6 bucks is cheap for a subscription, but it’s VERY EXPENSIVE for content from a single channel 💀

i saw one of the comments on that video was "the old shane would want us to pirate it" which is so valid and true

Sometimes, that $6.00 is the difference between getting to eat that day, and just not eating. $6.00 is a lot for many of us.

As someone who used to watch Buzzfeed Unsolved religiously, this is a HUGE disappointment

'$6.99 is affordable' is giving highschool teacher energy of 'it's only 1 hour of homework' when you have 4-5 other teachers saying the same thing

Read a comment that said "if I wanted a mfer with a tesla to call me broke, I'd just go on twitter" and that's the only good thing to come out of this whole ordeal

Disney Plus with MEGA franchises such as MCU and StarWars are only charging $8.99USD with promotions of the first 3 months free…let that sink in…

I feel like youtubers are always trying to convince you that they're struggling and need more money but then Charlie is just like "nah we make tons of money lol"

THEY FULLY INTENTED TO TAKE DOWN ALL THEIR OLD VIDEOS. They only backtracked when they saw the backlash.

The fact they made a show where Shane and Ryan sit around a campfire, get drunk and read ghost stories to each other, which made near 2 million views, and they STILL think they need high end productions on everything they make is insane. People showed up for the personalities, not for the flashy sets and locations. There's no way they didn't realize this, that's absolutely insane.

“Anyone and everyone can afford it” is a crazy statement at a time like now where basically if not literally the entirety of the country is struggling to survive 💀

Not only was the subscription thing a shock, but in the previous video we were told we could share a password. So a lot of us did that, Then suddenly the website updated and told us that we could only stream on three devices at once. It felt like an additional punch to the gut.

''You can take the boys out of Buzzfeed but you cant take Buzzfeed out of the boys''

This comment on their video really paints the picture: "Netflix is $6.99 a month, Disney+, $7.99. Prime Video, $8.99. And you're asking $5.99 a month!... most people have to choose between the three. Do you really think you're in the same league as the big streaming giants?"

Saw someone say "Left buzzfeed to become buzzfeed" and honestly, real.

What hurts is that we never showed up for the “big production”. We just wanted more ryan and shane, and then they decided we weren’t giving them enough anymore

“watcher?? i can barely afford her!” that comment killed me

On their podcast, Steven literally talks about how he's currently renovating his home, ordering a monthly pest control, and getting gwenyth paltrow's goop salads grubhub-ed to him daily at work.. like did he not think we realized that he's nowhere near struggling

all this subscription bullshit is getting out of hand. Most of us already pay for things like netflix, hulu, hbo etc. and on top of that youtubers and instagramers really expect people to pay for even more subscription services? its wild.

They do not pump out enough content to be worth 5.99 a month, when streaming services with 1000x their content costs the same or a bit more, and put out new stuff everyday. What level of insane delusion and greed is this. Never expected this from Shane and Ryan, but I guess I was delusional as well

the watcher community would’ve supported shane and ryan until the fucking wheels fell off, we just didn’t expect them to shove us out of the car moving full speed

Remember kids, the Professor would want you to pirate WatcherTV

I've heard this reaction from a ton of people: "I liked their content with Buzzfeed. It's really high quality work. I didn't know they had moved to their own channel." This tells me they never really maximized their KZfaq audience so people even knew about them. And that's staying on the same platform. I'm not sure how they expected to create a whole new platform while keeping their audience.

And I have to add, as I see almost no one comments from this perspective, if some people struggle to pay 5.99 + every other services they pay in USA, that move was a really big *fuck you* to every fan from other, less economically avanced country, for whom those 6 dollars can be LITERALLY days of food.

craziest thing is nobody ever asked them to invest in some high-end studios, we only want 2 chairs in a room, shane and ryan, talking ab paranormal stuff...

"We need more money!" they cry, while their CEO drives a tesla and flies first class to different countries to make videos of himself eating thousand dollar gold leaf steak. 🙄 It's the equivalent of multi million dollar companies telling poor people to just stop getting coffee and eating avocado toast and you won't be poor anymore.

Also important point, one of them just had a ~250k wedding

Shane and Ryan were my comfort KZfaqrs and I have watched them since I was legit a teen and now I am in university. I always said that they were the least problematic buzzfeed group and now I feel completely betrayed. I can't afford yet another service on top of everything.

I'll say it - I preferred the Unsolved format they had when they worked at Buzzfeed. It was low-budget and what drew people in was the chemistry between Ryan and Shane acting like a Mulder and Scully 2.0 for true crime / paranormal investigations and cases.

So according to them, the production costs for a single one of their ghost hunts gets in the hundreds of thousands. Film crew, flights and lodging, editing payroll, booking locations, I can believe that the episodes get expensive. However, they seem to forget people didn’t ask for, “oh you should totally do high quality TV production stuff.” People just asked for more Ryan and Shane. The early days of buzzfeed unsolved was literally just them walking around haunted locations asking questions, very barebones stuff, and these videos have millions and millions of views. They’ve complicated things themselves.

And that 5.99 is in US Dollars…in some currencies that’s a shit ton of money to spend for ONE SINGLE CHANNEL. A total slap in the face for their supporters from other countries

I find it extremely amusing when KZfaqrs "threaten" to leave. Like, they really think we won't move on and forget about them like within 2 days 😂😂

The "it's $5.99 cause everyone can afford it" line destroyed all my positive perception of them

Shane and Ryan are such personality based creators that they do not need a flashy 25 person crew to make engaging content, if they sat in an empty room with a webcam and talked they'd still get hella views

It's important to note that what they're doing is that they're trying to do the Dropout model, where they move their content to subscription-based for more funding and release free episodes to keep them relevant on youtube. The difference though is that Dropout is not solely one group. It's genuinely a ton of shows run by many different comedians, each with a ton of variety and flavor, alongside accessing their old content, all for free, also alongside accessing behind the scenes content as well. While Dropout's subscription is about the same price, Dropout essentially guarantees that not only are you accessing all their content, but also getting at least 4 ongoing new shows every week, and more. They guarantee more content than what you paid for. These guys aren't doing any of this, so while it's understandable why they're doing this, the way they're doing it is really poor.

Within the past year my card declined for a $3 bag of chips while I was at lunch at work. It's a "low price" but when living paycheck to paycheck it a big deal.

The worst for me is that people already on their patreon do NOT get free access - they get a discount. So they are being asked to pay TWICE for one channel

A crossover I never wanted to see, because when Charlie covers someone it usually means they done fucked up

Using the cost of paying employees as leverage to justify the new platform was such a gross reach on their part

My best friend said it best: no price is going to be more affordable or accessible than free

I sometimes forget Charlie is a legit business man behind that laid back demeanor

“$5.99 is something anyone can afford” feels like that one twitch streamer that got bashed for being pissed that people weren’t subscribing to her twitch

I want to think that this came from a place of "We don't want to have to take sponsor deals anymore cause we don't really believe in any of them." BUT It was so terribly executed. There are so many other content services that just give extras rather than take things away.

People got sick of paying for cable TV ..... so, everyone has started their own cable TV enterprise. The fucking irony.

It's really refreshing to see someone as big and well off as Charlie, still able to still recognize $6 month is a big ask of people.

Brooo I organized the 1st Watcher Fanzine that came out about 4 years ago to celebrate their success in KZfaq and how cool it was that they were seperating from Buzzfeed. It really, really stinks to see them go down this route.

The irony is that this has already been done. One of the big selling points of cable was no ads. Then cable got greedy and did ads anyway. Then streaming was no ads. Now streaming has gotten greedy, and ads are there unless you pay more. What do you think will happen if Watcher TV doesn't meet it's revenue goals after a couple of years? Did someone say ADS!?? What a novel concept; but of course, if you pay a smidge more (which everyone can afford) then you can be ad free again. JFC.

one of the most heartbreaking things is one of the comments on the watcher video is someone saying how they watched the season finale for ghost files while in line at the food bank. $6 for content is fucking insane

Looking forward to the "What happened to Watcher Entertainment?" video essays like a year from now

Ive been watching the boys since the very first buzzfeed unsolved episode. Disappointed doesn’t begin to explain my feelings towards this. I feel like Ryan and Shane could literally record themselves just doing their old true crime content instead of just paranormal stuff and save all the money they apparently are losing because I still just go back and watch those old episodes. Steven becoming the ceo for watcher was their biggest mistake.

I hate everyone pricing their models in comparison to Netflix while not thinking about the value. For example i was evaluating multiple language learning apps, and Speakly is asking or 12.99 a month. Maybe, if I was learning a language actively 4 hours a day, but for 15 min a day, that is a stupid price.

The main issue is Steven - their ceo. That guy was never popular compared to shane and ryan and recently has been pushing a show where he travels the world and spends ridiculous sums of money on food and international trips. Its really bad and frankly he should step down.

The estimated $15,000-$35,000 they would get per brand deal would absolutely change my life.

I would pay $5.99 to be able to see their reaction to Charlie posting this video.

Thanks for covering this Charlie. Its really disappointing and frustrating with them doing this

I genuinely cannot emphasize how crazy it is that WATCHER did this. Whoever gave them this advice needs to be fired or removed from there inner circle asap

Things I, a broke college student, can buy for six dollars: -Six-twelve (depending on where I go) bags of microwave Mexican rice. SIX TO TWELVE MEALS. -A printing pass good for 60 copies. -A small box of pads. -twelve packs of notecards -my shampoo and conditioner -overnight shipping for a textbook -student doordash -student paramount for myself and my friend, with all of our favorite tv shows (we are scifi nerds). -one to five novels that are required reading depending on what thrift store I go to -access to an academic paper Six dollars is not “nothing” for a lot of people, especially those who are part of their viewer base.

Gawd I love you Charles. I am 58 years old and I watch a lot of KZfaq, including The Other Channel you just started up. I'm on a fixed income now and in 7 years it's going to be less. I appreciate people like you who keep KZfaq going regardless of the fact that you could Obviously be raking in much more. Thank you so much for keeping me informed n laughing man! 🎉😂❤

The fact they said that anyone can afford putting aside $5.99 especially in a time where the cost of living is increasing and so is everything is out of touch

Look at the setting.. they’re in tailored suits, expensive furniture, in a studio; just going “muehh, this is just so we can make ends meet. Muehh”

Let me tell you, as a watcher fan, I have never seen the community so unified until now

I love watcher, but this really just upset me and sucks when over a night your favorite creators can completely ruin their images

Shout out to Charlie for being transparent and breaking this down

Not to mention they fostered a community of skeptics who question everything then expect that same community not to question their own greedy business venture?

I saw somebody write that they are doing a "bankruptcy speedrun" and I lost it 💀

they made a “apology” but it feels scripted and without emotion

am i the only one who's going crazy over the fact that they have a MONTHLY $100 TIER?? 😭😭 like how in the world do the tiers jump from 5 to 10 to 25 to 100??????

I think some people are being too nice to Ryan and Shane here, saying it’s almost single handedly Stephen who is wanting higher budget and funding these big videos but they’re all adults, they all must play some role in this. It is sad to see Mr “i hate capitalism” Shane Madej doing something like this but we can’t try to save their image by giving the benefit of the doubt when they don’t deserve it.

Take a hint. No one likes paying for subscription services

And this is why Charlie's word and opinion is so well respescted. He's so down to earth and kind even while being very affluent, he never ever takes it for granted.

i just started watching these guys like a month ago and i was NOT expecting these videos to be about them

Remember when Netflix was 6.99 and you got, just, EVERYTHING? Easier to get a job back then, too. And feed a family for a week on $100. I'm literally watching myself get older as I type.

It's amazing to me that situations like these solidify how few good CCs there are still left on here that DONT use subscription services or EXPECT their fans to buy their shit. They don't push it except for one quick "also here's my shop btw if you're interested, anyway back to the video" They're also very transparent that they DO make a lot of money from YT and they're incredibly grateful for it and their audience instead of spitting in the faces of people that helped them get such a large platform in the first place by saying "your viewership alone isn't good enough for me anymore, buy my subscription service and here's an ad every 5 minutes of the video"

the biggest thing for me is that the majority of buzzfeed unsolved viewers that supported them on watcher are there mainly for the ryan+shane dynamic. they didn't even need high production to have the support of their fanbase

My favorite take from this video was " I'm not paying them to travel the world and eat food covered in gold while I can barely afford to buy organic groceries"

The worst part is Watcher has at least 2 shows where they literally require fan submissions to function and now theyre CHARGING for you to watch those future "seasons" of the show. So you expect me to submit something for you to use for free but i have to pay to watch? No. Theyve shown how little their fans truly mean to them :(

adding a subscription service while already having a patreon is insane

Hey Charlie, I’d love for you to do a video on Shadiversity and their issues with KZfaq. They’re a great channel that do everything from medieval weapons testing, to frame by frame sword fighting breakdowns and much more. According to them, KZfaq has been destroying their channel and I’d love to see you react to their video and get your opinion on it all. Their channel is one of my favorites on the platform and they don’t believe they’ll be able to sustain their business much longer due to what KZfaq is doing to them

Long-time Watcher Patron here. A few things: - They actually have four membership tiers: $5, $10, $25, and $100. They’ll be cutting it down to three in the near future. - Patrons are getting a 40% discount on the streaming service. We’re not getting free access. - Watcher has a long history of making promises to their Patrons and not fulfilling them. If I had to guess, the issue here is that the folks at Watcher don’t know how to appropriately budget their shows. And they’d rather take a giant risk on streaming than actually rethink their production model.

Also something to remember: Watcher’s fanbase tends to skew on younger side (a la broke college student), and one of the members, Shane, has been very vocal on his disdain for like major companies and a very much “eat the rich” mentality. This whole thing just feels like a slap to the face of a majority of their audience (a lot of whom are struggling to make ends meet) and complete hypocrisy.

Would love an update to this after their apology video

Crazy how they thought releasing that video was a good idea

Who tf is actually going to remember to keep up with their website? Theres a lot of content I love that I would completely forget about if KZfaq didn’t put it in front of me

“Anyone and everyone can afford” I’m a broke ass college student who can barely afford FOOD, much less a streaming service. I’m so upset. I loved their content.

Props to Charlie for calling them out on how absolutely greedy they are. And he really provides some transparency on the wealth that can be generated by people in positions like him.

I cannot even begin to comprehend by what metric they thought this would be worth it. They literally spat on their audience, many of whom are already supporting their patreon, and told them to give over more money to fund their expensive cars and jet trips. This is a FineBros React World level bag fumble.

“They went for a kick flip and ended up breaking both their ankles” is the perfect description

Honestly thanks for making this and breaking it down for everyone because tbh i could have been convinced to be sympathetic to their cause but seeing basically an expert break down why its shitty is really enlightening thank you

imagine paying $6 to only listen to a single artist on spotify out of the 10,000 or so on the platform.

5.99 is crazy for 1 product when Netflix, Disney and Amazon is only a couple $ more for thousands of movies and shows

like this actually breaks my heart they have been some of my favourite youtubers since they started at buzzfeed. like i saw on tumblr: "old shane would want us to pirate it"

It's not even the money. It's the sense of betrayal. This is how they repay years of loyalty. They wouldn't have got anywhere without their viewers.

I can’t afford 4 dollars to buy a Gatorade none the less a membership. We need to stop paying these content creators. They don’t care about us.

Genuinely so sad to see this, watched them since the buzzfeed days.

Wanted to add, also, for people that aren't in the community: 1. In the video, they absolutely imply that they were going to take away all videos from youtube. Also, Ryan Bergara (one of the members) told Varsity that this was their decision. After the backlash, they backpedaled; but instead of going the route of "we hear you, and we're going back on this decision", they decided to pretend that it was all a misunderstanding (also known as gaslighting: lying in a way that makes you second-guess your understanding of things). If you read the Varsity article now, they say that "originally, Bergara told Varsity that they were going to remove the videos from youtube, but now they recanted that decision" (paraphrased). 2. This announcement was hyped up as a cool, big thing for weeks. It had a countdown. For those of you who don't know, countdowns are usually used to hype up fun, new things like a new show, or a comeback of an old favorite, NOT to announce that your content is no longer free. It was EXTREMELY tone-deaf. 3. This announcement was also prefaced by them bringing back the staff of Worth-It. Worth-It was a Buzzfeed show (whose host was Steven Lim, Watcher's CEO) where they flew around the country eating extremely expensive food (think gold leaf and caviar). All of this implies that Lim wants to bring back Worth-It (which wouldn't be out of character for Watcher- They brought back Buzzfeed Unsolved Supernatural as Ghost Files, and Buzzfeed Unsolved True Crime somewhat as Mystery Files). The community is not happy with their whole discourse of "needing the money" to continue their careers when they're planning on making a show all about expensive food.

I subscribe to “Nebula” a streaming service with a bunch of KZfaqrs on it and it seems like Watcher was trying to do something similar. Nebula costs $5/mo or $50/yr but has over 100 creators and 95% of videos on it are also on KZfaq except videos are up to a week early and without sponsorship or ads on Nebula, sometimes with bonus footage like outtakes or more clips of media that are fair use but would set off KZfaq copyright filters. They do have some exclusive videos but are either one-off high production value videos, or ones that would not be advertiser or algorithm friendly such as talking about war or censorship and shows uncensored war footage or clips from movies, or use more video and audio footage that falls under fair use but not according to KZfaq and would get copyright strikes. But Watcher has way less value and no reason to be on a separate service when Patreon works just as well for same effect.

They've now posted an "update" video. I'd love to see you go over that.

Charlie breaking his OWN curtains down just to elucidate the greed brought a f*kn massive smile to my face. What a legend.

In addition to calling out the rampant greed here, I’d like to thank Critikal for being upfront and transparent on some of his costs as well and revenue as well. This kind of discussion only helps workers, while hiding it helps the employer only.

Was waiting for a video analyzing this !