Overview

Watcher Leaves YouTube Controversy refers to the announcement of the entertainment YouTube channel Watcher moving away from the video platform in April 2024 to exclusively share their content on their own subscription streaming service. The channel was created in 2019 by former BuzzFeed hosts Steven Lim, Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej. The move sparked backlash among fans, which prompted the trio to post an apology video shortly after, saying they will now make their original videos available for free on YouTube one month after subscribers get access to them. The controversy notably follows a trend in early 2024 of multiple well-known YouTubers quitting the platform.

Background

On April 19th, 2024, the Watcher^[1] YouTube channel uploaded a video titled "Goodbye YouTube," which featured former BuzzFeed hosts Steven Lim, Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej, announcing that going forward, the content^[2] of new shows will be available only on their new streaming service Watcher Tv, priced at $5.99/month or $59.99/year. They said they’ll still upload the first episodes of new shows and the archive of existing videos will remain on the platform. The video (shown below) amassed over 1.9 million views and 37,000 likes in five days.

Developments

The Watcher Apology Video

The announcement was not well received among fans of the channel, which prompted the three founders to post^[3] an apology video on April 22nd, 2024, saying they are revising the plan and would make their originals available for free on YouTube one month after subscribers of their own streaming service get access to them. The video (shown below) amassed more than 1.2 million views and 89,000 likes in a day.

Online Reactions

Fans of the YouTube channel quickly spammed social media with a range of mostly negative and ironic reactions towards the Watcher's channel announcement. For instance, on April 22nd, 2024, YouTuber^[4] Jacksfilms posted a parody video making fun of the Watcher founders' apology video (shown below, left), which amassed more than 524,000 views and 72,000 likes in a day.

On the same day, YouTuber^[5] Cr1TiKaL commented on the controversy in a video (shown below, right), amassing roughly 1.9 million views and 100,000 likes in a day.

The Watcher founders' apology video was also compared by many to the 2023 Try Guys React To Cheating video, as X^[6] user @pluuuno posted a side-by-side picture of Eugene Lee Yang and Steven Lim on April 23rd paired with the caption "watcher apology vs try guys apology. choose ur fighter." The post (shown below, left) received more than 40 likes in just a few hours.

On April 22nd, 2024, X^[7] user @MiniMinaStreams used the phrasal template "If I Had A Nickel" to comment about "every time ex-Buzzfeed employees who went on to make their popular YouTube channels had to sit down in a couch to explain their recent controversy." The post (shown below, right) received more than 16,000 likes and 1,300 retweets in a day.

Search Interest

External References