Why doesn't the Escapist monetise their Youtube videos?

[InsideOneMind]

Don't get me wrong, as the consumer I'm not complaining about not having to sit through adverts before videos. But the question of 'Why?' has been driving the business student in me fucking crazy. The Escapist get millions of views on Youtube and they're not making any money from it.

There's no downside to having the ads there, either. It's not like people will stop watching. By now everyone is used to Youtube ads before almost every video.

It just doesn't make any sense to me.

 

[Keoul]

Well we've got people complaining already about captchas being ads.
Whenever ads are involved you can expect a large influx of complaints.

Also consider the following:
-You have -COUGH COUGH- some 3rd party program altering youtube ads.
-They're just using youtube as an advertisement medium to promote the escapist website
-They're already a partner

most are guesses -shrug-

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Well we've got people complaining already about captchas being ads.

I love the captcha ads. I always write something snarky about the brand they ask me about.

 

[Keoul]

I love the captcha ads. I always write something snarky about the brand they ask me about.

Me too
I always have a little laugh when they ask
"what do you feel about this brand?"
"It's terrible"

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

I love the captcha ads. I always write something snarky about the brand they ask me about.

Me too
I always have a little laugh when they ask
"what do you feel about this brand?"
"It's terrible"

I prefer the old "slap the keyboard a few times" if I can't think up of something witty.

Does anyone else go out of their way to NOT buy products that get aggressively advertised like that?

 

[Batou667]

Well we've got people complaining already about captchas being ads.

I love the captcha ads. I always write something snarky about the brand they ask me about.

I use those as a nice way of venting. I sometimes surprise myself with my profanity. It doesn't help that I've never heard of the majority of the brands, and that Captcha always tends to pop up with its patronising "Oops! You must have posted since before you posted this post!" (No, I didn't.)

Anyway, OP: please, don't go giving them ideas. It annoys me enough when I have to wait 45 seconds to watch Zero Punctuation, and then it's letterboxed in a huge frame of advertising.

 

[Albino Boo]

Don't get me wrong, as the consumer I'm not complaining about not having to sit through adverts before videos. But the question of 'Why?' has been driving the business student in me fucking crazy. The Escapist get millions of views on Youtube and they're not making any money from it.

There's no downside to having the ads there, either. It's not like people will stop watching. By now everyone is used to Youtube ads before almost every vides.

It just doesn't make any sense to me.

I think the problem is that the opinions expressed in most of the videos are not compatible with most of the likely advertisers.

AD: Buy the new EA game
Yahtzee: This latest title from EA sucks

Advertisers are not going to pay to be insulted and if ZP changes they lose its USP and becomes like IGN.

 

[hazabaza1]

Because only Yahtzee gets any views on that channel?
Seriously, go look at a ZP video with 100k views, and look at a different series with a similar release date. View's range from 100 video to maybe a couple thousand if they're lucky.

 

[Evil Smurf]

Well we've got people complaining already about captchas being ads.
Whenever ads are involved you can expect a large influx of complaints.

Also consider the following:
-You have adblock on
-They're just using youtube as an advertisement medium to promote the escapist website
-They're already a partner

most are guesses -shrug-

Careful about how you use the word adblock friend, the mods get hammer happy

 

[Keoul]

Careful about how you use the word adblock friend, the mods get hammer happy

I haven't exactly advertised it, but I suppose I should rectify my post to get rid of that word.
Thanks for the heads up

 

[Patrick Buck]

I love the captcha ads. I always write something snarky about the brand they ask me about.

Me too
I always have a little laugh when they ask
"what do you feel about this brand?"
"It's terrible"

I play this witty little game, where I put "It's shit." Every single time. Not that funny, but it slightly helps relive the annoyance in suddenly having to type it in every other comment. -_-

And I have no idea for the ad thing, so prehaps they might now you've pointed this out.
So thanks for that. -_-

 

[InsideOneMind]

And I have no idea for the ad thing, so prehaps they might now you've pointed this out.
So thanks for that. -_-

Do you honestly believe that the Escapist are run by such inept businessmen and women who haven't capitalised on a potential source of revenue because they simply haven't thought about it? And that one of them will stumble across this thread and think "By God, he's RIGHT!" No business owner is that clueless, let alone the owners of a successful one.

So there is obviously have some actual reasoning for not having ads before their Youtube videos (several of the reasons other people have offered seem likely).

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Maybe it has to do with the people they are currently advertising for on this site not wanting to be pushed out of focus. Maybe they don't want to lose control of ad placement like they can do here, with ads all around the screen.

I think, personally, it has to do with the lack of power they have on YouTube, mainly with not being able to punish ad-blocker promoters beside banning them from commenting on videos.

Oh, and not having Escapist accounts being connected with YouTube accounts. It's just that, with Escapist and YouTube being two different websites, there's of course going to be incompatibilities.

But why not, truly?

Well we've got people complaining already about captchas being ads.

I love the captcha ads. I always write something snarky about the brand they ask me about.

Describe something about the brand: Hershey

So then you write chocolate. Yeah, that'll stick it to them.