Enough with the Sponsored Content. (5/6 Latest LTT Videos are sponsored)

[lambrosgg]

Noticed a theme on the latest uploads of the LTT channel:

 

OnePlus 6 Leaks Confirmed! - Hands On = Sponsored by OnePlus

OnePlus 6 Quality Control EXPOSED = Sponsored by OnePlus

Save Money on RAM.. with Optane?? = Sponsored by Intel

CUTTING OPEN A LASER KEYSWITCH! - Bloody Gaming LK Switch Showcase = Sponsored by Bloody Gaming

What the heck is an AI Phone?! - Honor 10 Showcase = Sponsored by Honor

One Plus 6 Review = NOT Sponsored (I guess)

 

I mean come on Linus.... That's 5/6 Videos in 4 days. I know Linus called them "Extra Videos, beyond the 1 video per day" but are they really? Its 4 days, so there should be 4 "normal" videos. Instead its only one (WAN show doesn't really count)

 

I hope this was just a coincidence, and the sponsored content will be spaced out again. I think its ok to have 1 sponsored video every week, even if its not "extra" or 2 at most, with 1 being extra, but that's just my opinion.

[Starelementpoke]

I mean, if it's between them having the money to expand and keep making videos or them not making enough, I'll take the former. It's not like you can't just ignore them either or anything. Just go grab a snack or something when they come up if they bother you that much.

[Supportsneedlove]

3 minutes ago, lambrosgg said:

Noticed a theme on the latest uploads of the LTT channel:

 

OnePlus 6 Leaks Confirmed! - Hands On = Sponsored by OnePlus

OnePlus 6 Quality Control EXPOSED = Sponsored by OnePlus

Save Money on RAM.. with Optane?? = Sponsored by Intel

CUTTING OPEN A LASER KEYSWITCH! - Bloody Gaming LK Switch Showcase = Sponsored by Bloody Gaming

What the heck is an AI Phone?! - Honor 10 Showcase = Sponsored by Honor

One Plus 6 Review = NOT Sponsored (I guess)

 

I mean come on Linus.... That's 5/6 Videos in 4 days. I know Linus called them "Extra Videos, beyond the 1 video per day" but are they really? Its 4 days, so there should be 4 "normal" videos. Instead its only one (WAN show doesn't really count)

 

I hope this was just a coincidence, and the sponsored content will be spaced out again. I think its ok to have 1 sponsored video every week, even if its not "extra" or 2 at most, with 1 being extra, but that's just my opinion.

Isn't that how they make money?

[lewdicrous]

He has to pay the bills and pay his employees not to mention supporting his family.

If you don't like it then don't watching those videos

[Ginger_]

+1

 

I don't even watch sponsored content because it's always just a Hey, look how great this is and we're not going to mention anything bad about it. 

 

Somehow my adblocker doesn't seem to work for these.... 

[Princess Luna]

Y'all seriously don't understand this business.

[williamcll]

See if you buy more stuff from the LTT store they won't have to sponsor so much.

[NunoLava1998]

9 minutes ago, lambrosgg said:

Noticed a theme on the latest uploads of the LTT channel:

 

OnePlus 6 Leaks Confirmed! - Hands On = Sponsored by OnePlus

OnePlus 6 Quality Control EXPOSED = Sponsored by OnePlus

Off-Topic comment here, but everyone knows to sponsor a video with leaks/bad quality control from OnePlus with OnePlus. Top-quality marketing right there 

[ARikozuM]

They have to disclose sponsorships whether it was free product or monetary gain. You can only hope that Linus/LTT remains objective.

[Emberstone]

Eh, I don't watch most sponsored stuff anyway. LTT isn't anywhere near as thorough as other tech outlets like GamersNexus or Hardware Unboxed. I just stay subbed for the WAN Show, tbh. LTT is less of a "tech channel" and more "media outlet" these days.

 

Views are what matter, so vote with your eyes.

[AskTJ]

They have to make money somehow. Dont like it? Leave.

 

[D13H4RD]

I don't really watch sponsored content anyway.

 

It's their channel and they can do whatever they wish, especially to ensure that ends meet so everyone can get paid.

[Mr.Humble]

You know, "Enough with the Sponsored Content." could very well mean "Enough with all the content".

 

I dont mind watching a couple of sponsored pieces if it enables LMG to make all their other content.

 

Also you might want to factor in the fact that they recently expanded their operations with the TechLinked channel, which might be a factor of why so many sponsored pieces have come out from them recently.

 

That being said, I'd take a normal video, a vlog, review, or behind the scenes over a showcase.

 

Maybe if you don't like it so much, try supporting them in other ways. Subscribe for Floatplane, buy their T-shirt, contribute on the forum etc.

[samcool55]

I usually don't mind sponsored video's but the problem i have is that not a single video in the last few days felt "empty".

Not really interesting, important details weren't mentioned and it just felt like a bunch of stuff quickly thrown together.

 

It's just not the quality content i'm used to.

Like, it's mostly about the new oneplus phone which i don't care about while steve from GN is doing stupid things with liquid cooling hades canyon. I'm subbed for the stupid stuff, not silly phones, for that i'll look somewhere else.

[NMS]

Well it depends on the sponsorship.

PC hardware related? Sure!

An overpriced vacuum? Go and F yourself with it.

[Spotty]

Didn't Linus travel overseas for the OnePlus sponsorship videos? They'll want to get as much content out of it as possible since they need to take their main host, a camera operator, and possibly other staff away from other projects to go on the work trip. You need to understand that even if the trip is paid for through the sponsorship deal, it still costs LMG time and money in the sense that the staff who are travelling are unable to work on other projects.

Another reason could be that we're heading in to American school Summer break. My guess is there will be a small influx of sponsored content around this period of time, since it's probably one of those times of year where people are looking to buy stuff to entertain them/their kids and this will be when the companies want to cash in on that. Might be a bunch of sponsored stuff for a few weeks as all the companies rush to advertise their stuff first at the start of the break, then it should die down a bit.

They've mentioned before (Linus on WAN show I think, maybe Colton?) the first few months of the year are the toughest for them for getting sponsorships (after all the companies blew their advertising budgets in the lead up to Christmas), and it's not until a few months in to the year when it picks up again and they start to get a sustainable amount of sponsorship deals again. So, expect to see a little more sponsored content in the coming months than what you're used to seeing over the past few months.

[lambrosgg]

I know there is money to be made, bills, salaries, equipment. But when enough is enough? and what ratio of normal/sponsored content is acceptable? I prefer 7 videos a week with 1 being sponsored than 12 videos in a week with 10 sponsored. Its not like the companies send them the videos ready to upload, they still need all the usual resources even on the sponsored content.

 

Breakdown of an LTT video:

1.AdSense before video starts - Intro - (2.Video Sponsor, if not Sponsored Content) - main video - (3.sometimes repeat of sponor-or other sponsor) - outro - 4. LTT sponsors (affiliate, merch etc)

 

Where does the ad-ception end? As I said i know Linus videos need A LOT of money to be made, but lets be realistic. There has to be some kind of corporate greed here. Its not like they are going bankrupt and they NEED all these.

 

Please no childish answers like "if you don't like it don't watch it". I am entitled to criticize anything I paid indirectly by watching ads. And A LOT of them.

I love LTT videos, but it seems they become more ads than actual content as time goes on.

 

I really think they should re-evaluate whats more important. Is it worth it to have crazy content, with thousand dollars worth of products, shot and produced with VERY expensive equipment, if it means the majority of the videos will be sponsored content?

[Spotty]

3 minutes ago, NMS said:

Well it depends on the sponsorship.

PC hardware related? Sure!

An overpriced vacuum? Go and F yourself with it.

That vacuum was quite the fuck up. I don't think LTT expected that every youtuber and their dog would have been given a Dyson to review with them all releasing the same day when the embargo lifted.

Well, when I say every youtuber... GamerNexus' sponsorship deals must have got lost in the mail...

 

[Mr.Humble]

7 minutes ago, lambrosgg said:

I know there is money to be made, bills, salaries, equipment. But when enough is enough? and what ratio of normal/sponsored content is acceptable? I prefer 7 videos a week with 1 being sponsored than 12 videos in a week with 10 sponsored. Its not like the companies send them the videos ready to upload, they still need all the usual resources even on the sponsored content.

 

Breakdown of an LTT video:

1.AdSense before video starts - Intro - (2.Video Sponsor, if not Sponsored Content) - main video - (3.sometimes repeat of sponor-or other sponsor) - outro - 4. LTT sponsors (affiliate, merch etc)

 

Where does the ad-ception end? As I said i know Linus videos need A LOT of money to be made, but lets be realistic. There has to be some kind of corporate greed here. Its not like they are going bankrupt and they NEED all these.

 

Please no childish answers like "if you don't like it don't watch it". I am entitled to criticize anything I paid indirectly by watching ads. And A LOT of them.

I love LTT videos, but it seems they become more ads than actual content as time goes on.

 

I really think they should re-evaluate whats more important. Is it worth it to have crazy content, with thousand dollars worth of products, shot and produced with VERY expensive equipment, if it means the majority of the videos will be sponsored content?

Breakdown of an LTT video on Floatplane: Intro - Main video - outro

 

$3/month

[Spotty]

5 minutes ago, lambrosgg said:

I prefer 7 videos a week with 1 being sponsored than 12 videos in a week with 10 sponsored.

In an ideal world this would be great, however it can't always be the case.

A lot of the time with sponsored videos the item being showcased is under an embargo. This means that the item hasn't been officially launched yet, and they don't want the youtubers putting their content up before the official launch of the product. They may send out the device/item that is being showcased a few weeks early to the youtubers and ask that they make 1 or 2 videos on the product, and as part of the sponsorship deal state that the video must be posted on launch day or within a week or whatever.
Also worth considering with new products, whichever youtuber has the content up first will get more views. If they're a week late to a new product launch then their viewership will be less as a lot of the audience would have already seen it on other channels. This is a serious concern for LTT since they're a Canadian company and often miss out on a lot of the new smart phone launches since its Canadian release date may differ to its American release date.

This is pure speculation, but I imagine this embargo situation was most likely the case for both the OnePlus and the Honor phone sponsored videos being released in the same week. It's just when the phones are launching.

[lambrosgg]

13 minutes ago, Spotty said:

In an ideal world this would be great, however it can't always be the case.

A lot of the time with sponsored videos the item being showcased is under an embargo. This means that the item hasn't been officially launched yet, and they don't want the youtubers putting their content up before the official launch of the product. They may send out the device/item that is being showcased a few weeks early to the youtubers and ask that they make 1 or 2 videos on the product, and as part of the sponsorship deal state that the video must be posted on launch day or within a week or whatever.
Also worth considering with new products, whichever youtuber has the content up first will get more views. If they're a week late to a new product launch then their viewership will be less as a lot of the audience would have already seen it on other channels. This is a serious concern for LTT since they're a Canadian company and often miss out on a lot of the new smart phone launches since its Canadian release date may differ to its American release date.

This is pure speculation, but I imagine this embargo situation was most likely the case for both the OnePlus and the Honor phone sponsored videos being released in the same week. It's just when the phones are launching.

Even those videos being "pre-review" embargoed are under special embargoes. Steve on GN talked about companies giving embargoes about unboxing, external characteristics, setting up, criticizing it as ridiculous and "free advertisements" for the products.

 

The point is not what or how the sponsors are in the videos, but how much/often. Does it really matter if the ad is for a phone or a vacuum? Its for the company to decide on which channel they will get the most audience for their product, for the youtuber money is money and unless its something offending, it should be ok.

 

My whole point is: What we want the LTT channel to be? mostly sponsored content with the occasional "normal" content or mostly "normal" content with the occational sponsored video?

[LAwLz]

LinusTechTips is an advertisement channel and has been for the past couple of years. You subscribe to get ads into your subscription box.

People on this forum are generally extremely defensive about this cold hard truth because they like the ads. They feel somewhat of a personal connection to Linus and will therefore defend him religiously.

 

It's kind of bizarre because to me, defending Linus' crappy videos by saying "they have to make money" makes about as much sense as defending Battlefront 2's terrible lootbox system with "but EA has to make money!".

 

I have given up on giving constructive criticism, and I recommend you do too.

[porina]

Done right I don't have a problem with it, and generally they do it right. Who here watches LTT for entertainment, and how many for detailed in depth analysis? I'm guessing not many in the latter camp. In a parallel way, I don't watch Top Gear Grand Tour when deciding what car to get next. You know Linus and the crew, and what they get up to. Sometimes silly, sometimes worse. If you like it, stick around. If you don't, other 'tubers are available.

[lewdicrous]

27 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

- snip -

I kinda get the analogy, but you can't compare something we get for free with something you have to buy.

You don't have to pay for floatplane, for example, but you have to buy battlefront in order to play; the reason people don't like loot boxes and micro-transactions is because they [EA] want you to pay for more things even though you already bought the game, while Linus doesn't force you into paying for his videos.. we are defending free content.

[Spotty]

1 minute ago, lewdicrous said:

You don't have to pay for floatplane, for example,

Floatplane is $3/month per channel you subscribe to.