Watcher: Fan Outrage Over Launch of Streaming Service

The well-known YouTube channel Watcher has revealed their departure from the platform in order to launch a streaming service, and this news has not been well received by their fans.

Following their success on Buzzfeed Unsolved, Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej left the company and joined forces with fellow creator Steven Lim to establish their own channel, Watcher.

With a focus on producing top-notch series such as Ghost Files, Too Many Spirits, and Puppet History, the channel experienced rapid growth as it garnered a devoted and dedicated following who adored the comedic personalities featured on screen.

Despite having a large following, a significant number of fans have decided to unsubscribe from Watcher’s platform following the announcement of their departure in a video. This decision has been met with criticism from their audience as the creators plan to establish their own paid streaming service.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-ohi1iYP5k

Even though they were satisfied with Watcher’s progress, the three individuals also acknowledged that their channel seemed to have reached a limit in terms of what YouTube could provide.

Lim and Bergara both acknowledged the challenge of producing content that satisfied both their creative vision and advertisers, who provided the majority of the channel’s funding. According to Bergara, even one season of a series could cost “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

“According to him, YouTube may not be the appropriate platform for television shows. It is possible that we should search for an alternative platform that is more suitable for the type of content we produce and can financially sustain the significant investments made in each episode.”

To address this issue, they decided to create their own streaming service called WatcherTV. This platform offers all of the channel’s series, with a monthly subscription cost of $5.99 and no advertisements. They also encourage password sharing among users.

Despite the announcement, fans were not pleased and showed their strong disapproval through the comments and over 202,000 dislikes. According to Techweez, the channel also experienced a loss of 50,000 subscribers on the first day after making the announcement.

One person wrote, “It’s hard to imagine being so out of touch and isolated that in 2024, you would believe people are willing to pay for yet another streaming service.”

“Another individual stated, “While I may not have extensive knowledge about business, I would imagine that implementing a paywall for your fans during a global cost of living crisis may not be the most favorable decision.”