Hacker News Reader

Comment by m8s | Hacker News Reader

I don't think there is a valid alternative to YouTube, but I've found bookmarking creators instead of subscribing with an account to be a fine way to enjoy some content without having it tied to your Google account. It's not perfect though. Perhaps Patreon can partly fill that niche instead?

View on HN

There's no Patreon app for Apple TV from what I can see. I pay three Patreon creators but never log into the account, watching their stuff on YouTube after the fact (they release a few days later on there).

Why is it so hard? That's what I want to know. Is Apple somehow conspiring too?

It's hard because YouTube invests stupid amount of time to get advertisers on board which pay the video creators.

Content is on YT because the creators are being paid for it - and an alternative platform will need to find a solution for that. On top of the existing hard problem of making a good video streaming service that doesn't go bankrupt.

Patreon helps, but remember that most creators now get paid by Patreon AND by YouTube.

I guess what I'm curious about is why there's no Patreon App for Apple TV (and I'm guessing smart TV too but I avoid that due to ads). It feels like Patreon is trapped in a world where they think people will watch things on mobile - something I never do unless I'm on a plane.

Uhm, Patreon isn't a video app though? When you tap videos in mobile app they still open in YouTube for most of my content creators.

There's an app for mobile but not for Apple TV. You view Patreon videos on your television or you stream it?

The stuff I watch on YouTube beckons me to go to Patreon to watch the latest content.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com