Hacker News Reader

Comment by hbn | Hacker News Reader

I pay for Premium but I don't think I've ever had a desire to watch a YouTube Original. Nor was I really aware from them. I guess there's an irony in that the people who are paying and can watch the content are also paying to not see ads so they never find out about it.

View on HN

I think the thing that pulls people in to YouTube is antithetical to YouTube Originals. If I'm going to spend 40 minutes on YouTube it's going to be a series of low commitment videos anywhere from 4 to 10 minutes long each. If I wanted something to watch that was the length of a TV episode I would be on Netflix.

Everybody's YouTube experience is different, but video length is not the differentiator. People will watch hour-long videos on YouTube without batting an eye. Or stay for 10 minutes.

What is unique about Youtube is that everything is non-fiction. When was the last time any Youtube success was fictionalized content?

That's what Youtube Originals tried to change, and failed at.

Depends on your definition of fiction I guess. Comedy sketches are fiction right? Youtube has been known for comedy channels. Then there are channels dedicated to fiction franchises. Does a channel that only talks about Star Wars count as fiction? I dunno.

YouTube is definitely lacking in the traditional "TV show" department if that's what you mean.

> When was the last time any Youtube success was fictionalized content?

Cobra Kai seems successful. Unfortunately, YouTube dropped it and Netflix picked it up. The irony is that, while Google makes a lot of money from ads, its sibling Netflix kinda sucked at advertising the show. I didn't know about Cobra Kai until it was on Netflix.

Cobra Kai was a terrible flop, which Youtube dropped after the second season did not change its status. Sony, which distributes it, believed in it and shopped it around to other streaming sites. Netflix picked it up and only then did it become a bonafide hit, warranting a third and now fourth season.

I found out cobra Kai was on Netflix from an advert on YouTube. Haha.

> What is unique about Youtube is that everything is non-fiction. When was the last time any Youtube success was fictionalized content?

"What does the Fox say" is non-fiction?

"Baby Shark" is non-fiction?

"Gangnam Style" is non-fiction?

You're right, and after two seconds of reflection I realized I watch longer videos on YouTube as well. I tried summarizing the difference between YouTube and other streaming services but it's more nuanced. The part of me that strives to be productive feels much better on YouTube, although deep down I know it's probably a net loss on my productivity. YouTube is great for video essays, tutorials, music & music videos, vlogs & video podcasts.

A 40 minute video essay feels insightful, I know that I'm really there for the entertainment but I can justify it to myself like I'm learning something and that makes me feel good. The things that I categorize as "mindless entertainment" are short and low commitment; I don't feel bad watching a 3 minute comedy sketch. When YouTube was trying to push Cobra Kai on me I thought, "that is not how I want to spend the next 30 minutes," then I wasted the next 30 minutes anyways on mindless entertainment with a series of 3-4 minute videos.

> When was the last time any Youtube success was fictionalized content?

Today. There is ton of it.

I strongly disagree. I watch a lot of long form, in-depth videos on YouTube.

I remember when they were Premium-only. It was so confusing. I subscribed for YouTube but I am being pushed to watch this content which I can't share, can't comment on. I can't even get email notifications because they aren't regular videos.

I am paying for Premium because I like YouTube but don't want ads! Stop trying to do something different. If I wanted that I would be paying for Netflix.

There were a few good ones here and there, like Mind Field or Retro Tech, but they all were basically timed exclusives. I actually liked the idea of funding more niche Creator-driven content like that, aka giving money and production backing to creators who had an idea for a bigger project.

Though I have not seen Cobra Kai, I think that was a YouTube original.

Same I pay premium and had no idea Youtube Originals existed. At the same time I doubt its a failure of marketing in such a saturated market and all the other crap they already offer.

Click the tab, laugh at the idea that anything about this page is anything I would want to watch, click away.

What value did you exactly get from paying for Premium then? Generic ad blockers already block advertisements effectively.

Not the OP but I watch on a smart TV or on my phone a lot, also while commuting. There are also some songs that I can only find on Youtube so I use the music feature quite a lot. so a premium sub was the easiest way for me to not need to deal with those god-awful ads, yeah I know there are hacks like wifi-level adblockers but it's no end-all-be-all.

I know people want to fight against Youtube premium but it's a pointless fight, all that's gonna happen is the less techy-savvy will get bombarded with ads, the more the tech-savvy folk resist, I'm accepting the reality that this free service now needs either a paid plan or to serve more ads, I'm not resisting it, it's just the way it is.

I think this outdated distinction of "tech-savvy" consumers needs to die. Something as simple as using ad blockers is not really a "tech-savvy" thing to do, but a practice that's almost essential for pretty much everyone nowadays. I am an Indian college student and even the least tech-interested people I know (barring the elderly) regularly use ad blockers and Vanced for Youtube on Android.

If that's really so, then India is leaps and bounds ahead in their "tech-savviness" on all age groups, compared to the rest of the world. I needed to install that stuff for my parents, same with the friends of my parents. How would they know about it otherwise?

Also, how do the common folks block ads on their smart tv, a very common means to watch Youtube? I only know because I'm a programmer, but most people won't know about a wifi-level adblocker.

I appreciate you have these ideals but have you wondered what will happen if every Youtube user in the world starts using AdBlock? In the process leading up to it, people lagging behind will get increasingly worse ads, and when that singularity hits people will need to disable AdBlock to access Youtube, and a mass amount of people will just opt-in to Youtube Premium anyway, or deal with the ads again. There is no alternative to Youtube.

I'm not going to fight against this type of stuff, I think it makes sense that this app which has been free for over a decade, now has an option to subscribe and get an ad-free experience, it makes total sense, we've just been spoiled.

Basically what the other reply said, but yeah, adblockers only work when you're watching in the browser. Which is admittedly where I watch most of the time, but for the occasional times I'm watching on another device, I can't stand sitting through ads. And while I'm sure there's workarounds, I don't want to deal with workarounds. I want to fire up a video anywhere, and as long as I'm signed in, I won't see ads.

There was also a time (I think when it was called YouTube Red) that it was just a package deal with Google Play Music and that was basically what I was paying for, and the ad-free YouTube was just a bonus. Though once they killed off GPM it was one of the last straws for me in the Google ecosystem so I bought an iPhone, switched to Apple Music and now I'm just continuing to pay for ad-free YouTube.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com