Watcher Entertainment Launches New Paid Subscription Service for ‘Ghost Files,’ ‘Mystery Files,’ and More

Watcher Entertainment is moving on from YouTube to its own subscription service. The trio of Ryan Bergara, Shane Madej, and Steven Lim have cultivated a massive following since breaking off from BuzzFeed and are officially taking the next big step with the launch of Watcher, the new home for their original series, including fan-favorites Ghost Files, Mystery Files, and Puppet History. The service is currently in its beta period from now until May 31, when Lim’s new food show Travel Season with his former Worth It colleagues Andrew Ilnyckyj and Adam Bianchi launches.

Created in January 2020, the Watcher YouTube channel has racked up 400 million views and amassed 2.9 million subscribers while posting 376 videos and creating 22 original series. Much of the content revolves around the edutainment, food, and paranormal spaces, massively expanding on some of their most popular shows under the BuzzFeed banner. Their new service, which launches with a $5.99/month or $59.99/year price point and will not feature ads, plans to further build on that content with more revenue than the Google-owned video platform could offer. Among the projects on the docket for the new platform is the aforementioned Travel Season, described as a “globetrotting food and travel odyssey” beginning in Seoul, South Korea, as well as an international episode of Ghost Filesfor Season 3.

Beta members who sign up from now through May 30 will also be able to subscribe for 30% off their first year as an extra incentive to board the platform before its newest shows arrive. Additionally, any subscribers within that Beta period will be able to help vote for which of Watcher’s old shows will be brought back on the new platform, with Dish Granted, Social Distancing D&D, and Spooky Small Talk among the selections. While the channel will remain live with its backlog of videos, Bergara also noted that the first episode of each new season of their shows will be uploaded to give viewers a sample of what Watcher offers. Otherwise, everything else will be exclusive to the subscription service going forward.

Watcher Eyes Greater Growth Away From YouTube

The Watcher trio has been trying to constantly evolve their content and gain more freedom since they announced their intentions to leave behind BuzzFeed. In a previous interview with Collider’s Maggie Lovitt ahead of the launch of Ghost Files in 2022, Bergara and Madej spoke about their desire to flesh out their own ghost-hunting format and how their channel’s popularity made that a possibility. Now, however, they believe that reaching their full potential as a media company requires expansion to a platform where they call the shots and benefit even further from fan engagement.

With the announcement of the Watcher service, CEO Lim discussed how YouTube was a crucial step in their filmmaking careers, but believed this was a necessary move for everyone involved. “I never thought we’d leave YouTube, so this move to [Watcher’s own] streaming [service] is a bittersweet one,” he said, adding:

“But with the evolution of our content along with the maturation of our fans’ taste, this feels like the best move — putting the future of our company squarely into a platform that allows us to further our relationship with the people who watch and support us.”

Bergara, meanwhile, hit on why their standalone streaming service feels like a better fit for their content overall.

“From the very start of Watcher, our goal was to make television-quality unscripted content, and while YouTube helped us start that journey, the only way we can fully realize that vision is to do it on our own platform. So while it’s scary to leave a place that has been an amazing home to us, we know that this is a risk worth taking, just like leaving BuzzFeed was back in 2019.”

Madej added on by assuring that the new platform will only continue the same shows fans have been enjoying throughout Watcher’s life on YouTube. “In four short years, we’ve built a library of shows that we’re incredibly proud of, and we’ve done it by sticking to our creative values. We intend to keep delivering the world’s best unscripted entertainment, and the streamer is our way of cutting out the middleman and giving our viewers the opportunity to directly support the stuff they love.”

More information on the service and how to sign up are available on the platform’s homepage. Check out the video below in which the Watcher creators bid farewell to YouTube and give a rundown on their new service.