Why Do YouTube Channels Die?
Techquickie
·Techquickie
·2019-05-06
·
1,134 words · ~5 min read
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Most of you are probably a little young to remember where you were when Fonzie jumped that shark on water skis.
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But the expression it spawned has stayed with us, and the phenomenon of popular shows and series
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losing their appeal, sometimes very suddenly, remains as well. And in the enormous, not to mention highly competitive, online video space,
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that means that we have seen many things, that is besides ill-conceived stunts involving teethy fish,
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bring down once popular YouTubers.
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One of the biggest, though not most exciting, culprits is
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stagnation. This occurs when a star simply doesn't adjust to changes in trends and
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viewer demands, or
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overall changes to the YouTube platform,
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including its infamous
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recommendation algorithm. The importance of staying current was certainly a thing when traditional television dominated short-format entertainment,
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but it's become even more important in the YouTube era, due to a few things.
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The sheer number of choices on the platform, the rapid pace at which things become old news or dead memes,
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due to how quickly fresh content can be pushed online, and the fact that many prominent YouTubers release episodes
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every day.
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As opposed to just
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once a week, and only for part of the year. Not everybody's idea tank is quite as deep as Family Guy.
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For example, fellow Canadians Epic Meal Time saw a
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meteoric rise after astounding the internet with their colossal culinary creations,
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but their growth has since plateaued. Not because the content is bad,
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but possibly because their formula hasn't really changed much since the early 2010s.
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Oh, and they've also split their attention between YouTube and traditional TV.
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Which is trend number two, because they are far from the only channel to look at different avenues to grow their brands.
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H3H3 Productions, while still quite popular on YouTube,
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hasn't seen as much growth lately in terms of their subscribers, and has had their viewership declining for the last year.
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But you could argue that this is due to focusing more on their very successful podcast.
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So, while a quick look at Social Blade numbers might suggest a brand in trouble,
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the reality is that it isn't uncommon for well-established channels or creators,
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whether for business or artistic reasons, to eventually look elsewhere and use YouTube as just one component of their overall business.
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Of course, branching out too much can lead to real detrimental effects.
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For example, Jake and Logan Paul focused a great deal on the
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merchandise side of their business, which is a likely factor in the decline of their viewership and subscriber growth over the last little while.
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It is always a balancing act between
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monetizing your content and focusing on what the viewer came to you for in the first place,
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entertainment. We've seen many a YouTuber go too far in their ads and sponsorships to the detriment of their channel's health.
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And of course, that whole suicide forest controversy didn't help very much either.
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Which leads me into another common hazard that YouTubers have to watch for.
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Scandal.
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Just like actors and most politicians, YouTube creators can fall out of favor with their audiences due to major scandals,
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as we've seen with family daily vloggers like Daddy of Five and the Shaytards.
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And in some of these cases, YouTube itself will even make the decision to stop serving users with videos that it deems too controversial.
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YouTube itself will even make the decision to stop serving users with videos that it deems too controversial.
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YouTube itself will even make the decision to stop serving users with videos that it deems too controversial.
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Logan Paul was caught up in this, as we just mentioned, as was LeafyIsHere.
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Actually, come to think about it, a lot of the prank channels that were really popular not so very long ago
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have suffered major declines since YouTube's algorithms were changed to de-emphasize content that could be considered abusive.
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But even if a YouTuber has focused solely on producing great content for the YouTube platform,
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hasn't jumped to traditional media, doesn't spend too much time asking people to buy lunch boxes,
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and has avoided angering the powers that be,
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their channel could still be sunk by on-camera personality, or lack thereof.
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I'm talking about turnover.
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Some channels Ryzen popularity due to having a charismatic host that viewers identify with.
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And, if that host ends up moving on, the channel can suffer big time.
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This is what happened to RayWilliamJohnson's Equals3.
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Remember, he was the top YouTuber at one point.
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And it was definitely a factor in SourceFed's eventual downfall.
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It even happened in the tech industry not that long ago to Newegg TV,
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after their primary hosts Paul and Kyle, whom I'm sure many of you recognize,
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left to start their own channels.
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But, the good news for all of you is that we are aware of these potential pitfalls.
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