Quadrupling the the price for LTT on Float plane. just to start!!!!

[wANKER]

Wait, it's $8 per channel? 

Was, $3 per channel?

 

That's absolutely insane. 

The fact they expect it to work/succeed is even more insane..... 

 

Wasn't Netlifx around $8 before their price increase (now $10) 

[TetraSky]

Couldn't you just subscribe to Floatplane, once or twice a year, watch the exclusive content and end your subscription there since everything else is free on Youtube anyway?

[Linus > Brandon]

2 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

Couldn't you just subscribe to Floatplane, once or twice a year, watch the exclusive content and end your subscription there since everything else is free on Youtube anyway?

I think that defeats the whole purpose of floatplane.  But it definitely is a work around.

[Pixel5]

where does that info come from?

 

i got floatplane since over a year and havent heard of this.

[Linus > Brandon]

1 minute ago, Pixel5 said:

where does that info come from?

 

i got floatplane since over a year and havent heard of this.

wan show on youtube.  40 minute mark.  Enjoy

 

 

[williamcll]

Just go on bilibili 

[LogicalDrm]

$5 for just LTT is my limit. Maybe I could pay $8 for all LMG content, but honestly I only watch LTT videos anyway. At the moment these subscriptions are taking my tech-subscription spot which is €80 yearly. And I pay for 2x3/mo.

[harryk]

I'd like to hear from Linus or Luke or someone what the 5/10/20 years plan is for Floatplane? Is it forever going to be a luxury with little real tangible value like Patreon? Or do they actually envision building up a large viewer base?

 

At $3 or $5 per channel I don't see it becoming a real hub for content because subscribing to many channels gets expensive quick. Even if they make more videos exclusive or ditch Youtube entirely. I might subscribe to one or two channels at that rate, but not the 50+ I currently follow on Youtube.

 

I know they have repeatedly described Floatplane as a safety net but what's the actual crash plan? I think a majority of people who would subscribe on Floatplane already have, and increasing pricing isn't going to help with that. I doubt we'll ever see it but I would be interested in seeing plots of the subscription rate over time.

 

What's the average revenue per subscriber/regular-viewer on Youtube? If every subscriber immediately switched to Floatplane how much would they have to pay to match the Adsense revenue? 

 

[Princess Luna]

9 hours ago, SenKa said:

Floatplane comes with perks beyond early access and I would love to be a part of the community, but such is as it is.

In all fairness the "community" is dead ever since they took FP away from the Forum.

 

"Early access" has always been a tough sell to me, given all the content will end up on YouTube soon or later. Same goes to "ad-free" not like skipping the advertise on the beginning/ending of the video on YouTube is much hassle.

 

I believe the best part was indeed contribution and community, having a way to interact any closer to the staff and what not but that hasn't been the case since they ported FP to a separated environment.

 

I'm Bronze Contributor because I love the Forum, FP was a thrown bonus which I enjoyed when it was part of the Forum, but the floatplane website is still not in a state I can be bother to use it, it's an inferior experience to using YouTube as a whole so in a way I just wait it to be on YouTube despite still having a subscription to it.

 

I obviously don't want to demean Slick's work on Floatplane, I understand it has been a really difficulty road for him and lots of results were obtained this far however this business as is seems very difficult to take off far.

[Crunchy Dragon]

9 hours ago, dizmo said:

Do they take out the Linus inserted ads in the videos?

Yes, hence "ad-free viewing"

[greenhorn]

I don't want to sound ungrateful, I really appreciate all of LMG's and FMG's hard work, but I'm not a fan of such steep price increases.

I would also prefer having kind of a "floatplane all access" scheme where you pay a fixed sum per month to access all of floatplane's content. For people like me who are not using the US dollar as primary currency, I would appreciate having a way to pay the subscription fees without having to pay too much to the payment provider for currency conversion.

I know that floatplane has many expenses and needs to become profitable at some point to be able to carry on, but I guess it has to reach a certain amount of popularity and stability before this can be done or otherwise those price increases risk killing it off at some point.

[realpetertdm]

5 hours ago, Linus > Brandon said:

So I thought maybe I understood it wrong.  So I went back to the 40 minute mark on the wan show and listened to it. again.  This isn't being done to LMG channels because they are losing money.  On the contrary.  It is being done so other creators don't have a very high bar to reach.  At the 42 minute mark he clearly states this is about optics for creators and not about losing money.  It is about giving us less videos per channel so other creators don't have to put out as many videos on their channels. that way other creators can feel better about charging more for their channels.  Upon further review it actually sounds like the 5 dollar per channel thing is only  for LMG channels. It also sounds like the creators can set their own rates but it will basically start at 5 bucks for them. 

I did a quick experiment and browsed Bitwits channel on floatplane to see what it is that would entice a person to subscribe to his channel.  Here I am as someone who is already on the site with a subscription and all I can see is a Lock where the videos are supposed to be.  There is literally nothing on the page to entice a person to watch a video.  With that in mind, what is it that is going to bring people to the site and want to pay for something.  Well that is why every creator is going to have to keep a youtube channel.  They are going to either have to create special programming just for float plane and have fewer videos. Or they will have to have the same videos as they have on other streaming platforms for free just to get their counts up.  This is sounding worse and worse the more I  think about it.  If LMG adds super fun channel back on.  It will literally cost 20 bucks a month on floatplane to have everything you would have got for 3 bucks today.  In my mind I think Linus may want to rethink this whole splitting up of their channel for optics.  Basically Bring the price up for your channel to 6 bucks and leave it alone as it is the one reason people will come to floatplane and actually pay for something they already will get for free a week later.

 

When linus speaks of talking to people who come to him and tell him that he is the reason they got into tech.  That is going to dry up pretty quick.  How is some 13 or 14 year old going to be able to come up with 20 bucks a month to feel like Linus Media Group is an inclusive organization.  I think 20 bucks is so steep for people that the younger demographic is going to be left behind.

 

They already said that Floatplane was living on a very slim margin, no?

[BuckGup]

IMO Vessel was better and had loads of creators onboard from the beginning. There ability to video chat with the creator was good enough to justify $3/month for me. I was beta so I had it free but I would have paid if it hadn't died

[Ravendarat]

4 hours ago, BuckGup said:

IMO Vessel was better and had loads of creators onboard from the beginning. There ability to video chat with the creator was good enough to justify $3/month for me. I was beta so I had it free but I would have paid if it hadn't died

Vessel was a hideous business model from a corporate side, that platform slit their own throat. I understand why there isn't a flat rate to access everything, that's not sustainable at this point, as I said earlier I just have a problem with splitting up the channel under the auspices of "optics" when it very much seems like a way to just increase the cost to the currently consumed product %400+ depending on how many channels they actually split it into

[AeroBlastX]

I think I will simply just pay for lmg I can wait for the other stuff to just hit youtube(I am also subbed to Kyle) I think lmg has the most like exclusives and stuff I would like to see right now, tech quickie and the others I can wait for and I don't for see any big exclusive stuff coming up for those so yeah it's not too big a deal to me. I think making the announcement over the Wan show maybe isn't the world's best idea at least not without some sort of PR document of here's exactly what is happening as there even though you were clear on Wan show there still is like alot of confusion and stuff and speculation stuff that really isn't good. Other than that I will still continue my support to LMG but just lmg (and bitwit) thanks for the content guys

[yolosnail]

8 hours ago, Princess Luna said:

 In all fairness the "community" is dead ever since they took FP away from the Forum.

  

"Early access" has always been a tough sell to me, given all the content will end up on YouTube soon or later. Same goes to "ad-free" not like skipping the advertise on the beginning/ending of the video on YouTube is much hassle.

 

I believe the best part was indeed contribution and community, having a way to interact any closer to the staff and what not but that hasn't been the case since they ported FP to a separated environment.

 

I'm Bronze Contributor because I love the Forum, FP was a thrown bonus which I enjoyed when it was part of the Forum, but the floatplane website is still not in a state I can be bother to use it, it's an inferior experience to using YouTube as a whole so in a way I just wait it to be on YouTube despite still having a subscription to it.

 

I obviously don't want to demean Slick's work on Floatplane, I understand it has been a really difficulty road for him and lots of results were obtained this far however this business as is seems very difficult to take off far.

I agree fully with you there! The reason I joined Floatplane in the first place was for the community, the ability to have discussions about the video. But the comment section on Floatplane is abysmal at best! It's trying it's hardest to be YouTube and failing miserably. Quite a few WAN shows back Linus said that they were going to bring back the Floatplane section on the Forum once the player issues have been sorted, but I guess that plan has gone out the window

 

If I'm being honest, I don't watch TQ videos because from my point of view it's no better than those 'Top 5' channels at this point, so the only videos I watch are LTT and Techlinked, and since Techlinked is basically a simultaneous release, there's no real reason to use Floatplane except from the ads, which can be bypassed by tapping the L key a couple times!

 

Live streaming on Floatplane is beyond awful, I don't know how they managed to screw up the live streaming site that bad. I get they've been working on other things, but videos are literally unwatchable with the constant resolution changing.  The fact that to make the Live streams watchable I have to use VLC and a third party Chrome extension tells you something.

 

I know I'm being overly critical here, but if we're not then they're never going to fix anything, and it's not like I haven't said any of this before. And having said all that, I'm going to continue paying the $3 a month for now, and hopefully things start to improve.

 

As for the actual topic, I think Linus is definitely overvaluing himself here, there is absolutely no way that his 3 channels are worth $15 a month. I understand why they've priced it that way, but to say LMG content is worth more than a Netflix subscription is absolutely laughable. 

[Guest]

I won’t pay 20 bucks a month for a streaming service with as few as content as floatplane. Netflix is cheaper and has much more to offer. I like LMG a lot, but when it’s a clear rip-off, it’s hard.

[Ravendarat]

26 minutes ago, VegetableStu said:

I'd argue that's the reason prices are going up now ._.

 

on a slight tangent: Nebula is kind of a soft replacement to the science youtube channels on vessel. $5 a month, but their stream quality (from what I heard) isn't exactly great

 

they probably could afford to, because of how many users they have ._.

 

150 million * $11 per month at least for Netflix. I doubt Floatplane have 1 million subscriptions? o_o I don't remember if they ever released their subscription numbers

It wouldnt shock me in the least if the sub numbers on floatplane are south of 100k for any one channel

[Lathlaer]

14 hours ago, realpetertdm said:

They already said that Floatplane was living on a very slim margin, no?

Yeah they did.

 

People who want it to be like Vessel essentially want it to be dead because this is the direction it would go.

 

Anyway, it's fine for me - I will be grandfathered to LTT channel, I don't really watch TQ and TL on FP so no loss for me.

 

I perfectly understand the concern about other creators and their side of business here. I mean, they all would have to compete with a channel that gives up 11 videos/week for $3 when they put probably one/two a week. Either they keep the price and are fine with the fact that they look terrible in comparison or they slash prices to basically charity.

 

Essentially, most of FP videos are going on YT anyway so there is really no point in complaining that it's too expensive. 

 

It's like complaining that the bottled water in the shop around the corner got more expensive when you have a drinkable free tap water accessible to you.

 

I have to say though that I do enjoy FP exclusives, like interviews with the staff and recently the VOD's from LTX panels (really enjoyed the one with Yvonne and Nick!).

[Guest]

3 hours ago, VegetableStu said:

 

they probably could afford to, because of how many users they have ._.

 

150 million * $11 per month at least for Netflix. I doubt Floatplane have 1 million subscriptions? o_o I don't remember if they ever released their subscription numbers

True, but floatplane need to compete with a smaller audience. 

[JoostinOnline]

On 8/3/2019 at 12:15 AM, Crunchy Dragon said:

Ad-free videos, exclusive content, and earlier videos seem a lot like special perks to me.

It's not. Those are very standard features for a paid subscription service.

 

I can't really see people wanting to join Floatplane unless they create some kind of multi-channel deal.

[TheKDub]

1080p is moving to $5/month for each of the LMG channels. (LinusTechTips, TechQuickie, TechLinked? [Can't really see anyone subscribing to TechLinked if it splits off into its own channel on FP since it's simultaneous release only.]) I know they're working on resurrecting Channel Super Fun, so perhaps that will be added too.

 

Channels split up to put less pressure on other creators, since $5/month for as much content is being pumped out on the current LTT channel wouldn't be even close to sustainable for smaller creators. 
 

I personally wouldn't pay the additional $5 for TechQuickie, and I'm not sure if they're splitting TechLinked off, but if they are, I wouldn't pay another $5 for it either. I will continue my $3 subscription to the LTT channel though, since that's worth it to me for early access to ad-free videos, floatplane exclusives, and the floatplane chat on Discord.

Unlike plenty of people in this thread, I'm not upset about them splitting up the channels. I think they might be stretching some of their content a little thin, like how TechQuickie only posts two 4-6 minute videos per week. TechLinked isn't as bad with three 6-8 minute videos per week, but since they're also released on YouTube at the same time, not much reason subscribe to it on FP as previously mentioned.

 

I think it's a good thing that they're doing this, that way you don't have smaller creators coming to the platform having to compete with the massive amount of content that LMG pumps out. Smaller creators that only pump out 1-3 videos a week wouldn't be able to charge much of anything if competing with LTT putting out 12+ videos per week for $3/month.

 

It's their decision. If it doesn't work out, they'll see that with changes in subscribers for the various channels, and I'm sure they'll adjust accordingly.

 

If you don't like what they're doing? Tell them with your money and don't subscribe.

[RadiantZephyr]

20 hours ago, comander said:

You don't have to subscribe every month. 

 

In theory you could subscribe to 2-3 things one month and then 2-3 things the next month. 

 

I would compare this against cable TV, which is $100 a month or more. FP is in some sense an inferior good but it's much more economical. 

With all due respect to that comparison, it's apples to oranges. Cable TV streams live content 24/7 on 125+ channels at the $100 price range. (Basing this on Charter since it has no contracts.) If you do that math, it's ~$0.81 per channel per month.

 

If we were to compare this service to a more comparable platform like Netflix, Hulu, or even the new Disney platform, you can see how this "per channel subscription" model does not sit well with anyone, especially when you can view most of the content on YouTube free if you're patient enough. I love the potential an idea like this has, but in a world of competition, this most likely will not work.

 

Now don't get me wrong, I'm an avid fan of the tech community, but I, like many others, cannot afford to view all of their content at this rate.

[adman29]

Look, for poor people it's just a shit deal, but hey I've got youtube, and I'll watch everything there. If I ever get rich I might go ahead and support them on floatplane, but I think they've got enough money as is and would probably throw some at patreons of people that I like.

[thinwalrus]

Its funny how someone can think advertisements are worth as much as original content from HBO, Netflix, Amazon Prime etc.