YouTube

Would you ever pay to watch your favorite YouTube channel? [Poll]

Ben Schoon | Apr 21 2024 - 5:34 pm PT

YouTube has become a hub of some of the greatest talent in the entertainment industry, with rising stars that put out incredible content. But would you ever pay directly to watch your favorite YouTube channel?

The appeal of YouTube as a platform is that there are millions upon millions of videos on every topic imaginable. And, in many cases, channels on the platform have massive audiences. The biggest two channels on YouTube right now – Mr Beast and T-Series – have both amassed subscriber counts of around 250 million.

Big audiences can do major things in terms of ad revenue, brand deals, and much more, but often, creators still strive for more.

That’s what happened this week with the folks over at Watcher, a YouTube channel with an audience of nearly three million subscribers. The channel grew its audience over just the past four years on the backs of television-quality shows posted, for free, right on YouTube. But, starting in May, Watcher is moving to its own $6/month subscription service, and the backlash has been huge.

From fans to those who hadn’t even heard of Watcher prior to this week, everyone seems to agree this is a terrible idea.

So, that begs the question, would you pay to watch your favorite YouTube channel?

There’s been no shortage over the past few years of ways to monetize a YouTube channel outside of traditional ad revenue. YouTube itself offers additional monetization options such as Channel Memberships, which allows content creators to post content only to paying subscribers. Another exceedingly popular means of monetizing an audience has been with Patreon, which focuses primarily on creators offering some sort of perk in exchange for monthly contributions. Many creators have also signed up for YouTube alternative Nebula, which is a paid subscription that offers videos from many established names for a single price, while allowing creators to produce content that might not do well on YouTube.

Watcher’s approach is ambitious, certainly, and not the worst fit for a channel known for putting out television-quality content. But, as streaming services continue to get more expensive and continue to expand in number, yet another subscription, even a “cheap” one, is not a small ask.

But what do you think?

Would you pay for a dedicated subscription for your favorite channel? Do you pay for something like Patreon already? Let us know in the comments below!