#Watcher Streaming Service Announcement 2024

[spacedustpan]

The Watcher Issue

Damn. Like I'm so happy for them and I DO feel like it's the right choice and I'm going to coordinate with family that also likes watcher to share an account since we have different schedules and would be watching at different times anyway.

But like. I feel so bad for everyone.

And I'm tired of being subscribed to a bunch of different bullshit.

And that's not in any way Their fault.

And they're getting the brunt of people's hate specifically because we're all tired of being subscribed to a bunch of different shit. Which is sort of out of their control.

They have to work in the industry that they're in.

They can't just join with Dropout. Watcher is their own business with their own leadership and mission.

It looks like they've had help specifically from Dropout to build it though, because it looks almost exactly the same as Dropout from the preview images. Which is great imo and means that it should work well.

I know Watcher has to do this if they want to keep producing with the staff they have at the level of quality that they have been. And unlike other services like Netflix and Hulu they give a shit about their content and their employees.

I just hope that once everyone is done reeling from the bad part of the news that things will even out and people will enjoy it like they do Dropout.

I mean hell like they said they aren't policing account sharing so like...

For those that can: They've given the Green Light to Team Up with 1 or 2 buddies and split the $60 yearly subscription into a $30 or $20 fee for each of you and just Share The Account. And that's what I plan to take advantage of honestly. They said it was ok.

Also as a tip: Dropout and other smaller streaming services will tell you not to use a temporary visa gift card for the subscription but there's literally no way for them to tell so like. That's how I signed up for Dropout for a few months last year. Fake name fake email fake credit card that was actually a Visa Gift Card bought at the grocery store so that when the Free Trial and the funds on the gift card ran out it wouldn't keep charging me (didnt quite have enough for a year just for like 4 months).

It just put the streaming account on pause when the payment declined. Take that advice with a grain of salt though. 🤷‍♀️

But also like I'm hoping there's someone working furiously to back up whatever is on youtube because we really shouldn't have okder content suddenly put behind a paywall.

Idk if they plan to do that but just in case.

Edit: They apparently clarified all old content will still be on Youtube which is great! I personally still have a backlog to watch through so I'm glad it won't disappear.

(Still though you can never be sure. I mean fr look at all my favorite Vocaloid reposts with English subs disappearing left and right and the quality of old favorites being run through the garbage disposal. Preserve what's important to you!)

[littletonpace]

Ok, but I can't shake the feeling that The Try Guys might be joining the Watcher TV platform...

Clue 1: The most recent Try Guys video included Sam Reich from Dropout (which I had never heard of, but I discovered is an ad-free subscription service started by College Humor).

Clue 2: They are both comprised of former Buzzfeed employees and have appeared in each other's videos.

Clue 3: Try Guys team members social media have been as silent as Watcher during this time. The main players from both Watcher and Try Guys follow each other on most social medias. None of them are posting anything. Clue 4: 3 days ago, Try Guys gave us an updated timeline of their schedule for this year, note "The Event" is coming SOON. Watcher had a countdown for a Major Announcement with the caption "Something Big Is Coming".

I mean, I'm probably wrong. I'm sure I'm wrong. I'm wrong. I have to be wrong.

EDIT AS OF 22 APRIL:

Clue 5: According to this reddit post, someone (maybe TryGuys, maybe not) registered the domain tryguys.tv in Feb 2024 - the same month as Watcher TV acquired their new domain.

So...

Maybe The Try Guys are also going to launch a streaming service???

EDIT AS OF APRIL 23RD

Clue 6: Today Try Guys promoting a video of Zach and Keith appearing on a Dropout TV show.

So, maybe Try Guys are joining the Drop-out TV crew?? Pretty solid move and makes sense for them financially. As long as there's no sudden pay wall...

[saffrontherogue]

UPDATE: according to the Discord, there is allegedly an app in the works. No news yet on when it would be available or on what platforms. It still seems very strange to launch without a solution in place for TV viewers though.

I’ve read a lot of valid criticisms about the Watcher Entertainment announcement that they’re leaving YouTube, but I haven’t seen anyone talk about this yet: there doesn’t appear to be a streaming app for WatcherTV at this time. It looks from the website like it’s purely a browser-based service. This is a screen-grab from their website’s FAQ section as of today, Friday April 19, 2024:

Sooooo…those of us who pretty much exclusively watch their videos from the youtube app on our TVs are out of luck.

It seems weird to me how often they say they want to make television quality content, and then they make it difficult/impossible to watch their content on your television. Not sure I follow the logic there.

[kannagms]

As someone who has been a fan of the boys since the beginning of Buzzfeed Unsolved when Ryan was doing his little PowerPoint presentations and reading from a single sheet of printer paper, this entire Watcher fiasco is insane and was definitely not on my 2024 bingo card.

Back when Ryan and Shane announced that they were leaving Buzzfeed to start their own entertainment company with Steven, I was excited! I wanted to see what new, fun, interesting, and creative content they would put out without Buzzfeed holding them back. I'm a huge fan of Mystery and Ghost Files, Puppet History, Are You Scared?, Too Many Spirits, Top 5 Beatdown. Loved Spooky Small Talk before it was scrapped. I watched every new ep that came out, even the ones I didn't like that much like Steven's food ones, and liked and commented because I wanted to support them as much as possible. I rewatch all my favorite episodes. I have a dedicated playlist of Ryan and Shane content because it helps me fall asleep at night. When I didn't have much I at least had Watcher to keep my smile on my face and continuous laughter going when I didn't feel much like going on.

I got the notification 3 days ago about a new Watcher video and was stunned at what I saw. Sure I can watch episode 1 of new shows and watch some trailers, but I'm gonna have to sub to yet another streaming service to watch anything more. A streaming service that doesn't even have an app, so if I want to add anything to my sleep playlist, I'm gonna have to leave my phone on all night.

Anyways, I immediately went and checked the boys' socials and see what they posted for any additional info. Thousands upon thousands of negative comments all saying basically the same thing:

I can't afford $6/month/not everyone has $6 laying around, and it can really make or break someone financially.

Been a fan since Unsolved, guess I'm not a watcher anymore.

This is a bad move.

From what I've seen across reddit, Twitter, tiktok, Instagram, and Tumblr, the negative far outweigh the positive. The only "positive" comments I've seen haven't really been "oh this is a great idea! I'm gonna go sub right now!!" It's really been more, "well it's their business, they can do what they want with it." Or simply bashing other people because they cannot afford $6 a month or $60 a year, which really comes off as boomer ideology. You know, the old "if millennials would stop eating avocado toast or buying Starbucks maybe they can afford a house!" While completely ignoring the global economic crisis we are all facing. It's completely out of check with the fact that there's so many of us not just in America, but in the world who are barely living paycheck to paycheck. That there are so many people who WISH they could get a Starbucks coffee in the morning but often times have to skip meals because they cannot afford food if they want to keep a roof over their heads, you know the ridiculous amount of money that we spend to rent a small space. Never gonna forget the one apartment I looked at that was $800 a month, no utilities included, no parking, no pets allowed, and I could lay flat on the ground and have my 5'4" length reach comfortably in every single room. Wasn't even a kitchen or room for a single size bed (mild tangent rant, I now pay $1300 for a 2 bedroom apartment, most utilities included, but bad parking)

And for Steven to say that anyone can afford $6 is just so factually wrong. Has anyone checked the foreign exchange rate for $6? Some threads I've seen on Reddit are insane. For some people 6 USD translates to someone's entire rent or a week's worth of food. If I recall the comment correctly, one person said that in their country, Netflix comes out to $2 USD, and is considered a luxury item that only the upper class/wealthy have.

Maybe I'm just being bitter. Maybe I'm just overreacting to a piece of content I loved and cherished being pushed behind a paywall. It just feels like a slap in the face to fans who have spent countless hours soaking in their content, recommending them to friends, making new friends over a shared interest, and now feeling like they didn't matter at all. That we were just dollar signs. To hear them going from thanking dedicated fans for helping them get to where they are to but now you gotta give us more money if you want to keep being fans and now we are going to ignore your backlash just feels disingenuous and heartbreaking.