that THEY want high production, they want to make polished well produced shows, as they’ve been saying, but yea, I feel like they could maybe work on getting more bang for their buck
Maybe they need to look at their 25 employees and make some cuts. Do they really need that many people?
Yes, absolutely. This has gotta be top comment, because there is no world where all of those revenues combined can't cover the overhead
Creators sometimes seem to forget that we are here because of their personalities and charisma and not the high budget production.
I would be happy with Ryan and Shane using an iPhone to make content.
Exactly this. I think they care more about the production because it’s something they enjoy doing but as a viewer, I really couldn’t care less about it. My favorite series are Shane in Ryan sitting in a room or around a camp fire reading stories. Or them walking around a supposedly haunted place. I watch their videos because I like Ryan and Shane and their chemistry together and that’s it.
It's what they (or at least Ryan) clearly wants to make, though. Which is a shame, because he's built his career around youtube, a place for low-budget personality-driven content, not high production value. I could see Ryan leaving to do just that, follow what makes him happy, if he weren't now locked in to this WatcherTV thing, because it's clear the fan base (myself included) just aren't as interested in watching what he's interested in making. I love the low-budget content. I hope he can find a balance that makes him happy.
Well their personalities is obviously greed , is that what your here for , they just see u as a dollar sign and u so lonely u view RUclipsrs as your friends hahahah losers
@@eazeprestige8853"hahahaha losers" -🤓
About 12 years ago I got sick, when I found Buzzfeed Unsolved you were a bright spot in many dismal days. I’d often watch an episode twice. Once for Shane and Ryan and once to read community commentary. Your community was honestly as funny as you two.
I was happily to see you guys grow and followed you to Watcher…. But it’s never felt the same. It’s overproduced and lacks the integrity of 2 friends being themselves hanging out. Today it feels over scripted and overproduced.
I understand wanting a legacy of something to be proud of but your legacy honestly is the authenticity of the Buzzfeed days. I don’t know how you solve that as I understand people grow up, change and mature. However like others have mentioned hiring more employees to solve a money problem isn’t the answer. I understand wanting to be good employers but you may be better off scaling back especially with the economy the way it is.
Honestly most people are cutting back on subscriptions to be able to afford food, gas and housing. It’s simply NOT the right time to make your followers foot your bills. If you want to hire someone I’d suggest hiring someone who will help you bring in more and better advertising and not on production and new on screen talent. Just thoughts to ponder
It’s a tough time financially for many.
Same here, Buzzfeed Unsolved was truly my comfort show.
I think that at this point, they should have stopped everything and tried new ideas rather than trying to continue an adventure that no longer seems to suit them anyway. I agree with you, the videos now don't feel sincere at all.
And the way they manage all their income looks disastrous. At the end of the day, not knowing how to manage money (and let's be honest, they seem to get a lot of it) shouldn't penalize an audience that's binging on sponsor-packed videos that are practically scams.
What a (sad) mess.
this exactly!
Tbh the more tv show-y the show got, the less funny it became? I remember laughing my ass of at the “just subtitles of what Shane and Ryan are saying” formate. I also loved the “Are you scared” series, while they were just on zoom and narrating cool images. (Props to the artist.) Just two guys telling us spooky stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I like it when someone is creative and wants to improve, I don’t think we should stay the same all the time, but I just want to express how I think it went the “wrong” direction. As for my taste. I just like feeling like those guys are just regular people I can relate to…( ps. English isn’t my 1st lango, sorry if this is a little messy.)
I totally agree with your comment, and your English is very good!! :)
Fantastic English actually
Im from England and your English is better than most people I know
Exactly my thoughts. Also glad to find another "Are You Scared" fan, I miss that show sm!!
You articulated my feelings perfectly! Totally agreed and your English is perfect!
We've failed to take into consideration the poors.
My apartment complex switched to a online rent payment subscription system. It costs $15/m to pay my rent.
I spit at subscriptions now.
Those dastardly poors, ruining our plans once again
Watcher tried to sell meth outside Walmart
@@badrott8028 sounds like it's a fee to process the rent payment. Now THAT'S shitty.
@@user-il3hx1cs5r I can always go down to the bank for a cashier's check once a month, but online? Yeah that's no longer free. I swear the middle class has gotten the piss attitude of "charge them a subscription" too death
Yes! Listen to your audience! Appreciate the acknowledgment and apologies.
Does feel good to be heard and to know some action is being taken in response
Absolutely, it’s okay to mess up but it’s so great that they’ve really listened to us
Won't lie, I've been ruminating on how upsetting all this is... But man I'm happy to see there's multiple efforts in the works to try and right wrongs.
We love it when they listen. And they acted relatively immediately. If they phase out the patreon and make Watcher like the new patreon, I think this is fine. This should work for everyone. but they have to phase out that patreon to prove this wasn't motivated solely by greed (which I don't think, on the part of Ryan and Shane, that it was. It's hard for me to say it wasn't regarding Steven...)
@@ashesacediaive felt crap these passed few days because i honestly couldnt have imagined how badly (understandably) the fans reacted. So happy they came back to us
I told my mom about all this mess and when I told her about how they said "$6 a month is something everyone can afford" she said "That's a gallon of milk" and that's what really put this into perspective.
Someone who's struggling with money, especially if they have a family, needs to prioritize buying a gallon of milk that month to feed themself or their family over being subscribed to a single platform to watch a single channel's content.
But the guys don't see $6 as a gallon of milk, they see it as just a few bucks that aren't a problem to spend, something a lot of us don't have right now
oh my god yes! and for what? to see a lifestyle i could never have?
If you find having $6 less a month is a real struggle, then the problem is you.
Let's not pretend that it's a tonne of cash they're asking for and the whole online community is only being shitty because they once had it for free and therefore would require to pay for it.
Video editing isn't free, the monitization is a joke and so is the ad payrate. To succeed properly, they made the right choice. But... And this is BIG BUTT, I don't think the way they did the whole "cyaa RUclips" thing was the right thing to do.
@@TheeRyanBriceit isn't a ton of money but what are they providing thats worth thousands if not millions of people paying $72 a year
Ok and? They don't "owe" anyone making videos for you for free. The person who can't or won't buy the subscription won't die if they don't get to see a couple guys tell ghost stories. The Watcher crew deserves to get paid for the content they make and the person struggling to buy milk deserves to be able to buy milk. These aren't some how opposite ideas. Does your mom get offended when products advertise themselves as "cheap" or "affordable"?
@@TheeRyanBriceI hope you’re joking because not everyone can afford . Some watch it for entertainment and prefer not to pay . And that’s ok , people can watch it late and whoever can actually afford to pay can pay . U don’t need to put down people who can’t pay to justify their behaviour.some people don’t have jobs but still want to support . They didn’t handle it in a good way ? I don’t think so .Theyre asking whoever can pay pay .who can’t ? Well watch it late .thats it . Tbh they have to capitalise since they also have bills to pay so I understand. It might be unfair for us but very fair for them making a livelihood
Imma be honest with you boys, mystery/ghost files could be shot over zoom with all visual aids being terrible doodles and I'd still watch the hell out of it. We don't watch these shows for the graphics and effects, we watch them for you guys. The graphics and effects are just a neat little bit of icing on the cupake.
This 👆
100% 😊
But, you blew it.
We really don't want more icing than the actual cake:(
The phrase "I'm never going to financially recover from this" really hit home this time.
THISSSSS
It's sad, I actually enjoyed watching them. I followed them from BuzzFeed bc I enjoyed their content. After their goodbye video, I was heartbroken, but then I realized that their r millions of other content creators I enjoy that didn't expect money 2 watch their videos.
They can try 2 justify themselves, but if they were a single mother of multiple children, then maybe they would have thought more b4 demanding funding 2 sustain their lifestyles.
They are also never going to reputation-ally from this one 🙊
@@michellemitchell3640if they were single mothers of multiple children they’d be MORE justified in asking for more money lmao. If you’re saying YOU’RE a single mother of multiple children and can’t afford it, then, it’s not for you. But for 5.99 a month you’d have to be poorer than me to never afford that, and I’m an unemployed college student lmao.
@@aarishowton8037That should never be the excuse. $5 a month racks up fairly quickly. And when you have bills, groceries, gas, and other expenses to pay, suddenly your bank account is gonna start missing that $5. Now granted, that's true for every streaming service. But the issue is that RUclips is free. They were originally taking free entertainment that everyone with Internet access and a device to view it on could enjoy and locking it behind a paywall. Imagine if you had to pay $5 for every time you wanted to watch a RUclips channel? And not just RUclips in general, an individual RUclips channel
I’d pay 5.99 right now to see their reaction and discussion to the backlash over the weekend lmaoo
Right 🤣
Same! That should have been their play!
6 dollars to just be a fly on the wall in the watcher office over the weekend
😂😂😂
While I get what you mean, I definitely don't want to see what they were going through. There were some horrible and very personal comments being made (not just talking about feeling betrayed etc) 😢 I'm just glad they did at least listen to the feedback.
I actually still can't watch their newer video's after this happened because it I still feel betrayed and everything feels fake
Get over it everybody makes mistakes
Shane finally saw a ghost, the ghost of his career.
Brutal, yet hilarious
💯
😳😂
😭😭
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
While it is hilarious that they had to pull together this video so quickly, I am acknowledging that it takes balls to come on and say "yeah we fucked up but here's how we're gonna fix it". Thank you guys for apologising for your insensitive comments and for making changes.
Exactly :)
It’s not balls, it’s financial necessity. They would have TANKED if they went through with their original plan.
I personally think it's pathetic. I'm not a fan of theirs and have never watched a video of theirs, but I predicted that they would shoot a video like this one. People will do anything for money these days.
@@DumplingDoodle Thank you! Everyone's commending them for "taking accountability" and "listening to their community" but it was the backlash and promise of financial ruin that made them whip this up so fast. Their entire comment section was lit up, NO ONE thought this was a good idea. If they actually knew their community AT ALL, they wouldn't have even tried this venture in the first place
@@vincent4258 There's a difference between making a mistake and betraying your true intentions (in this case, exploiting people for financial gain). You would have never heard of these guys if this site weren't monetized.
I would pay $1,000 to get the CCTV of the office over the weekend
oh my god can you even imagine
Be careful making offers, they'd probably take the money lmao
@@toml8273lmao. They ain't recovering any time soon
OMG the money is give for that, but I still won’t pay for the subscription
IM CRYING IM ACTUALLY WILLING TO PAY YO SEE THAT
I agree with all of the very valid points in these comments, but the greed accusations are really underestimating the bigger factor here: dumb. They're dumb. This was dumb. And my point is not that they're innocent idiots, it's that they are content creators who failed to recognize their inability to run a company and refused to hire professionals with the skills to do so for them.
I LOVE seeing 3 buzzfeed guys on a couch. It’s always a good time for me
I love seeing a comment that has already been commented hundreds of times
This is when I take out my popcorn 😂
what did i miss i keep seeing this an im confused 😂
@havi8-0-9 I'm not sure if anyone else did it but afaik, the last time this happened was with the Try Guys and their Ned Fulmer issue. If I remember correctly, SNL even made a skit about it
@@SpookySpice6419yeah it’s like hundreds of people share the same sentiment
Watcher, never forget: we're here for you as people, personalities, and the friendship that exists between you. That means 90% of would watch a return to blue and yellow (wheeze) text scrolls if need be. It's your biggest strength -- who you are. Always lead with that and the rest will follow. Bravo and thanks for listening. I'm sure it was rough. But take away from this the MASSIVE compliment this is to you as people, that your audience is here for you. Not the budget, the production quality, the locations -- for you. That's a huge statement. Don't lose sight of that in all this. And this is a great compromise and only reinforces your core strengths. Thanks for listening. Stay you!
I do miss those text scrolls
I got chills reading this lol. I hope this read this comment because it's so true.
I miss the (wheeze) lol.
THIS!!!! ❤💛
They probably can't return to that because Buzzfeed has the rights to that format.
y'all were at your peak when you were two guys running around with gopros and being yellow and blue subtitles on a screen
God I miss that
fr !!
i relly miss that
{wheeze}
they also could TOTALLY go back to doing that on Watcher I'm so confused why they didn't if that's the reason they became so popular
I want to see Steven work a few food drives for the underprivileged. That would be good content for Watcher. Show him how hard life really is for some of us. Look out, Steven. Poverty can come at you real fast...
Have him make a series where he tries to live in poverty like in some communities. Try moving here in the Philippines and live with the poor, together with the increasing 48-50 degree-Celsius temperature. That should give him the insight of whether eating gold-plated shit is still a good idea.
"Steven tries to live with minimum wage for a months"
That would be great, but instead of giving out food, they could gift one year subscriptions to their new streaming service. Watching them travel the world ghost hunting and getting their opinion on $20k steaks would easily be more important than life’s essentials.
@@Gallade400 I like your point but 50 degrees Celsius is pretty standard in Australia and Mexico too.
“It was so insensitive, we made concrete changes immediately, and we are very sorry we made this mistake in the first place” I’m a grudge holding jerk, but that was what we needed.
Same. I’m still a lil hurt but I won’t jump ship just yet.
Pretty good apology video
Okay let’s calm down. They messed up but it’s business not personal
@@yung1717 lmao right? The vocal minority getting butthurt over parasocial entitlement in these comments
They must not understand their fan base as soon as I saw it I ran to the comments @@yung1717
Shane looks more nervous in this video than he’s ever looked in a Ghost files video 😂😂
Is it just me, or was there a bit of a "I fucking told you so" smirk on his face a couple of times.
Ghoulss don't scare him, but fans do!!
HELP IKR
@@aviewfromtheinterior If you think it got as far as a public goodbye without 2/3rds of the team, your clinically insane. They all wanted to do this, get over it.
only time he's been more scared was that alarm in mission solano
NOT THE TRY GUYS COUCH
THATS WHAT I WAS THINKING
LITERALLY
Iconic 😂
Lmaooo that’s all I could see
THATS WHAT I SAID
If y’all are still struggling financially after patreon, live shows, merch, brand deals, ad revenue and tours then youse might wanna take a moment and realise ur not cut out for this
facts.
"we messed up" being the first thing they say is killing me 💀
that being said the change is such good news and a relief for all of us that couldn't afford the subscription
if i was drinking smth i would've spit it out ngl
ikr 😭😂
It's straight to the point not "copying every other apology" stfu
@@ShanDaSheep I can imagine they’ve needed a few actual drinky drinks to deal with all this backlash lol
I guess we know the 26th person employed by watcher is a PR 😅
😂😂😂
Bro PR is drinking and celebrating right now
They got the same person from the try guys
Oh, absolutely, steven lim is the CEO but isn’t in the middle, Shane is, and shane and ryan are doing most of the talking. people are mad at Steven bc they expect it from him but not shane and ryan.
Brilliant🤣🤣
I'm glad they apologized and came up with a compromise, but I still wish they'd realize they don't need such high budgets or a huge staff. Their amateur video days were their best.
Yeah, and it'll still take a while to earn back our trust.
I want to believe the whole thing was just a massive oversight and that they weren't driven by greed, but I'm not sure I can.
Sooooooo true
I just hate all the hate Cr1tical, Jacksfilms, and their fans are giving them. Yes, they made a mistake that alienated their audience, but they're not greedy scumbags, and this apology doesn't feel fake in the slightest.
@@garnetbird7557crit and jack are always desperate for content. they’ll clown on anything
coming back to say, it's incredibly disingenuous of yall to provide ONLY a 3-month watcher tv pass for patreon members. patreon members not automatically having watcher tv included in their tiers seems like such a slap in the face. why would i be paying you $5 on one platform, and then another $6 on another platform to continue watching /only/ your content?? that would be poor financial planning on OUR part.
to give people a 3-month pass only is just bonkers to me, and i really hope more people become aware that this was their little "fix" and give the boys further pushback. this isn't cool on their part at all and I'm really disappointed with this whole situation. yall have 25+ employees, have one of them send out a new watcher tv code at the beginning of each month when patreon charges patron membership fees.
yeah it’s pretty greedy
Wait, wait.
So originally, they were offering 30% off a $59.99 annual subscription, which is a couple cents short of $18 off. In fact, the site is still offering that to anyone who signs up before May 30.
But ~now~ they're offering Patrons 3 months free at $5.99/month, which is... also a couple cents short of $18 off.
Wow, what a sweet deal for Patrons: the same discount everyone gets, but without locking in for a year in advance! Which will presumably prevent them from also getting the discounted rate for the first year they pay for, since by the end of their free 3 months it will be well past May 30.
This "gift" to their Patrons is costing them less than nothing. It's the difference between $17.997 and $17.97 -- between two and three cents -- except that you ultimately save $0.027 LESS if you take the Patrons' three free months and still want to subscribe after that.
All this does is offer the people who've already been willing to financially support them directly the opportunity to pay three cents more for the privilege of not being locked in for a year.
Why didn't they mention this in the video?
@@cassandrasimplex7544 thank God people are willing to do the maths and call these guys out in their bs. This is peak greediness
We would have no problem with a production budget cut, lads. We're here for you guys, not the fun sets
Cutting sets doesn't pay bills. That's what people are missing in all this. Running a large channel on RUclips if you don't directly have RUclips's ear simply isn't sustainable. They can demonitize your entire channel, permanently, without resource, at any time. That kills the business. The only real solution that allows the business to keep growing, the people running it to live good, happy, prosperous lives and putting out good content is to move the revenue streams to another model.
BUT WE'RE NOT HERE FOR STEVEN!
@@swalsh76 they make hundreds of thousands some months what you going on about
i literally dont like ghost files because it felt too gimmicky
@@frankdobs 1) Citation needed, and 2) running an entertainment business is expensive. The idea that hundreds of thousands of dollars is going into 3 guys' pockets is naive, to say the least.
They actually listened and I am so grateful for it. This model is more sustainable and accessible for the people. Damage has been done but accountability was taken.
Was it though 🤨 4 days, 25 staff and 3min apology video. Yeah accountability was taketh in
They didn’t listen. They still want to overspend on their fancy office/studio etc. we all just now have to wait longer for unnecessary production values for no reason other than ego.
I was afraid people would accuse them of backtracking? But you are right. They listened to their people and I hope it’s successful.
@@CertifiedForkLiftOperator69420 4 days, 25 staff and 3 mins does not make an apology any less meaningful - I don't know what your point is with bringing up these numbers as if they mean or say anything in this context.
they wouldn't have to take accountability if they didn't see/treat their fanbase as negligible in the first place, but well... it's what we have for today.
I genuinely cannot comprehend how RUclipsrs don’t understand that a lot of people watch long-form RUclips content because they are sick of over produced TV content. We literally do not want more over-produced content or more streaming services.
yeah, I have flicker rate neurologic problems and want no flashing graphics. Ideally none.
Yea I too like watching garbage
it seems like their goals are misaligned with their fanbase. they want to go into high production media and we're here for the goofs of shane and ryan
@@oscarr2480there is nothing wrong wanting to eat non-processed food
Greed can do that.
"I think a lot of times, when you're creating something, you get so caught up wanting to make it as good as it could possibly be that you forget what the show can mean to people."
- Ryan
(Buzzfeed Unsolved: The Making of the Final Investigation 27:50)
Just thought it kinda connects together here. Farewell👻
All ex-buzzfeed employees who start their own channel need to schedule a consultation with Safiya. Absolutely none of them have done it as well as she has, and her content isn’t behind a paywall.
Safiya is a gem
Nah they need to talk to rhett and link. They have the right business model. They have the mythical society which has teirs, gives gifts quarterly, and special content and podcasts. And they still make gmm everyday and have the mythical kitchen channel. Plus rhett and link already helped smosh rebrand and become more successful when they bought it after Anthony left, so they have success stories.
I didn't know she was an ex-buzzfeed employee. Huh!
HEAR HEAR... and she moved away from lala land didn't she?
@@carimeslockdownedtree2654 yessss she was on lady like!
It's like they just did the biggest, most public focus group ever 😂
Shocked they didn’t seem to have done a focus group in the first place, since there’s no way one representative of the fans would’ve suggested going ahead with the original model
literally. including lists and lists of what warket and what's not for every show
@@saraknapp7909 Idk, social media and online content creation is still such a new branch of entertainment. Part of their appeal is that they arent part of a major broadcast company, their creativity and sincerity isnt stifled by executive oversight. But that also means they cant benefit from a major broadcast company's DECADES of experience from calculating trends to PR management. At the end of the day, Watcher is a team of young people, measuring the temp of the water with their hands and hoping their sincerity will carry them through. They're bound to make mistakes, but they're also willing to listen.
@@EmmaGray13 patreon wouldn't be a good focus group since they're all paying at least $5 a month already.
@@violet7773 They would have still been against the idea when they find out early that they still have to subscribe to another platform when they're subscribed to Patreon already.
I completely understand business needs. The fact that you guys listened to the fans and didn't get defensive (which is a knee-jerk human reaction) but instead addressed everything, is why I love you guys.
Ya, I think their current direction is the correct one. The streaming platform offers new shows, and the original shows earlier, but the RUclips audience isn't fully abandoned (plus it makes RUclips an advertisement for their Streaming service). I can completely accept that relying on RUclips alone is unreliable, being a slave the algorithm means you might suddenly have the rug pulled out from under you. But the original plan of just suddenly dumping RUclips and paywalling all content but episode 1s was a business decision that I think we all agree was a bad one.
There are so so so many ways they could cut costs though before screwing over their community. It’s not a business need, they just think they’re too big for their britches and need to make “Netflix quality content”.
Agreed! I think they handled this well.
But it's not just about cutting costs but about the restrictions on content from YT. They could cut costs but they would still be holden to corporate censorship.
@@DYT2 what censorship. Their content was extremely safe and generalized from day 1
I think you confuse simple with mediocre and low-cost productions with bad content. The reason why I love this channel and you guys so much isn't because of the great sets, expensive cameras or fancy gear. I think we all followed you from buzzfeed and stayed because you have chemistry, you have great storytelling and mostly you have heart!
I can see why you made the move to leave but I think you should consider staying and making a few budget cuts, rest assured we will love the content anyways :)
i really hope shane saw that one comment about how his past self would’ve told the fans to pirate it. he’s become what he sought to destroy (something something buzzfeed you get me)
this!!!!!
They need to stop even mentioning Buzzfeed
You mean that clickbait crap thats worse than Reddit? Not something to be proud of
@@Blakiedoo wtf does him being a straight white male have to do with this?
Also He's Jewish
Are we really ignoring when Shane told people to share the membership with their friends in the original announcement?
tbf he did say "you can share it with your friends, we don't care" lmaooo
When I clicked on this I expected an apology, but I DIDNT expect an actual change. It takes balls to admit to messing up and fixing the mistake. I think we all respect you guys a lot for this. People feel a sense of relief and blah blah parasocial relationships blah blah betrayal, but I’m also just genuinely glad I’ll be able to continue to watch these shows that I really enjoy (and when I have the means, support this content by purchasing merch or going to a live show).
This. I was hoping for any kind of acknowledgement. The fact that they apologized and are making changes is actually more than I was expecting.
Yeah I kept waiting for the f you,” but we are sticking with our decision,” comment but I’m glad it didn’t come.
100%, you said it better than I ever could
I’m impressed that they’ve listened to the fans, I wasn’t expecting a walk back. If the company is at risk of closing, I’d suggest cutting down production value for the shows, because as I’m sure you’ve read, we watch for you guys and the chemistry, not for fancy production value.
All in all, probably the best response you could’ve given I think. I’m willing to give you guys another chance
Lol I mean they said they wanted to launch the platform to avoid laying people off. That would be the production cuts you are speaking of.
they clearly want more money dude its not about production value thats why they "listened" because if they didnt they would literally kill their own careers
This, absolutely. I watch for Ryan and Shane. Steven isnt really a personality i click with, and I've tried to watch so many. Too many spirits..i ended up skipping the drink tutorials after three episodes. Food episodes..kind of awkward and i havent watched any in years. So, sorry Steven.
I also get they have people to pay, but if they went back to low budget film sets, I would still watch. The banter is the best part.
@@donkyoofficial I think that the original comment was actually referring to the more elaborate sets, and high budget show concepts like flying stephen, Andrew and adam around to eat expensive food
@@CryInCryptid well i mean someone builds the sets right?
Watch how their avarage veiw per video drastically change after this
I can't describe how much I don't want high budget anything. Use puppets to teach me about WWI and have Shane and Ryan go ghosthunting. that's it. that's all we want
THIS. THIS RIGHT HERE.
The thing that gets me is that this whole thing must have been in the works for _months_ . It takes time to build a website and a streaming platform, even one that doesn't have a mobile app or work for non-US viewers.
This wasn't just a barely-thought-out idea. It took planning, and monetary outlay, meetings, probably working with outside vendors. It was a _project_ .
How, in _all_ that time, did they not think they should maybe check with their viewers and see if they were down for such a massive change? How, in a decade have they not in any way gotten to know their fanbase?
I mean, months...
That’s where I get stuck too. But I also know that the longer you have the easier it is to lie to yourself and push down a voice that says WTF ARE YOU DOING?! I really hope it’s that option instead of being fine with it and only backtracking once it was clear they wouldn’t get the support they needed….
What impresses me even more is how fast (just two days) it took them to scrape that months-long project completely when they realized that it didnt land well.
@@Ilovedallthepeople They didn't scrap it completely. The website would still be able to fit their new plan and run the same way it did previously, they just have to upload the video twice. Their website is just getting content a month earlier so they just upload it there and then youtube a month later. Their website doesn't have to change at all for this to work.
They don’t care
@@JakeDJY which is something that I'm sure was discussed before going with the worse option of pay walling content, but mistakes can and will be made and thankfully really vocal and negative responses from consumers still works to some degree.
If there’s one lesson yall take away from this, please let it be this: SURVEY YOUR AUDIENCE before these kinds of things! I’m not a patreon, so it’s possible they did a survey there, but that has a clear bias. Patreon members aren’t the full picture, since they’ve already proven themselves to be able to afford a subscription to support the channel. Surveys will help to make sure those who are marginalized in the community (international, poorer, etc) get heard.
I’m so pleased with the way the watcher team has handled this. I may even become a patreon supporter now. It takes guts to issue a big ole “oops, our bad”, and I’m so happy that’s what they’ve done.
they don't want to listen to us poors
maybe i am a naive baby... but it genuinely seems they didnt pay for some market research OR maybe they got some baaaad market research... but im choosing to be a positive person and take this apology at face value because that makes me a happier person.
@@naurrrvictim mentality
@@naurrrthey 100% are listening to us. If they weren’t this wouldn’t exist and nor would they put it on RUclips.
According to one Patreon member on TikTok - they were not consulted and they changed the Patreon tier pricing as well what content they would actually be getting without really telling them either. It went from T1 - $5, T2 - $10, T3 - $25 to T1 - $5, T2 - $25, T3 - $100. And it was just going to give them Podwatcher content *only* without even including a subscription to the streaming platform, which is why I'm guessing they announced that change as well for the Patreon members.
I’m not paying for Stephen to jet-set around the world and eat expensive food. I was only here for Ryan and Shane.
I'm glad they actually listened. I hope in the future they have a sit down like this before making huge announcements like that. If they had done this as a "hey, this is what we are thinking, what do you guys all think?" I think it would have avoided a lot of this. They are a company built on the support of their community, so listening to the opinions of the community is important. I'm happy with the new approach, and I wish them all the best going forward. Also super happy to say that I will still be able to watch
All we want is some transparency for real.
"Worth It" is a concept that means nothing to me. Like others have said, it doesn't feel good to watch one guy spend more money than I have in my bank account to eat one meal. But you know what did feel good to watch? Steven Lim cooking genuinely outstanding dishes for his friends. Those episodes were so heartfelt as well as wonderful to watch. I'd much rather watch a person spend too much money to cook a great meal for their friend than to throw it away for a meal for themselves.
Amen to that!!!
to be fair, it doesnt appeal to you but it does to many others..
i found them because i used to watch worth it with my friends.
It is a big part of how steven got to be known.
i was pissed about the news and i would prefer live without the worth it stuff to maintain the free videos but clearly that had a big following and to pretty much tell them you dont care for the content they want to make, well, it doesnt make sense.
they want to make what they love to make and sure they want support but they dont just make theses videos for fans.. they make them because they like to.
agreed!! I hope that they do more dish granted, maybe even with the rest of the worth it guys. I think I would enjoy watching that a lot more.
I didn’t get the hype around Worth It either. If it was a series like Business Insider’s “Why is _ so expensive?” where it’s just them talking to artisans producing and handcrafting expensive products about it, that would be cool but them going around bragging trying gold leaf covered steak isn’t interesting or exciting.
@seola3026 worth it did have a lot of fans though. And they probably believed if they brought the original guys back they could bring it back to what it was with buzzfeed.
I mean ryan and shane are definitely the face of this channel though but I don't blame him for still wanting to create his own videos that had a following. It would bring in more fans in my opinion, not just appeal to the current ones.
Also I think the point is that the channel needs more money to make the videos, and not them. I don't think they're trying to get pay raises but rather grow their brand and channel. We as fans also have to understand they need to get paid and can't expect them to take a pay cut and invest more of their own money into the channel.. at the end of the day it is a business and they need to be able to make money too or else they wouldn't be doing any of it.
taking feedback and listening and responding substantively?? in THIS economy??? love this for us. we love to see maturity like this. I havent finished the video yet but i don't need to in the sense that my heart is warmed, my skin is clear, my crops do be watered.
fwiw, im keeping my subscription to the new platform! I'm lucky, the price of a full year (especially with that tasty 30% discount) is no big deal for me, and it's one more way i can support y'all! I believe in this company and you boys and all of the kickass people you work with. and hey, if i have the privilege of being able to afford this stuff, i can help out to cover for some of the people who might like to support you financially but can't due to the pressures of capitalism because i totally get not being able to support the stuff you love, that was me for years.
Yes!
“My crops do be watered” is the funniest thing I’ve read today
@@hbelle5491 haha I'm glad I could get a laugh. I'm working with, like, five brain cells today so I'm glad I can contribute to something good lol (the something good being someone's brief amusement!)
They probably just realized they'd be out of a job if they completely left yt. But a win is a win ig
This!!!!!❤
I can't speak for anyone else but all I ever wanted was Ryan and Shane goofing around whilst telling crime/spooky/history stories. I never wanted it to come to this😓
I would kill to see their iMessage group during the last weekend lol
A simple survey could have avoided all of this mess. Once again, we're here for the dynamics between you guys. While we appreciate the high-tech SFX and animations, remember that we were ok with powerpoints and blue/yellow texts on a screen.
This!! I hope they understand that is enough for their fans. The drunk around the campfire series is one of my favorites and it took no special effects
In a way I still miss seeing those two sided text conversations, perfectly timed with any stutters or odd sounds they made
That's what I'm struggling to wrap my head around too... like, did nobody think to ask? Or even mention it? At least warm people up to the idea, like you said send out few surveys gathering the thoughts of your fans about this decision.
YES
We don't need extremely high production values, my favorite shows are often the ones filmed the cheapest, like too many spirits or the podcasts..
No need for commissioned art or all the fancy bells and whistles they seem insistant on..
Agree! Some of us come to their video for their personalities, their humors, their randomness. They can just sit on the couch and talking nonsense and I will still be watching.
1. You don't need 25 employees.
2. You don't need an office in Los Angeles.
3. Shop around for decent financial advisors bc you're clearly not getting your money's worth.
4. You could have easily gotten funds through a fundraising video/livestream event, rather than just expecting your fans to suddenly pay £60 a year to watch Steven eat gold covered steak, and have Shane and Ryan teach us obscure history facts.
5. Some of your best work on watcher took place over a split screen Zoom meeting during the pandemic, not with £100k+ sets.
They somehow still thinks that we as viewers really care about their expensive set or equipments... I just want to listen to my fav duo bantering back and forth about something stupid while i do my cleaning... This guy just forgot whats about them that made them so popular 🤦
The employees definitely aren’t the problem unless they’re making WAY above average. Smaller channels than this have managed to have a lot of employees, this channel makes a ton of money, they should be able to afford it. It’s probably all going to equipment and travel
6. they don't need your shitty advice
@@annataymond9529sure but these are LA production/media salaries. He also mentioned paying them ‘fairly’
There’s no way in hell they can pay fairly in LA if they’re not giving out $60k to $100k+ salaries (times 25)
Absolutely unnecessary and complete overkill for them
Sure but they have the employees they have now and it's not ok to just fire people. It's hard out here. Some things should be free for sure but having certain content behind a pay wall for fan who can afford it is perfectly OK
When I watched the first episode of Ghost Files, I remember noticing the high production quality and thinking, “wow, I hope they can afford this”, I never once thought that it made the video or the content more enjoyable, because all I cared about was seeing these 2 best friends having fun and working hard to make great content together for their fans.
Just keep it simple, guys. We really don't care about "better" production value. I miss the days when it was just Ryan and Shane talking about mysteries and visiting spooky places. Thank you for at least considering the feedback you received.
Have you considered that no grown up man wants to be stuck doing the same stuff for over a decade? Its fine if we want the old content, those videos still exist, but they are different people now so of course they want to create different stuff.
Sending Ryan, Shane and small crew into the woods to find Bigfoot is one of my favorite episodes. Yal didn't find Bigfoot but I laughed my ass off.
they care. artists want to grow. they want to make better art. while you are the audience the creators opinion matters too.
They don't want to fire anyone. Reducing production costs involves firing people.
Amen to that
They look like deer in headlights. But kudos to them for being straight up, apologizing and making immediate changes. Love you guys.
To be fair imagine the entirety of ur fanbase yelling a resounding “fuck no” all at once. It’s good to see them not being super dodgy about it.
Yeah i really think that they listened and honestly feel bad. Plus, I'm sure it is really scary to see your career/life potentially go up in flames within hours. ❤
i would too tbh imagine thinking you have supportive fans, doing what’s best for you and your channel then come to find out the comments and comments of hate and harassment from some people who can’t afford 5$. but i’m sure at least half could scrape up more than that for illegal shi lmaoo
@@livvybummur riding that meat extra hard relax
no kudos
You guys seriously should hire someone who has a financial background. If you are this close to shutdown while having so many revenue streams, means something is going wrong. Maybe you have to big a staff (which you have just grown by hiring to extra personalities, while being close to shutdown?!).
Nah pocket that money and complain 😂
Your solution to their issue is to spend likely a hundred thousand or more on another employee... 😂. You are truly brilliant
@@zaneplatt3533 they are talking about hiring more people while begging for money. Maybe one of those people should be a CFO instead of another ex-buzzfeeder to host a new over produced show idk
They are lying about their finances because they think we are stupid and will believe them.
I have no financial experience but here to offer my unqualified opinion: maybe stop spending an entire families yearly food budget for a whole year on one meal? Might not be a magic bullet but it's a start!
Ill be honest....just shane and ryan ever really caught my attention to watch a video to its entirety. Most of the other shows on watcher.....not worth it to me. They really failed the mark when theyve had it in their hands the whole time....i hate to see it
Almost two weeks and still no new videos. They really took this L and the repercussions are still echoing.
Honestly speaking, we can all agree that it is Steven's shows that are way too expensive, considering the things that he does in his videos. It didn't help considering fans took a deep look in his personal life (the Tesla bit). Though, his shows will work on a global audience than Ryan and Shane's. The reason why fans are loving the duo is because they grew up to love the chemistry. The general public would have no idea what the duo are talking about and, most definitely, they would drop Watcher TV and go back to other, more entertaining streaming platforms.
steven only speaking twice in this video makes a lot of sense to me
Lmao. And it's about money too
And one of those was specifically to apologise for the "anyone can afford" comment, which I appreciate. Even if he was clearly reading off a script, but I imagine they wanted to be super careful with how they worded this so hey.
he aint getting that second tesla
They would have kept more interest if he had stayed this way since the beginning. Scripts and production value went way down as his lines and pay have increased.
@@mommyyoungbloodthat seemed unnecessarily mean to me, as someone who only subscribed to watcher bc of Steven I can only hope he is “worth it” for the company but would be devastated if he stopped being on screen bc of this
You know what’s budget friendly and way better than what you’re doing now? Going back to your roots, cutting the fancy out. All we want is Shane, Ryan, an implied ghost and a dumb ass spirit box.
Other people in the comments have made this point, I'll reiterate. I think I can understand why they want a bigger budget to try bigger things. As creative people they probably don't want to do the same thing over again (as much as we enjoy watching) think about ghost files and mystery files, in foundation they are the same as the BuzzFeed unsolved videos we watched, but done up and with more creativity, just as they envisioned. They probably have a million different creative ideas they want to try out so the bigger budget makes sense.
I really dislike the new episodes. I would pay 6 bucks to go back to just two guys in a room with a bulletin board.
Maybe not the spirit box.
“Fancy stuff” is what it takes to get ad revenue on RUclips or through any other platform. Ad revenue is also taking a lot of cuts from whoever is hosting the show (RUclips notorious for demonetizing shows over anything remotely not ad-friendly).
Ticket sales and merch sales is great but it also costs money to travel for shows, to make merch, etc. so they need ad revenue to make shows like Ghost Files, which is without a doubt one of the most expensive shows they make (travel expenses for ghoul boys + production crew, location filming rights, production and post production crew salaries, plus project managers to keep track of all the contracts, hotels, flights, and shooting schedules, etc.) No matter what people say, it’s going to be an expensive show and the only way to make a smaller budget for that is less episodes and less locations taking a 6-8 episode show and bringing it down to 2-3 a season and that’s STILL expensive to make.
Too much ego for that, and also greed.
never clicked so fast in my life
Deadass
SO REAL
Amen
Same
Same 😂
sad to see how low views have gotten since the entire reveal and this apology video… 0:28 gonna be honest most of us just miss the old content that they made. Where we could just sit on our couches and watch two men go to hunted places with a slight bit of comedy to enjoy. This whole entire thing is just unnecessary…. We didn’t ask for all this fancy stuff so sad to see how they ended up- this is coming from someone who used to watch them on buzzfeed on the daily and now has them unsubscribed 😢
Honestly this is a good response. Having the content come out a month earlier then on RUclips feel pretty fair. I’m glad you guys came up with this fix so quickly and apologize for your comments
My favorite content from you guys is honestly just the sitting around a fire laughing and having drinks. For the ghost hunting and mystery stuff, the best part is you guys, not the money or the production value.
This
In all fairness, them saying “I’m sorry” right off the bat is already 10x better than how most other RUclipsr apologies go.
Very true
They are still firm on their stance despite their wording
dont excuse their greedy bs
++
"right off the bat" it was 3 days of radio silence
Coming back to this months later, it still just sorta baffles me. I understand that many shows were prerecorded, but to claim you no longer have the funds to do larger shows you want to do, then you have episodes where you are in Korea enjoying high end foods, still rubs me the wrong way. I understand doing shows you are passionate about, but at a certain point, you have to not make content that is self indulging if you are that strapped for cash. Make what you are passionate about, but it may have to be a side project rather than a main production. I’m still holding out hope that this will become better, but after seeing those types of shows just a couple videos after this, it kinda stays in your mind and makes you feel less comfortable watching the shows.
Looking at the views too after this video and wow
This optional early access model sounds a lot better. I still wish they'd realize their videos don't need to be so high budget, and it will take a long time to build back the trust they lost, but I'm glad they at least listened to their audience and came up with a compromise.
It's *better* for sure, but it still sucks in general. They should just stick to RUclips instead of going with a dumb streaming service and releasing their videos for free a month later on here.
@@harold3165better than nothing
they haven't apologized for making their youtube viewers feel like they don't deserve to watch their content anymore when they literally got them to this point. this is damage control, not accountability.
As someone who was subscribed to patreon (until the 19th of April) for the few days early access and to support them, it's got me on board.
They could even eventually make longer, sponsor free, content for their videos exclusive for their platform. Free option, cooler paid option to work towards their goal of television quality production
Kind of bummed that we didn't get 3 ukuleles in this one
Hahaha omg 🤣
Colleen has forever changed people's brain chemistry (mine too)
Ok but instead of that bitch they at least said 'im sorry' 😂😂 Colleen cant even do that (not that it can save her career anyways)
😂
@@crackheadadventures She is an eternal meme
The difference in color for the thumbnails is killing me:
all bright lights for the *amazing* announcement, but dark, dreary for the apology video
I'd say they r paying their employees much more than what they r actually worth.
It seems manipulative right!?
If a bunch of other channels like Mr. Beast and Rhett and Link can sustain themselves off ad revenue, sponsorships why does Watcher need a paywall
Needs a banjo or ukulele 😂
i dont really think its manipulation, it like js fits the theme and whats going on. with the platform launch they thought its be a “better” step and itd be whatd overall pay off, but here they realized its not. it’s literally the same thing utilized in every piece of media, i get they messed up but i feel like calling them manipulative is a little bit of a stretch
Holy, the viewer drop-off after this video is insane
Yall really shot yourselves in the foot with this bs, huh? 💀
Never clicked so fast in my life i think i pulled something
Same.
literally same
Same bro
My clicky finger is sprained I think
Fr fr I dropped everything for this
I had a good feeling you guys would handle the feedback with grace and respect, and that’s exactly how this comes off to me at least. Love you guys, this seems like an excellent compromise.
Well damn, colour me impressed. They actually listened to the criticism. Well done guys.
After every certain RUclipsr, I'm happy these guys were at least smart about
Idk this definitely left a bad taste in my mouth... It'll take a while for me to forget this.
They had to
impressed because they received huge backlash and probably no one signed up to their service and lost big numbers of subscribers so had to apologise and walk it back... dam some people are easily impressed.
@@gredax to be fair, with how certain RUclipsrs are nowadays. There's a reason.
Marketing classes around the world will use this as an example on what not to do with a successful youtube channel
I'll admit, it takes balls to receive this level of backlash and not crumble OR hide, but recognise the screw up and take it back.
No dont give them credit for doing the BARE minimum. Nobody forced them to make such a tone deaf decision
As someone else in these comments said, it doesn’t “Take balls…” it is out of financial necessity. It was either take it back immediately or watch their cash flow dwindle. And fans like you are exactly why they knew they could get away with just an apology and a plan they should have done INITIALLY. They’ve got a bunch of sheep for fans Fr if this is the main thought coming out of this.
@@reececisneros1622 It's possible to recognize that they're doing this out of necessity for their business and yet still appreciate the apology and backtracking. Those things can coexist. I'm baffled by how so many people think there's no middle ground - either you're a sheep or a hater. Nuance is a thing that exists, folks.
Subscribed
@@colonelcrackerz2320 So what? Erase what they said? What they said was wrong but better than a lot and people shouldn’t forgive them
would pay $9AUD a month to hear the panic that has ensued in your office over the last couple days
Id pay the price for the full year to be a fly on those walls 😂
me too, they sound so absolutely terrified
They come across as incredibly fake. I know the type. I've seen enough of these hipsters in my lifetime. They were going nuts - histrionics, plate throwing, and all.
I bet it was like the scene in spongebob where all the little versions of him are running around panicking while the office is on fire
Frankly, I doubt it was panic, I think it was more likely disdain for their audience and the reaction they got.
Honestly, the fact that it’s now optional makes me feel much better about the possibility of giving you money. I always wanted to support you, I just didn’t want to be extorted.
Same, I'm genuinely going to look into signing up because now it won't feel icky 😂
I feel exactly the same, as a current paying Patreon member (albeit lowest tier) I wasn’t feeling happy about paying but now feel much better
Thats exactly how i feel
This! It's kind of like Patreon, which is why it works. If you entice people with content, and let them pay what they want to support, they they will be inclined to pay and support, while receiving something in return. However if you just block content and pay wall it all, then it's not good.
Exactly! I budget $5 a month to one patreon creator and change it every now and then as which content I am enjoying most changes. I could have switched to support them but it didn't feel right. Now it will be a perk, I might consider it.
It's sad how i can't see watcher as anything other than a business at this point, it feels souless and irredeemable now.
It's been 2 months in and this is the LAST video they got a million views with. Everything after this at this point has never breached 500k views even, with the biggest being 570k, but that's it. Almost all of their videos are 1 mil a pop, but now they couldn't even reach that milestone again.
Literally only watch for puppet history and ghost files the rest of it is fucking awful
@@joe.b944 lol same