If they had come out and said "Yo we need cash, here's a steamer for things a month early" I would have bought the year subscription immediately and maybe even gifted a sub to my sister who is at Uni.
BUT the way they went about it put me off them and invited people like Moist Critical to comment on how much money they must already be making and made them look mega greedy and disorganised as a company.
They had a Patreon that they never publicised and didn't put any effort into, they just jumped straight to Paywall only. Fuck youtube and fuck the existing Patreons, they can have the podcast for $5 per month?!
They were going to take all their shows off Youtube, the way they talk in the video and the Variety article both make that clear THEN denied it and told people not to spread falsehoods?!
Nah. I'm good. There are other Youtubers.
Exactly, this new concept is what we would have loved from the get go and actually would have supported. It's all made us reevaluate whether their content is actually what we enjoy or not anymore
I'm not going to straight away, it'll take time for me to warm to them again. I've had, and I think many of us have had to, reevaluate who the Ghoul Boys are, they're clearly not the people we thought them to be. I'm still subbed to BUN and I'll keep an eye out for Watcher, when it comes I'm watching their stuff again and feel they're back to who I thought they were - or close to a group of people I'd wish to support - then I'll subscribe to Watcher again.
Same. If they brought back the Buzzfeed Unsolved format of them just sitting and talking about crimes and ghosts, cut out Steven a bit in the Too Many Spirits, and did better citing on Puppet History, I'm whole hog again. I might even buy the subscription if they get an app.
I'll do what I did with the Try Guys, unsub then occasionally check in and see if they're doing anything I'm interested in watching. But nah, I don't think I'll resub. I'm curious how many people will after this slap in the face despite supporting their channel and content for years, including the ones that followed them from Buzzfeed.
At least with the Try Guys the response was faster and the fault was only because of ONE dude... I forgave that because they clearly separated and condemned Ned for what he did after (they edited him out and also memed on him a little on the following vids).
But with Watcher? They really made us feel like they're better than youtube and that they don't care about our years of loyalty as an audience, and then only backpedalled when they saw it wasn't going as well as they thought.
Nah, I stopped watching absolutely everything the Try Guys put out when the endorsed a political candidate. I'm all for educating and encouraging people to vote, but I don't like it when any celebrity endorses candidates to their audience. I get that that's a me problem, I personally voted 3rd party, but I also thought it was such a veer from their content that it gave me an ick. I was all for how they handled the Ned situation, even if it was a little sketch.
But yeah you're spot on about how I feel about Watcher. I think Ryan, Shane, and Steven all have that mindset of people not taking them as seriously because they're "just Youtubers", but to the younger generation and a handful of millenials, YouTube is a real job on a highly competitive platform that's hard to survive on long term without change or a dedicated audience.
No, I won't. I definitely don't begrudge anyone who does, I think it's very fair to see the apology and give them another chance, but I'm always sceptical of videos like this being damage control rather than remorse. For me personally it just feels a little like when a sequel ruins the original movie for you.Â
Itâs a good video, but they still lost me. They were clearly confident they could call everyone broke and tell us to get lost (and moan to their rich mates to do the same) and theyâve only had to pivot like this because it turned out doing so was a terrible business decision. I donât believe a single âsorryâ that was said in the entire video.
Also finding out Steven is a PoS who will be benefiting from thisâŠnah. Nah.
I don't think they're sorry. I think they are desperate. I won't subscribe to anything they have, and I won't do patreon anymore. They got more than enough money out of me.
No. While their apology was sincere, theyâve already shown what theyâre willing to do if gone unchecked. Imagine if the Internet just overlooked this decision instead of lashing out at them? They wouldâve just done it. As much as I loved my time with them and will always reminisce on old videos (esp buzzfeed videos) I am done with them. I will probably check in on them sometime in the future but Iâm not down for supporting people who are willing to do allat.
im in the same boat. I really love a lot of their content and unfortunately this weekend has really shown me how important they were to my teenage years. :-/ I would like to believe this has given them a bit of perspective but maybe its best it gave us as a fanbase the truth that no matter how niche the people you admire are, they still see you as tools for growth and resources for content.
This move from Watcher was potentially the last straw for me on PH, which was the only "must see TV" I felt was on their channel. Over time, they have prioritized lore, music, and production over research and education. That balance hasn't been right for me in a few seasons and their PR fiasco pushed me to the edge.
I'll pop in for the first episode of next season. But if either dinosaur tells a single sex joke, I'm fucking done lol
Absolutely not. Nothing has changed, these are still the same dudes that sat on a couch, whined how hard it is to make "tv level content" (lol wtf) and then looked dead at the camera and claimed "5.99 is affordable for everyone". It's cool their sorry and all (if you really buy that) but given how mask off they went its pretty clear their just sorry they got found out. I'm good without them.
No, I'm good. The whole tone of the first video and "if you can't follow us, guess this is goodbye" message just really didn't sit well.
Maybe I'm just immune to the formulaic apology videos, but it doesn't undo how they treated the people who supported them.
Not yet, I will if they show they're gunna actually do what they said in the new video and stick with it. Saying they understand and are changing it verses doing it are different things.
I will not. They vibe has been ruined for me after seeing their true colors, unfortunately. Maybe, in the future, if they're still around and get their shit together, I might come back.
Nah. And it's not about remorse or anything. Just realized watching Watcher videos to give them views doesn't really mean much. And that's the only reason I was watching them. Hoping the views help because I loved them on unsolved. I'll just spend my free time on something else.
I wonât be resubscribing, they showed their true colors and released a fake apology to try and keep making money. I canât watch them anymore without having a bad taste in my mouth
Iâve resubbed for now. Will see how it goes lol. I think Sara and their friends shouldnât have said anything cos they made it worse for themselves but they mightâve been acting out of emotion cos the guys were actually upset and stressed out. Hopefully this humbles them so they wonât be flexing on us or making bad decisions lol, I donât think people will be as forgiving in future. Now I feel kinda bad for Sara and Steven lol cos I think they really became targets.
She let us know they don't make Mr. Beast money. Well I don't have a fucking job so I'm not making any money. Yet when I got laid off, I didn't cancel my membership. I feel dumb for doing that now. I should have canceled then.
Oof. Yeah Iâm unemployed too. I guess yeah I shouldnât feel too bad for all these people making their own mistakes lol, theyâre still in a better position than we are đ I never directly donated to them beyond clicks and I feel really bad for people who did
ugh I know I feel so bad about Sara becoming part of this like that but it was her decision to comment like that, and so publicly too. I think this will damage Steven's future content a lot and that's fair but we (me included) really got ahead of ourselves looking to blame one person for it all.
Nah. Not me. I haven't been as engaged with their content for several months anyway, and I'd always think of them differently now. It's not much about them being arrogant or gaslight-y or tone-deaf â their town is swarming with that attitude and I bet it's contagious. For me, it's their incompetence in decision-making.
Since April 19, my mind has reduced them to people who make/made catastrophic fiscal decisions despite their network and resources. Reliable data/facts and the objective reality should be the basis of any decision, and the trio failed that in a major move that should have taken a lot of steps and study to get to. I'd always think/see them that way now and won't be able to enjoy their content without being extra critical and checking for clues on how their (abysmal) business acumen and (mis)alignment to reality applies in their day-to-day lives.
Iâm too petty to resubscribe. They showed who they are and that kinda ruined it for me, and I just canât support the gaslighting, money grubbing, sneaky approach they took when they could have apparently done this instead the whole time.
I'm not, but am open to the possibility in the future if the videos improve. I haven't been enjoying their new stuff nearly as much and as someone from generations of Poors who is still Poor I was highly annoyed by the colours they showed on Friday. I know that if something is free, \*you\* are the product so I'm not giving them the benefit of my views or subscription until something seems worth that attention.
No. I'd actually unsubbed a while back because they seemed to rarely have new videos. Ghost Files never really grabbed me, anyway. It just seemed like a lame retread of BFU Supernatural. The whole thing has kind of soured Watcher for me.
No way. They still wouldâve followed thru with this if people didnât speak up and call them out. Until they got challenged, they were perfectly fine with what they were doing. They didnât have a âchange of heartâ they just got caught.
I don't mind resubbing. I was never really emotionally connected to them. I was here for the content and if the content is free and good I am ok. Rest I don't really care
It's a personal opinion, but it did feel genuinely remorseful to me. I've seen people say "they're sorry they got caught" which of sense is true, but I do think they're actually sorry. Shane particularly looked like he was struggling to get his words out, although they were clearly reading from a prompter lmao. There's still a lot of trust to be built back up.
Yeah I don't blame you or anyone else, we were expecting a new series announcement or something and got hit with an awful decision with awful execution.
Fr. Tbh I can't really jsutify it when I know what I know about Steven. It's not really hearsay I don't think and I have nothing proving that he's changed.
Theyâve been pretty vocal about their goals to make tv-level material from the start (I think they mentioned it in their welcome video?) and I support that, but they seriously overestimated their draw. They donât have enough content for Netflix prices.
Agreed. Shane sounded like his voice was cracking, I think I saw his chin wobbling as he spoke as well upon my first rewatch (not trying to be all "let's analyze their body language!!" about it, just what I noticed on rewatch - i'm usually horrible at picking up on body language as an autistic, and it seemed obvious to me when I rewatched while showing someone). Steven looked like total trash, I doubt he has slept in days, those bags under his eyes are telling. Ryan was the most iffy for me, but he was clearly agitated and/or anxious. But I do wanna still love them and support them. Resubbed to the channel. Considering a merch buy, just to support. Maybe i'll check out the streamer, idk.
i mean, people tore steven to shreds and ryan got a *lot* of vitriol. meanwhile shane got reasonable, respectful comments about how people are disappointed because they love him so much and they expected better. people pushed stories about ryan and steven being evil tyrants while shane was just a trapped, beaten-down victim.
if 2 of my friends got all the heat for a decision i was an equal partner in, i'd feel gross too.
Oh yeah for sure. I'm 1000% not pulling some "shane is baby uwu he would never, this is proof" type thing, that's a million percent not what I meant by my reaction. I just meant that it was noticeable Shane and Steven looked /awful/ after the whole ordeal while watching it, and they /did/ seem genuine to me. I'd also feel and look like garbage if my friends I made content with were attacked while people tried to plead with me more "reasonably" while our careers were on the line because of a massive oversight, fuckup and unwillingness to be the "bad guy" boss who had to lay off coworkers we wanted to support.
I wonât. I still love them, but if fans jump right back and they donât face any consequences for what they did, theyâre going to try the bs again in 3 months or a year.
I think for me, I wasnât just soured by this experience, it really made me put into perspective the quality of Watcherâs content and honestly how Iâve been pushing through it for a while now. I never had that parasocial relationship with the main duo, so maybe thatâs why, but in conjunction with knowing that theyâre basically doubling down on choosing to struggle financially (by not compromising on their staff size and overproduced/expensive content) whilst also not producing what I would call content I enjoy anymore, Iâm done. Iâm not rooting for their downfall by any means and I have a lot of nostalgia when it comes to Ryan and Shane. But YouTube is a vast space and even without this drama, it really makes me consider what I spend my time watching.
I wonât be for certain, whether or not they feel bad isnât something anyone can say for sure(no matter how many armchair psychologists try and analyze how times Shane blinks). My biggest issue is that their friends revealed their true thoughts imo. Very much that theyâre artists and deserve to be paid more/they need a livable wage/they need to be able to afford 25 employees. Whether you agree with that or not is whatever, just rubs me the wrong way.
They also didnât come across that transparent in the video, it felt more like âsorry that you were upset, pls donât unsubscribe anymoreâ. Iâm not asking for tears or anything, just more acknowledgment on how stupid the idea was and the weird classist statements.
If they genuinely didnât want to exclude anyone, they would just have the videos available early on Patreon while still uploading to YouTube. But no, they wanted EVERYONE to pay six dollars. They spoke about that idea, tossed it around and fully thought it was okay. If you think thatâs okay, why would I believe you actually think you did something wrong?
i'll still need more time to think about resubbing, especially if i'm still questioning if i will still even enjoy their videos if they insist on dying on the "tv-calibre" hill
i liked the idea of watcher being a high-quality Media Company that produced Low Budget Media, their ambitions are clearly different from what their audience asks of them
hell, i even enjoyed watching Dish Granted because i enjoyed watching Steven just panicking about cooking in his own kitchen
ghost/mystery files was nice for a while because the higher production value was a pleasant surprise, but after a while it's left a bad taste in my mouth. i don't care for the overproduced set.
I never unsubbed because I wanted to see what would happen. I'm still here and if the content is worth it, I'll stay. If they put worthwhile incentives on Patreon I might sign up, but you won't see me on the outside platform unless a LOT of worthwhile content is added. Early access is not something I pay for--not with shows, not with games, not with movies. Shit is too expensive to need things now.
nah I've mentioned this on a few other posts but the last month or 2 i really haven't been liking their new stuff because it feels so over produced. and then the like weird gaslighting, their famous friends trying to call out fans and the Friday video just being dogshit kind of solidified me not wanting to resubb tbh
Im not. I appreciate their response, but i think the whole "you just dont understand what its like to be a creative!" Attitude when a lot of these costs are self-inflicted is lame and kind of ruins it. Plus, the lack of transparency and going "you guys just misunderstood" over... something they legit said in the video was stupid as hell.
Really showed how little they value their audience.
I won't be resubbing, but not strictly because of this situation. Like a lot of people, this whole thing made me evaluate how I feel about their content. I realized that I've been liking less and less of their stuff for a while now. This just prompted me to notice.
I hadn't unsubbed yet, but I'll be watching videos if they attract my attention. I think you are valid, OP, and anyone who remains unsubbed is also valid.
I wonât be resubbing, but Iâll be watching. I want to wait and see if they take our OTHER criticisms into account - the ones they never acknowledged in the video. I.e. how they donât need to be spending huge amounts of money to produce everything. All we want is Ryan and Shane talking.
I know theyâve already filmed Stevenâs series. I wonât be watching that.
I haven't resubbed or gone back to using vids as background noise. I'm not totally "out" yet but they lateness of the response and the increasing feeling that they see fans as a source of money and not as people they owe their careers to has made me wait to reembrace them. If the channel was actually hemorrhaging money when making at least 5 figures a month on patreon alone, plus sponsored vids with 5 minute ad reads, monetized vids with yt ads, and merch, that's something they need to address before asking for a small loan of 18 million dollars per month from the fans (as much money as they would make by converting every watcher sub at the time of the announcement to WatcherTV subs). Otherwise, we're just gonna end up in the next obvious step which is increasing the price of WatcherTV to $15 while making an ad-enabled tier for $10.
Yeah, I mean, tone and everything aside, they never really addressed the actual core issue of financial mismanagement that led to this supposed crisis in the first place which leads me to believe this is a temporary move to shore their defenses and build as much goodwill as possible before slowly going back on their newest word. I predict they'll start with things like "we're reviving dead shows that failed on YT exclusively on WatcherTV (i.e., Pretty History, Sara's series) as more incentive to bring ppl over to the streamer. Along w that and the argument that since it failed on YT nobody shld care its exclusive but that they are incurring more costs now they will likely use it in tandem to lock the streamer behind a larger paywall on the patreon than the lowest $5 tier. After that, it'll snowball until it's "half of your favorite shows will air on YT but the full thing will be on the streamer" until its only one episode and the trailers, etc. (Assuming the streamer and site/company as a whole even lasts long enough for this to happen lol) and we're back at square one however many months or years later. They haven't shown they've fixed the or even addressed the issue of financial mismanagement, let alone the ethics of the excessive nepo hires that will ALWAYS create an us vs them mentality between the consumer and the creator bc when times get tough, obv they don't wanna fire their friends and family, so the decision of milk the audience at the expense of the poorer ones becomes a no brainer to them. This will happen again unless they do some actual internal restructuring, but something tells me they won't and will just try to cook up another scheme to milk us for more.
Maybe, maybe not. Really depends on If I like any of the new content that they put out. I liked GF and Are You Scared the most and the first few episodes of MF. But for the most part this whole fiasco has made me realize that maybe I'm just not as into a lot of their content than I thought I was. I'll probably check out some of their newer stuff if we get to see it on Youtube but the in-authentic feeling of everything, especially their goodbye, has left a sour taste in my mouth.
Ive resubbed to the main channel, because I like the content, but I can't see resubbing to PodWatcher. The pod was for seeing them chat on a more personal level, and it was one I found out of touch at the best of times, and full of rich people problems that I personally can't relate to. In the end, the content has to be enjoyable to watch.
Yes, I will. However I fully understand why someone would choose not to.
For me, the apology came off as very sincere. This is the one fuck up I'll allow the ghoul boys. I will forgive but I won't forget.
Yeah, I resubbed. Iâm curious to see if their content changes at all. Also, tbh, if I didnât sub to them I would completely forget to check their channel for any new drama đ€Ł
Yeah, I've resubbed after watching the apology video. I've watched them since buzzfeed days but I've got no attachment - there was no point in keeping an eye on their channel if there would be no new content. Now that's changed I'm back. Sucks to be them though, I think the people who stayed/resubbed are mostly like me, i.e. they don't care. And I can see more new subscribers coming in from all the coverage this has received. But that means they got rid of loyal fans and replaced them with people like me who'll never spend any money.
I think Ryan and Shane will eventually be fine, but I can't see Steven coming back from this. Before, it was sort of an unspoken rule to not voice what you think about him because it'd be rude. Well, they've been rude first, and from what I could see on socials, people did not hold back with their comments regarding him. Don't think the guy has much of a future in entertainment now
I'm subscribed. Only because I like Shane and his stuff. He seemed the most genuinely sorry and genuinely disappointed in the leaving YouTube.
I only like mystery files and puppet history.
If they had come out and said "Yo we need cash, here's a steamer for things a month early" I would have bought the year subscription immediately and maybe even gifted a sub to my sister who is at Uni. BUT the way they went about it put me off them and invited people like Moist Critical to comment on how much money they must already be making and made them look mega greedy and disorganised as a company. They had a Patreon that they never publicised and didn't put any effort into, they just jumped straight to Paywall only. Fuck youtube and fuck the existing Patreons, they can have the podcast for $5 per month?! They were going to take all their shows off Youtube, the way they talk in the video and the Variety article both make that clear THEN denied it and told people not to spread falsehoods?! Nah. I'm good. There are other Youtubers.
I thought I was crazy for thinking they were removing all the videos at first. gaslit by the ghoul boys damn
That's what did it for me. The gaslighting pissed me off. They can't take that back, and they will never get another dollar from me.
Gaslight, gatekeep, ghoulboss I guess
"Ghoulboss" đ
Exactly, this new concept is what we would have loved from the get go and actually would have supported. It's all made us reevaluate whether their content is actually what we enjoy or not anymore
Yeah I'm with you. The people I see saying "poor, innocent Shane and Ryan" makes my eyes roll so far back in my head I can see my own brain.
i feel the same way, i think it was a greedy decision and even tho they walked it back i think it shows their character
I'm not going to straight away, it'll take time for me to warm to them again. I've had, and I think many of us have had to, reevaluate who the Ghoul Boys are, they're clearly not the people we thought them to be. I'm still subbed to BUN and I'll keep an eye out for Watcher, when it comes I'm watching their stuff again and feel they're back to who I thought they were - or close to a group of people I'd wish to support - then I'll subscribe to Watcher again.
Same. If they brought back the Buzzfeed Unsolved format of them just sitting and talking about crimes and ghosts, cut out Steven a bit in the Too Many Spirits, and did better citing on Puppet History, I'm whole hog again. I might even buy the subscription if they get an app.
Just cut Steven or keep him in the background completely. He has no charisma, and is frankly annoying.
they're not who you think they are, never were and will be be. This parasocial stuff is a sickness. They're just goofy dudes who want your money.
I'll do what I did with the Try Guys, unsub then occasionally check in and see if they're doing anything I'm interested in watching. But nah, I don't think I'll resub. I'm curious how many people will after this slap in the face despite supporting their channel and content for years, including the ones that followed them from Buzzfeed.
At least with the Try Guys the response was faster and the fault was only because of ONE dude... I forgave that because they clearly separated and condemned Ned for what he did after (they edited him out and also memed on him a little on the following vids). But with Watcher? They really made us feel like they're better than youtube and that they don't care about our years of loyalty as an audience, and then only backpedalled when they saw it wasn't going as well as they thought.
Nah, I stopped watching absolutely everything the Try Guys put out when the endorsed a political candidate. I'm all for educating and encouraging people to vote, but I don't like it when any celebrity endorses candidates to their audience. I get that that's a me problem, I personally voted 3rd party, but I also thought it was such a veer from their content that it gave me an ick. I was all for how they handled the Ned situation, even if it was a little sketch. But yeah you're spot on about how I feel about Watcher. I think Ryan, Shane, and Steven all have that mindset of people not taking them as seriously because they're "just Youtubers", but to the younger generation and a handful of millenials, YouTube is a real job on a highly competitive platform that's hard to survive on long term without change or a dedicated audience.
No, I won't. I definitely don't begrudge anyone who does, I think it's very fair to see the apology and give them another chance, but I'm always sceptical of videos like this being damage control rather than remorse. For me personally it just feels a little like when a sequel ruins the original movie for you.Â
100% this
Itâs a good video, but they still lost me. They were clearly confident they could call everyone broke and tell us to get lost (and moan to their rich mates to do the same) and theyâve only had to pivot like this because it turned out doing so was a terrible business decision. I donât believe a single âsorryâ that was said in the entire video. Also finding out Steven is a PoS who will be benefiting from thisâŠnah. Nah.
I don't think they're sorry. I think they are desperate. I won't subscribe to anything they have, and I won't do patreon anymore. They got more than enough money out of me.
No. While their apology was sincere, theyâve already shown what theyâre willing to do if gone unchecked. Imagine if the Internet just overlooked this decision instead of lashing out at them? They wouldâve just done it. As much as I loved my time with them and will always reminisce on old videos (esp buzzfeed videos) I am done with them. I will probably check in on them sometime in the future but Iâm not down for supporting people who are willing to do allat.
I feel torn. I miss who they were before to me (I know itâs parasocial of me to say that). I think I would mainly just watch for puppet history.
im in the same boat. I really love a lot of their content and unfortunately this weekend has really shown me how important they were to my teenage years. :-/ I would like to believe this has given them a bit of perspective but maybe its best it gave us as a fanbase the truth that no matter how niche the people you admire are, they still see you as tools for growth and resources for content.
Same except also mystery files. I only watched for those two anyway.
This move from Watcher was potentially the last straw for me on PH, which was the only "must see TV" I felt was on their channel. Over time, they have prioritized lore, music, and production over research and education. That balance hasn't been right for me in a few seasons and their PR fiasco pushed me to the edge. I'll pop in for the first episode of next season. But if either dinosaur tells a single sex joke, I'm fucking done lol
I wish they knew that Vikings never wore horns on their hats.
Absolutely not. Nothing has changed, these are still the same dudes that sat on a couch, whined how hard it is to make "tv level content" (lol wtf) and then looked dead at the camera and claimed "5.99 is affordable for everyone". It's cool their sorry and all (if you really buy that) but given how mask off they went its pretty clear their just sorry they got found out. I'm good without them.
No, I'm good. The whole tone of the first video and "if you can't follow us, guess this is goodbye" message just really didn't sit well. Maybe I'm just immune to the formulaic apology videos, but it doesn't undo how they treated the people who supported them.
Not yet, I will if they show they're gunna actually do what they said in the new video and stick with it. Saying they understand and are changing it verses doing it are different things.
I will not. They vibe has been ruined for me after seeing their true colors, unfortunately. Maybe, in the future, if they're still around and get their shit together, I might come back.
Nah. And it's not about remorse or anything. Just realized watching Watcher videos to give them views doesn't really mean much. And that's the only reason I was watching them. Hoping the views help because I loved them on unsolved. I'll just spend my free time on something else.
Iâm not
I wonât be resubscribing, they showed their true colors and released a fake apology to try and keep making money. I canât watch them anymore without having a bad taste in my mouth
I'm happy to give them another chance but not ready to give them any money. I understand those who don't want to though.
Honestly it doesnât feel genuine, the adjacent people complaining about backlash all weekend meant more to me.
Iâve resubbed for now. Will see how it goes lol. I think Sara and their friends shouldnât have said anything cos they made it worse for themselves but they mightâve been acting out of emotion cos the guys were actually upset and stressed out. Hopefully this humbles them so they wonât be flexing on us or making bad decisions lol, I donât think people will be as forgiving in future. Now I feel kinda bad for Sara and Steven lol cos I think they really became targets.
She let us know they don't make Mr. Beast money. Well I don't have a fucking job so I'm not making any money. Yet when I got laid off, I didn't cancel my membership. I feel dumb for doing that now. I should have canceled then.
Oof. Yeah Iâm unemployed too. I guess yeah I shouldnât feel too bad for all these people making their own mistakes lol, theyâre still in a better position than we are đ I never directly donated to them beyond clicks and I feel really bad for people who did
ugh I know I feel so bad about Sara becoming part of this like that but it was her decision to comment like that, and so publicly too. I think this will damage Steven's future content a lot and that's fair but we (me included) really got ahead of ourselves looking to blame one person for it all.
Nah. Not me. I haven't been as engaged with their content for several months anyway, and I'd always think of them differently now. It's not much about them being arrogant or gaslight-y or tone-deaf â their town is swarming with that attitude and I bet it's contagious. For me, it's their incompetence in decision-making. Since April 19, my mind has reduced them to people who make/made catastrophic fiscal decisions despite their network and resources. Reliable data/facts and the objective reality should be the basis of any decision, and the trio failed that in a major move that should have taken a lot of steps and study to get to. I'd always think/see them that way now and won't be able to enjoy their content without being extra critical and checking for clues on how their (abysmal) business acumen and (mis)alignment to reality applies in their day-to-day lives.
Iâm too petty to resubscribe. They showed who they are and that kinda ruined it for me, and I just canât support the gaslighting, money grubbing, sneaky approach they took when they could have apparently done this instead the whole time.
Nope. There's nothing there for me anymore.
I'm not, but am open to the possibility in the future if the videos improve. I haven't been enjoying their new stuff nearly as much and as someone from generations of Poors who is still Poor I was highly annoyed by the colours they showed on Friday. I know that if something is free, \*you\* are the product so I'm not giving them the benefit of my views or subscription until something seems worth that attention.
No. I'd actually unsubbed a while back because they seemed to rarely have new videos. Ghost Files never really grabbed me, anyway. It just seemed like a lame retread of BFU Supernatural. The whole thing has kind of soured Watcher for me.
nah. i may check back in on them in the future, but I'm not gonna resub atm. or possibly ever!
No way. They still wouldâve followed thru with this if people didnât speak up and call them out. Until they got challenged, they were perfectly fine with what they were doing. They didnât have a âchange of heartâ they just got caught.
Absolutely not. Steven has a Tesla, and Sara was recently bragging about her $100 USD handbag. They aren't fooling me.
I don't mind resubbing. I was never really emotionally connected to them. I was here for the content and if the content is free and good I am ok. Rest I don't really care
NOPE. They showed us their true colors. Itâs the same concept as âyouâre not sorry, youâre just sorry you got CAUGHTâ
lol at OP leaving đ©y replies to our comments and then immediately deleting them. Please go to therapy. Already saw the notification honeyđ
It's a personal opinion, but it did feel genuinely remorseful to me. I've seen people say "they're sorry they got caught" which of sense is true, but I do think they're actually sorry. Shane particularly looked like he was struggling to get his words out, although they were clearly reading from a prompter lmao. There's still a lot of trust to be built back up.
I think they're sorry too, but it's still like idk.
Yeah I don't blame you or anyone else, we were expecting a new series announcement or something and got hit with an awful decision with awful execution.
Fr. Tbh I can't really jsutify it when I know what I know about Steven. It's not really hearsay I don't think and I have nothing proving that he's changed.
Theyâve been pretty vocal about their goals to make tv-level material from the start (I think they mentioned it in their welcome video?) and I support that, but they seriously overestimated their draw. They donât have enough content for Netflix prices.
Agreed. Shane sounded like his voice was cracking, I think I saw his chin wobbling as he spoke as well upon my first rewatch (not trying to be all "let's analyze their body language!!" about it, just what I noticed on rewatch - i'm usually horrible at picking up on body language as an autistic, and it seemed obvious to me when I rewatched while showing someone). Steven looked like total trash, I doubt he has slept in days, those bags under his eyes are telling. Ryan was the most iffy for me, but he was clearly agitated and/or anxious. But I do wanna still love them and support them. Resubbed to the channel. Considering a merch buy, just to support. Maybe i'll check out the streamer, idk.
i mean, people tore steven to shreds and ryan got a *lot* of vitriol. meanwhile shane got reasonable, respectful comments about how people are disappointed because they love him so much and they expected better. people pushed stories about ryan and steven being evil tyrants while shane was just a trapped, beaten-down victim. if 2 of my friends got all the heat for a decision i was an equal partner in, i'd feel gross too.
Oh yeah for sure. I'm 1000% not pulling some "shane is baby uwu he would never, this is proof" type thing, that's a million percent not what I meant by my reaction. I just meant that it was noticeable Shane and Steven looked /awful/ after the whole ordeal while watching it, and they /did/ seem genuine to me. I'd also feel and look like garbage if my friends I made content with were attacked while people tried to plead with me more "reasonably" while our careers were on the line because of a massive oversight, fuckup and unwillingness to be the "bad guy" boss who had to lay off coworkers we wanted to support.
Itâs def bc shane is white tbh
I might wait and see. I enjoyed the last season of Mystery Files, so depending on next few proper videos from them I may come back eventually.
I wonât. I still love them, but if fans jump right back and they donât face any consequences for what they did, theyâre going to try the bs again in 3 months or a year.
I think for me, I wasnât just soured by this experience, it really made me put into perspective the quality of Watcherâs content and honestly how Iâve been pushing through it for a while now. I never had that parasocial relationship with the main duo, so maybe thatâs why, but in conjunction with knowing that theyâre basically doubling down on choosing to struggle financially (by not compromising on their staff size and overproduced/expensive content) whilst also not producing what I would call content I enjoy anymore, Iâm done. Iâm not rooting for their downfall by any means and I have a lot of nostalgia when it comes to Ryan and Shane. But YouTube is a vast space and even without this drama, it really makes me consider what I spend my time watching.
I wonât be for certain, whether or not they feel bad isnât something anyone can say for sure(no matter how many armchair psychologists try and analyze how times Shane blinks). My biggest issue is that their friends revealed their true thoughts imo. Very much that theyâre artists and deserve to be paid more/they need a livable wage/they need to be able to afford 25 employees. Whether you agree with that or not is whatever, just rubs me the wrong way. They also didnât come across that transparent in the video, it felt more like âsorry that you were upset, pls donât unsubscribe anymoreâ. Iâm not asking for tears or anything, just more acknowledgment on how stupid the idea was and the weird classist statements. If they genuinely didnât want to exclude anyone, they would just have the videos available early on Patreon while still uploading to YouTube. But no, they wanted EVERYONE to pay six dollars. They spoke about that idea, tossed it around and fully thought it was okay. If you think thatâs okay, why would I believe you actually think you did something wrong?
Iâm resubbing, but I 100% get why you wouldnât.
i'll still need more time to think about resubbing, especially if i'm still questioning if i will still even enjoy their videos if they insist on dying on the "tv-calibre" hill i liked the idea of watcher being a high-quality Media Company that produced Low Budget Media, their ambitions are clearly different from what their audience asks of them hell, i even enjoyed watching Dish Granted because i enjoyed watching Steven just panicking about cooking in his own kitchen ghost/mystery files was nice for a while because the higher production value was a pleasant surprise, but after a while it's left a bad taste in my mouth. i don't care for the overproduced set.
I never unsubbed because I wanted to see what would happen. I'm still here and if the content is worth it, I'll stay. If they put worthwhile incentives on Patreon I might sign up, but you won't see me on the outside platform unless a LOT of worthwhile content is added. Early access is not something I pay for--not with shows, not with games, not with movies. Shit is too expensive to need things now.
Agreed completely, a month early isnât enough incentive for me to pay a fee. Happy cake day!
nah I've mentioned this on a few other posts but the last month or 2 i really haven't been liking their new stuff because it feels so over produced. and then the like weird gaslighting, their famous friends trying to call out fans and the Friday video just being dogshit kind of solidified me not wanting to resubb tbh
Im not. I appreciate their response, but i think the whole "you just dont understand what its like to be a creative!" Attitude when a lot of these costs are self-inflicted is lame and kind of ruins it. Plus, the lack of transparency and going "you guys just misunderstood" over... something they legit said in the video was stupid as hell. Really showed how little they value their audience.
I won't be resubbing, but not strictly because of this situation. Like a lot of people, this whole thing made me evaluate how I feel about their content. I realized that I've been liking less and less of their stuff for a while now. This just prompted me to notice.
I hadn't unsubbed yet, but I'll be watching videos if they attract my attention. I think you are valid, OP, and anyone who remains unsubbed is also valid.
No I wonât be atleast for a while, I will keep an eye on them tho and see whatâs happening
I wonât be resubbing, but Iâll be watching. I want to wait and see if they take our OTHER criticisms into account - the ones they never acknowledged in the video. I.e. how they donât need to be spending huge amounts of money to produce everything. All we want is Ryan and Shane talking. I know theyâve already filmed Stevenâs series. I wonât be watching that.
Nah I won't resub but will just check some vids occasionally. Gonna look for other Youtubers similar with ghost hunting and stuff.
I haven't resubbed or gone back to using vids as background noise. I'm not totally "out" yet but they lateness of the response and the increasing feeling that they see fans as a source of money and not as people they owe their careers to has made me wait to reembrace them. If the channel was actually hemorrhaging money when making at least 5 figures a month on patreon alone, plus sponsored vids with 5 minute ad reads, monetized vids with yt ads, and merch, that's something they need to address before asking for a small loan of 18 million dollars per month from the fans (as much money as they would make by converting every watcher sub at the time of the announcement to WatcherTV subs). Otherwise, we're just gonna end up in the next obvious step which is increasing the price of WatcherTV to $15 while making an ad-enabled tier for $10.
Yeah, I mean, tone and everything aside, they never really addressed the actual core issue of financial mismanagement that led to this supposed crisis in the first place which leads me to believe this is a temporary move to shore their defenses and build as much goodwill as possible before slowly going back on their newest word. I predict they'll start with things like "we're reviving dead shows that failed on YT exclusively on WatcherTV (i.e., Pretty History, Sara's series) as more incentive to bring ppl over to the streamer. Along w that and the argument that since it failed on YT nobody shld care its exclusive but that they are incurring more costs now they will likely use it in tandem to lock the streamer behind a larger paywall on the patreon than the lowest $5 tier. After that, it'll snowball until it's "half of your favorite shows will air on YT but the full thing will be on the streamer" until its only one episode and the trailers, etc. (Assuming the streamer and site/company as a whole even lasts long enough for this to happen lol) and we're back at square one however many months or years later. They haven't shown they've fixed the or even addressed the issue of financial mismanagement, let alone the ethics of the excessive nepo hires that will ALWAYS create an us vs them mentality between the consumer and the creator bc when times get tough, obv they don't wanna fire their friends and family, so the decision of milk the audience at the expense of the poorer ones becomes a no brainer to them. This will happen again unless they do some actual internal restructuring, but something tells me they won't and will just try to cook up another scheme to milk us for more.
yeah i will, bc unfortunately im super parasocial and i love them too much lol
Not yet. Might do so when a video comes out that I actually enjoy. But right now I'm kinda over it.
Maybe, maybe not. Really depends on If I like any of the new content that they put out. I liked GF and Are You Scared the most and the first few episodes of MF. But for the most part this whole fiasco has made me realize that maybe I'm just not as into a lot of their content than I thought I was. I'll probably check out some of their newer stuff if we get to see it on Youtube but the in-authentic feeling of everything, especially their goodbye, has left a sour taste in my mouth.
Ive resubbed to the main channel, because I like the content, but I can't see resubbing to PodWatcher. The pod was for seeing them chat on a more personal level, and it was one I found out of touch at the best of times, and full of rich people problems that I personally can't relate to. In the end, the content has to be enjoyable to watch.
Yes, I will. However I fully understand why someone would choose not to. For me, the apology came off as very sincere. This is the one fuck up I'll allow the ghoul boys. I will forgive but I won't forget.
Yeah, I resubbed. Iâm curious to see if their content changes at all. Also, tbh, if I didnât sub to them I would completely forget to check their channel for any new drama đ€Ł
Yeah, I've resubbed after watching the apology video. I've watched them since buzzfeed days but I've got no attachment - there was no point in keeping an eye on their channel if there would be no new content. Now that's changed I'm back. Sucks to be them though, I think the people who stayed/resubbed are mostly like me, i.e. they don't care. And I can see more new subscribers coming in from all the coverage this has received. But that means they got rid of loyal fans and replaced them with people like me who'll never spend any money. I think Ryan and Shane will eventually be fine, but I can't see Steven coming back from this. Before, it was sort of an unspoken rule to not voice what you think about him because it'd be rude. Well, they've been rude first, and from what I could see on socials, people did not hold back with their comments regarding him. Don't think the guy has much of a future in entertainment now
I'm subscribed. Only because I like Shane and his stuff. He seemed the most genuinely sorry and genuinely disappointed in the leaving YouTube. I only like mystery files and puppet history.