Poll: If youtube went to a pay model, would you pay?

[StriderShinryu]

Well, it seems that Youtube is possibly going towards a pay model for certain channels.

http://technology.canoe.ca/2013/03/21/20674626.html

"YouTube knows that channels with devoted followings could earn a tremendous amount of money by charging viewers. Fans of Helbig or Hardwick?s Nerdist Channel will fork over cash to watch their videos. For a platform dependent on advertising revenue, subscriptions would benefit both its creators and its own economics."

Any thoughts on this? If your favourite content providers started charging for subscriptions or per video view, would they remain providers you watched? Would this possibly allow for the rise of another service that offered videos for free?

Personally, I don't think I would. There are definitely some providers I watch on a daily basis and not having access to them would create something of a hole in my daily entertainment schedule.. but I just can't see myself paying to see their videos.

 

[Basement Cat]

Nope.

I only started viewing Youtube about a year ago. Most of the things I find interesting are things I just chance upon. I haven't watched television in 6 or more years, so I'm not about to feel like a chunk of my life will disappear if Youtube starts charging.

Besides, I still enjoy reading. It's AMAZING how much you can pick up from a book.

EDIT: No, I would only watch the content that remained free. 100% (1)

Woo-hoo! My opinion is ABSOLUTE!!!

 

[EscapeGoat_v1legacy]

Nope. I'd watch whatever videos remained free, but paying to subscribe to a channel is right out. There aren't any channels I watch on a daily basis or that I feel I need to watch, so I wouldn't be able to justify paying to subscribe to them. The only people I watch on a really regular basis and that I want to watch their updates as soon as they come out are musicians like Dan Bull or BoywithaBand and I already give them my money by paying for their songs.

Also, like Copper Zen, it's not like a huge chunk of my life would be lost if I quit YouTube because it started charging for watching videos.

 

[piinyouri]

So wait, just certain channels?
Like the really really big and/or popular ones?

I think I personally could live with that, seeing as I don't tend to watch anything fo that sort.
I mainly use youtube for the following:

Finding new music
Linking music
Entertaining myself with silly shit
An occasional LP when deciding on whether to purchase a game

Of course if it turns out to be a slippery slope I would imagine (and desperately hope) that an alternative would pop up.
Lord knows youtube has been garbage for a long time now even without a subscription model. I'd love for a second hand video site to emerge that didn't have quite so much junk attached with it and was easier to navigate.

 

[Ljs1121]

I only regularly watch videos put up by two users, so it wouldn't really bother me as long as those two channels remained free.

 

[shrekfan246]

If the channels I follow started requiring me to pay to watch them, I'd stop watching them.

Partly because I'm admittedly fairly cheap, but also because I don't think ten minutes of entertainment every few days/weeks would be worth paying a premium to view.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Nope, there's no way in hell that I would pay to watch anything on youtube, even though I greatly enjoy things like Best Friends Play, Achievement Hunter, and commentators like Seananners, I wouldn't fork over money to youtube to watch them. Youtube has screwed up so many things since they were acquired by google it's amazing that people still use the site at all (it's probably more out of habit than anything else at this point). It's really like google takes all of its under-performing employees and puts them in charge of youtube instead of just firing them.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

No way would I pay for that kind of shit. I only really watch let's players on YouTube these days anyway, and all the LPer's I watch are genuine, down-to-earth guys who wouldn't fall to that shit, so I probably wouldn't have too much of a problem with it all in all (though I'd consider it a shitty practice).

 

[Raikas]

Nope.

Although I suppose if they had a pay channel that provided specific content that I'm either already paying for in another format or something really new with no other source then I might consider it. Don't see much point to it now though.

 

[latiasracer]

Only one or two channels, if their content is deemable worth it.

Frankieonpcin1080p's Dayz videos are often nearly an hour long, and have some top quality music and cutscenes to them. It is almost like watching a tv series. I'd pay for that. I probably wouldn't pay for any other video game playthroughs though. I'd probably pay for Howtobasic too, because those are damn funny. For me to buy acess to a channel, it'd have to be like i was buying a dvd to watch something online. Not that i hope they do of course, i'd much rather just having to deal with pain in the ass adverts

 

[The Night Angel]

Seeing as I don't have any channels I follow seriously, I can't imagine I'd ever fork out money for youtube content. I think I'd probably keep using the site, but only to view the free content.

 

[V da Mighty Taco]

Nope, would only watch free channels. The entire reason I use Youtube is because it's free entertainment. If I want to pay for something, I'll go buy a cheap game off of Steam or eBay.

Captcha: "oh, wait" No thanks, Captcha.

 

[Rellik San]

I wouldn't object to say... a subscription model that then meant no adverts on ALL channels I watched, with the funding from my sub going to all my subscriptions, but pay to watch channels with adverts... well they will lose me completely.

It's why I disagree with things like Sky TV, why should I pay a premium to watch 5 minutes of adverts every 10 minutes? If I'm paying a premium, I'm paying for zero adverts, or if you're giving me adverts I want it for free, it's that simple.

 

[Scarim Coral]

No I would refuse to watch the paid videos and forgot Youtube altogether if all channels end up having to pay for it. I would be very annoyed if my favourite channels end up having to paid for it.

 

[Combustion Kevin]

being free is the only thing Youtube has got going for it, if they'd shut their eyes to copyrighted material too there would be no other media player on the web left.

Until the Godzilla-sized lawsuits arrive, that is.

 

[TheKaz]

I would prolly stop entirely,especially since I only subscribe to channels that are related to things I like (skullgirls,ENB,darksouls general,etc.)

Besides I use youtube mainly as a source of music,I mean everything I enjoy is on youtube and can be found with minimal effort,most of the time.

 

[Strazdas]

No.

I have lived without youtube for years. then came back to it and used it for a while. then the whole "we merge your account with gmail" happened. so in protest i quit using youtube, even offsite links, and in fact told everyone to use vimeo instead. i converted a few people too. now i am slowly using youtube again, but if i had to just drop it it would not be a big deal.

 

[x EvilErmine x]

Wow, for the first time, possibly ever, it seems the escapist is of one mind on something.[footnote]Well so far at least anyway[/footnote]

I'm got going to throw my two cents in and say that I would not part with my cash to watch subscription based content. They already get revenue from ads. I see no reason to give them more money.

 

[wooty]

Surely they get enough from all of these pain in the neck adverts and "you can skip this bullshit in 5..4..3".

Plus, I'm getting fed up of being charged up the arse to view or read things. I have enough money taken off me by my ineffective government, I don't want to feel like I'm being charged for my downtime too.