YouTubers Try to Save Their Career After Destroying it.. 

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Obviously, none of the 25+ employees they brought from Buzzfeed was a Public Relations person. A PR person would have told them that their "goodbye" video was so cringe and much tone-deaf. Their "apology" video was not much better.

I feel like this broke the magic. I feel like people are giving them too much credit for their apology, because the standard for apologies on RU-vid is so low.

TLDR: "We dont wanna fire our friends because thats mean. Please pay their wages for us"

They have 25 employees and still have to hire freelancers. Either those 25 employees aren't pulling their weight, or they are doing too much.

1. Hire a financial advisor, someone who is good with money and keeping the books in check 2. Cancel the expensive food series. 3. You do not need 25 employees, and they hired more since. So, they can’t pay their employees currently, but will hire more? Yeah, something isn’t adding up. 4. So, they want a patreon subscription and for fans to subscribe to their website for content? So, they want to farm their fans twice? They have sponsors, patreon, live events, etc and they’re struggling? Someone is messing up with the financials.

Don't understand why people are letting them off the hook. I can understand it IF they didn't have THOUSANDS of patreons ALREADY paying 5-25 bucks a month. AND these subs WERENT going to get access, they would have to pay the new subscription as well. These dudes are both greedy bastards AND have no idea how to run a business if they truly aren't profitable.

The FACT that they already had patreon subs at different levels made their decision even weirder.

The whole "appealing to sponsors" "bending to sponsors" thing doesn't make sense. They make clean entertainment that for the most part always get 1M+ views. They are a sponsor's wet dream - consistent, well viewed channel with no controversies (until now). That's the part not sitting right with me.

They listened to someone dumb and then got smacked with hard reality... hope they are real about this...

When you have 25 employees and nobody spoke up about an OBVIOUS disaster choice, tells me EVERYTHING I need to know about that workplace environment

Damage's done. Downsize staff, cancel all of Steven Lim's money burning series where he flies around eating gourmet stuff which don't generate much buzz compared to those that involve the other 2.

They should have just trimmed the fat. Layoff staff, reduce production budget, and cut back on expenses where possible. That is how a normal company operates when they encounter financial struggles.

You know what they say. You can take the boys out of buzzfeed, but never the buzzfeed out of the boys.

I don't understand these really corporate RU-vid channels. The whole point of the internet was to be an alternative to mainstream media. Why some RU-vidrs are in a rush to recreate a dying business model, I don't know..

Let them suffer. 🤷 They were greedy and didn't appreciate what they had. I don't feel bad for them.

The thing is... with Watcher and the boys in general, i dont want the million dollar production or all the high end bs. I just want a funny video with them talking and joking around and telling me interesting shit

They really messed up big time! It's nice that they apologized but I think most of the viewer's (myself included) now see them completely different. I'm not interested in supporting that type of person who could easily dismiss the audience and viewer for extra money.

Your advice is spot on. I think the reason they got so bloated is likely laziness and lack of business acumen. They likely have people doing many of the tasks that they themselves once did. This is not a good creative or artistic model. It's like the little pizza shop on the corner that is the best ever. Dad dies, the son takes it over, expands the operation, remodels, hires people to make the dough, sauces, sausage, etc., and business drops because the atmosphere now sucks and so does the pizza. And now he can't service the loans he took out. Like Target switching to the Costco model of membership requirements. The 10, 20, or 40-year loyal customers would see it as paying to walk into a store when it has always been free. They would likely shop elsewhere or buy a membership to Costco rather than pay to shop at a store that they helped build.

Honestly could’ve gone down a LOT worse. The impact of this fiasco will be felt for a while though.

I think they listened to the droves of RU-vidrs that made vids saying what an awful move it was more than their subscribers. I’ve never seen so maybe reaction videos in my feed than I did with this. Maybe they should not be buying $20,000 watches or spending $50,000 on a wedding venue (just the venue). It’s not the viewers responsibility to pay for their lifestyle. They are greedy. Plain & simple. They seem to think they’re not replaceable…I wonder how the advertisers that they demonized are going to feel about advertising with them now? 🤔

dude i like their shit but how much freakin production value do you need for two guys in a room talking about stuff or home cooking or getting drunk? It works because its cheap not because its fancy or polished

4:30 Glad you mentioned this because that's exactly what I was thinking...There's no way their new subscription service would have actually saved the employees facing layoffs at the end of the day. Not long term. $5.99 a month from people willing to sign up and stay signed up long term is not going to be able to replace literally all of the revenue streams they've been using (except merchandise). I mean, they can't have expected to continue filling their videos with ads & sponsorships. They can't have expected people to have continued to donate the same amount of money. $5.99 a month (or slightly less) plus income from products sold separately is really all they can rely on. They shouldn't have expected the number of people willing to sign up to this service to greatly exceed their current number of Patrons, right? To the huge numbers required long term? And I struggle to imagine huge audience (subscriber) growth coming from whatever teasers they planned to continue to release on RU-vid for free. They seriously underestimated how many of their 3 million channel subscribers would have checked out any of their planned RU-vid teasers solely because they were interested in watching the full video for free on RU-vid. I feel like their years of huge success on RU-vid lulled them into a false sense of security. Obviously, they had no way of knowing why most of their 3 million subscribers hit that button, or clicked on their videos solely because they were already on RU-vid. 99.99% of supportive comments they've been showered with for years have focused on loving the content, and wouldn't have mentioned how important it was that this content was free on RU-vid. Even the direct financial support they received from donors didn't constantly include references to how this money was only being sent their way because the content was free. I wonder if they simply looked at all the people willing to financially support them on Patreon & through their other donation options, all the people willing to buy their merch, willing to watch ads and even support them shilling sponsorships no one wanted...and they didn't realize how much of this support was built on the model of releasing content on RU-vid for free, for millions of people to watch & participate in the comments. I think after years of this steady money, they took this support for granted. I get that it's probably weird to put out content and experience thousands of people being so willing to subscribe to your Patreon month after month...then experience those same people being unwilling to pay the exact same amount of money each month while enjoying the exact same content. I've supported multiple RU-vidrs on Patreon over the years, and I admit that it is weird to think about how I would be unhappy if they basically recreated their RU-vid channel + Patreon page on a new website behind a subscription paywall...even if I ultimately end up giving them the same amount of money (or even less!) at the end of the day. I wasn't just donating because I love their content or wanted extra paywalled content. I donated because I appreciated them releasing this content for free on RU-vid, allowing a huge audience to enjoy it for free, along with allowing me to participate in a much bigger community than just with other viewers who can afford to pay, and so on. IDK just some of my thoughts, sorry /end ramble. 😅✌️

Now I guarantee you, RU-vid is not gonna keep suggesting them in the algorithm like they used to. They’re just gonna flip the little FU2 switch.

influencers really have such high egos and expect the masses to pay them for existing.

I don't understand why they wouldn't just float this idea past their audience to see the reaction before just going ahead and investing in it.

Can we please stop calling the teasers and trailer and call them what they really are... Commercials. They were going to leave us with only commercials, of their paid program, on RU-vid. We made them who they are and then they wanted to leave us with commercials!

So basically their thought pattern was.....we're having financial issues so let's spend even more money starting a whole new venture. That will require even more staff.

They obviously resented having to be on a platform as “common” as RU-vid… and now that the people on YT have “made them” change their plans, when their streaming site inevitably fails (to what they are expecting/wanting) they will resent RU-vid and their subscribers even more. The mask is off and, for a lot folks, it can’t go back on like this didn’t happen.

The "ukulele" reference at about 2:30 ish in the video refers to Colleen Ballinger's attempt to "apologize" by attempting to minimize through her own "humorous" routines of the "Miranda Sings" character, her own horrific treatment of her underage fanbase. Needless to say, her former RU-vid audience was justifiably NOT impressed. These former Buzzfeed guys learned nothing from their days as Buzzfeed employees, at least as far as how to run a fiscally responsible business is concerned. Their business model's so bloated that the "blonde" guy in the middle did indeed spend (honestly!) 55 THOUSAND dollars (U.S.) on just the venue alone for his recent wedding. NOW they cry "poverty" and the 'we only did this for YOU, our beloved and loyal fans' shtick. BULL CRAP!

"Why did we want to make our own website?" Greed, pure greed!

I still can’t believe that Shane “Eat The Rich” Madej was sitting there the entire time supporting the paywall idea. For years, he’s been approving of when rich people get stolen from, banks get robbed, or when a powerful person is kidnapped for ransom, so it’s incredibly hypocritical for him to be totally fine with their new content being locked behind a paywall. He should have been the first person to say that they shouldn’t do that, but he was right there supporting it in the first video so… I’ve lost all respect for the Watcher crew. I don’t care if they’re being greedy or just really mismanaging their finances, I unsubscribed.

They couldn’t get away with it so they back tracked 😂 they don’t care about their fans. Just the money.

They got so big, they were too arrogant to consider failure. I have followed them for years, but will not anymore. They sounded like arrogant rich people washing themselves of the poor. You know, the ones who made them rich.

The crazy thing about all this is that I actually drifted away from Watcher because it started to feel overproduced and less authentic. I know I can’t be the only one, so it felt like a huge slap in the face when they kind of said “yeah so we want to do what YOU want which is what you hate! You’re welcome!” I feel bad their goals don’t align with their audience because that’s GOT to suck, but damn.

The Watcher guys really assumed that people who watch RU-vid for free entertainment are somehow paying for other services. We don’t. RU-vid premium is the only monthly service I pay for outside of my rent, utilities, and insurance. Glad I’d never heard of their channel before so I’m not disappointed, but finding out they’re former Buzzfeed was UNSURPRISING AS HECK lol

Rich pampered people live in a bubble... they have no idea what life is like for MOST people in this world...

I can only imagine the private conversations they are having about this 🤣

I still can't wrap my head around the shenanigans of streaming website. There's no way they actually think that people who are already paying for subscriptions on their RU-vid and Patreon will just migrate to their website. Lol, so many problems come from this. How are they going to attract new users? The convenience of RU-vid notifications and the options RU-vid offers help keep people from getting tired of your content. I don't think it's worth it to chase that extra 30% that RU-vid collects, they can do all these paid contents in YT or patreon?

Literally watch YT all day for almost two decades and never heard of their channel.

It breaks my heart because puppet history and the ghost stories was comfort content for me. Happy vibes. But now it’s spoiled for me. My binging, my love, my dedication means nothing. It’s not enough apparently. They want my money now on an on going basis.

They look Burned Out. Maybe they need to cut back on expenses and take up podcast

I gave dropout a try and did the annual subscription. I watch literally 1 show on it. I'm not getting another streaming subscription. These guys missed the wave. People don't want more subscriptions. It sucks.

You know what, this is the first apology I accept. Let people get humbled, but let them come back from that a little smarter.

While Shane and Ryan were grinding, trying to give their audience quality contents, Steven spent 800$ on some pieces of fried chicken to eat on screen. Let that sink in.

Its sad that in these days apologizing is praised. It should be the bare minimum when you do something wrong

I am so torn on this. I appreciate their apology and I'm glad they listened to criticism and changed accordingly... but the fact that they even had the idea and went as far as to announce it has left be with an extremely bitter taste in my mouth.

Man.... i hate it when content creators insult me by claiming im rich....

in all of my fast food jobs, there has never even been 25 employees...

their passion is so0.....overwhelming, you could have given the script to 3 random people of the street and it would have sounded better

They still haven't figured it out though. No one likes Steven lim dude. The customer DOES NOT fund your new adventures. That's from your income. They are still making millions. They haven't cut their income. They haven't trimmed their company (which they are 100% overspending). Then they spent millions on a streaming site that is not durable enough to handle streaming (from a 17 year engineer). They haven't managed their company properly. They haven't fixed it

"Can we watch Try Guys?" "We have Try Guys at home"

Honestly not surprised that this conduct came from former Buzzfeed people. I mean, y’all remember Ned Fulmer? None of this is new anymore.

Greedy, greedy, greedy... 😡

14 credits on an interview style video that could be done with HALF the crew is wild 😭

Can I play cars on your background please?

They unsubscribed me by this behaviour, I won't be back 🙂

Their first mistake was a huge mistake giving full control to Steven. His out of touch and extremely into himself. I am sorry I have never liked him and I just enjoy watching Shane and Ryan, no big production just those two is great. 😊

Thank you for bringing up points that Charlie failed to bring up in their “apology video” despite loving to critique RU-vid apologies. It wasn’t an “oops, everyone makes mistakes”, this was a career ending disaster that would put all those employees out of work (cue Palpatine saying Ironic). The “apology” sounded very scripted and fake to me, they talk and use gestures in a way out of touch politicians and journalists do. I couldn’t help but laugh at the insincerity and fluff.

They are delusional😢it’s sad.

If I had a nickel for every time 3 ex buzzfeed employees sat on a couch and made an apology video, I’d have two nickels….. which I know doesn’t sound like a lot, but strange how it happened twice

the fallout reference🤣🤣😂😂😂 honestly their apology was a full on word salad...... with no meat

Shane told us to pirate content just months ago.

" we didn't want to bring watcher to a close [ but are okay with living above our means and not diverting any of those funds to our company]". How long do you'll think their streaming platform ( since that will be an additional cost) will last lol.

They kind of back peddle?? They completely did and are treating people like their idiots, but to be honest their fan base is pretty dumb though, they are so happy with this BS apology after they only did this cause they had no other choice not because they care about their fans

i feel like in the first video they broke up with/divorced us and the second video is them granting us visitation rights as consolation 😂😂😂

To all those who accepted their apology remember the infamous words of P.T. Barnum: “A sucker is born every minute.”

They already had a paywall with the patreon, but decided to add a different wall altogether. Then they added salt on the wound by saying patreon users can get 40% off, even though they were the ones paying in the first place. At least they fixed their problem but the next time they make a buisness move their viewers are going to have to watch out for any shady buisness. Trust doesnt come back once broken.

They talk like they're reading from cards

Didn't mention the income they have from Patreon, merch, live shows and ad. revenue. $50,000 weddings, 3 wedding dresses, gold flaked food, $1000 steaks, expensive sushi and how much are the watches worth? Don't forget the Tesla's and Steve's awesome kitchen...

Imagine if they weren't RU-vid millionnaire and have to work at a regular job like us, peasants. We are the ones who chose to make them, and they have the audacity to be unhappy, and crying about their dream jobs ? LoL RU-vid celebs are out of touch and should be humbled.

It kills me how they are trying to act like this is for anything other than making more money. There’s no way they expected ANYONE to be happy about this. Also, why on earth do they need 25 employees?! They think their content is worth more than it actually is.

Literally 10 years ago, the conversation of "streaming is just as expensive as cable now" came up. $5.99 is a basic cable channel cost. They completely forgot about cable. I think that was their issue. That, and they have too many employees for the size of company they have.

They won't be fine, they will never be the old crew they were. You can say sorry but you still fucked over your fans for profit. A lot of people like me are unsubscribed and done.

Hope they have a plan to address the glaring lack of common sense that this humiliating wake up call revealed.

The i got no nuts leg crossing is really comming thru irl

Is it really that difficult to realize they had a terrible plan? It's too late, sometimes apologizing won't magically fix everything, guess they're learning that now.

Where's the ukulele? Mission failed💀

25+ employees. That gets expensive. Not worth it.

The delivery of this apology makes one believe there is a gun offscreen pointed at them lol.

If the fans are happy, that’s great, but in my eyes, they already showed their true intentions that they value money over their audience. They basically said in their goodbye video that it was okay if their fans couldn’t continue with them, and that’s telling.

Lol yeah they scared of losin that precious money..

Also Steven got ATE UP.. literally everyone said how much they don’t like him or his videos 😂

Greedy people don't deserve it

Like, I get that people make mistakes and learn from them. But I honestly won't be able to enjoy their content the same anymore. It feels like going on a date with a boyfriend who just tried to scam you out of money, got caught, and said "sorry, it won't happen again." There's just an uncomfortable dark cloud looming over everything now.

i watched half the apology video... it started strong. by kinda admitting guilt but, then at some point they started to turn it back around on "US" the viewers. Also part of the worse part of the previous issue was the current Patreon Members got NOTHING, at the new platform.

Both their goodbye and their apology is such corporate trash.

they arent sorry for being greedy, they are sorry because they saw people are going to vote with their wallets and be vocal about it

Dear, Atozy, you’re missing out on a great opportunity. If you sell your matcity mats in a 7’x3’ size then people could use them as Sim Racing mats for their racing simulators. I was about to purchase one but it didn’t fit my size requirements. Would love to see you selling these mats in that size. I can’t imagine anyone not wanting one under their racing simulator. Best of luck. Love the channel.

If I remember correctly from another video on this, dude in the middle dropped 50K on his wedding last year. They are blowing money and need more.

I feel like this underplayed the fallout a little bit. They have lost thousands of subscribers, their watcher and personal social media has been bombarded with negative comments. Despite the pivot to offer the videos later after the paywall drop, they have destroyed their relationship with the audience. As a watcher fan the main issue I have is that we came for Ryan and Shane, the guys from buzzfeed unsolved. Many of us didn’t come for Steven Lim and the crew of buzzfeed nobodies they brought on since. The content Steven is involved in gets less views and is clearly some of their most expensive content. This has made me people upset because we want ghost hunting, true crime, comedy. Not many people want travel and food videos from Steven lim; who is by far the least popular host on watcher. I think they killed their channel, and it’s going to be very difficult for them to come back from this.

LOL! Three guys on a couch apologizing. Good one.

25 employees and clearly no one with a marketing/PR/Communications degree because this is the kind of dumb move we learn how to avoid in year 1 of the degree.

All I had to hear was they used to work for BF.. and them being so detached from reality made perfect sense.

Finally, someone who isn't praising the apology. Without the extra context, it seems like a decent apology. But digging has been done, and it looks like they'd been working and preparing to launch this for over a year now, and nobody thought it was a bad idea until their audience called them out on it. This is likely why they're not just outright scrapping the idea, because they've probably spent a ton of hours and money on getting it going and kept quiet about it. You don't just get a subscription-based streaming service up and running in a couple of days. I still don't believe the whole "We need this in order to survive," parts either, especially after they've quickly walked it back to the "Early Release" model it has now that will definitely not bring them the same revenue as they supposedly need in order to keep creating content. Nothing about their explanation adds up, and while it's an okay compromise, it's probably still going to be their downfall.

Just because they can pay for it, doesn't mean they WANT to pay for it. Imagine ruining your career like this.

I don't know these guys before this happened and now I don't even want to watch them. It must be awkward to watch them preach "eat the rich" after this.

25+ employees is over kill for 3 main creators.

Atozy called it! You tube is the only real way for them to get more people so completely removing themselves from RU-vid made no sense.

Full time RU-vidrs: "We're quitting our RU-vid careers!" smh