Been seeing some other hunting and fishing channels getting pretty much shut down by youtube in the last couple days, BHOD get that dreaded email too?
No, we haven't been demonetized at this time. For clarification, they aren't shutting anyone down or removing channels/videos. They're simply taking away people's ability to make money by posting hunting content. The net effect may indeed be the same, but for now, their channels and videos are still available to watch. YouTube is owned by Google, and they hate anything that isn't PC or "woke", so none of this surprises me in the least. Frankly, I'm surprised it's taken them this long to start cracking down. We've been having conversations for years that this day was going to come, which is a large part of why we didn't focus on YouTube earlier than we did. The problem with hitching your wagon to YouTube is that you're not in control of the platform. There are no contracts. No guarantees. Nothing. If and when they decide you're expendable, you're out. And there is nobody to appeal or talk to. You're just done. Hence the reason we've been adamant about having control of how we make money and where our content is distributed. You can take us off YouTube or even remove our Roku channel, but this website will always be the primary hub for our content. YouTube accounts for a very small portion of our business. If it was taken away today it would suck, but we would be just fine. Unlike some of these shows that rely on YouTube monetization for 100% of their income. That's a scary proposition.
Get ready for the new merica. It’s coming like a freight train that’s unable to stop. Just look at about any 20 something aged person you know. Maybe it is just my experience but finding a conservative one…good luck and they are turning out at the polls more than ever before. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hey @Justin , are you eating fresh elk tenderloins? Anxiously waiting to hear how your elk hunt went. My son watches a lot of Minecraft videos on youtube, some of the bigger channels are making some pretty crazy money solely off it. Seems like a pretty volatile source of income and would have to be very nerve racking. Youtube is very "woke". Hunting content hasn't been too bad yet but they have been really cracking down on videos that are gun related. There's a guy that does a lot of instructional videos about shooting old sidelock muzzleloaders. He's had about 80% of his videos removed from his channel recently for violating "community standards". We all know what a threat old sidelock black powder rifles are and how many violent crimes are committed with them after all...
We head to Colorado on Thursday morning, start hunting on Saturday. So I've got a couple of looooong days in the office to get through first! LOL As for YouTube - apparently, they've updated their guide on monetization effective 8/1. As it pertains to hunting, you will no longer be able to monetize your hunting videos if you show the impact/kill shot or any of the processing of the animal after it's dead. So basically, all of the good stuff. Here is the direct quote from Google's advertiser-friendly content guidelines: Hunting content where there’s no depiction of graphic animal injuries or prolonged suffering. Hunting videos where the moment of kill or injury is indiscernible, and with no focal footage of how this dead animal is processed for trophy or food purposes. People are going to ***** and moan about it, but in the end, that's all this is going to amount to. All of the hunting channels will start blurring out the impacts and you can kiss your game processing videos goodbye. You can still make them and post them, but if you can't make any money, people are going to lose motivation to create content. Removing people's ability to monetize their content is a clever way to get them to stop making it, without actually banning it. The struggle for people who make their money on YouTube is the costs and added overhead of moving their content elsewhere. You need to invest in building a website, a mobile app, a Roku channel, an Apple TV channel, etc. Then you need to pay to host all of your videos since it's no longer free, and then worry about selling your own advertising and marketing yourself to get traffic to these new avenues. So now you are a tech person, a web developer, a salesperson, a lawyer (writing contracts), an accountant, and whatever other roles you need to run a "real" business. It's not quite as simple as putting up a YouTube video and waiting for them to send you a check. Once again, these are the very real dangers of putting all of your eggs into Google's basket and letting them be the decision-makers of who gets to make money and who doesn't.
what all other platforms, other than the website and YouTube can the show be watched? I know I have the roku channel which is my preference but I find myself watching on my phone the last 2 years as I'm out numbered by kids and never get to watch what i want on the tv. also I know a lot of the googans can be.... a lot... but lots of them are dealing with this now, so might be worth keeping tabs on where they settle because wherever they end up will have an instant boost in viewers
Sounds like you guys have chosen the right trail. It would be a tough pill to swallow to get something up and going as big as BHOD and then have to swap over to totally different platform. BTW good luck on the Elk hunt. Hope you guys get a bruiser !
Ways to watch Bowhunt or Die: - Bowhunting.com - YouTube - Roku - Apple TV - BHOD Mobile app (Apple or Android) If you're a phone watcher, the mobile app is a good way to go. You'll get a push notification when new episodes are live, and it's super easy to use. The reality is, those guys aren't going anywhere until they don't allow them to make money with fishing content. Some of them may post hunts from time to time, but they pale in comparison to the amount of views they get on their fishing videos. It's an easy decision for them. Pull the hunting stuff and focus on what makes you money. Also, the main problem with going somewhere else is that advertisers need to go there as well. Sure, you can pull up stakes and go to Rumble or start a new streaming platform, but without viewers and large-scale advertisers, you're never going to get the same money you get on YouTube. That's why they have a stranglehold on the video creator market. So you become like the rest of us - selling advertising/sponsorships to endemic partners within the industry. Then you get accused of being corporate sellouts by everyone.
I thought you must've already gone elk hunting. Here in Idaho they are most vocal the last two weeks of September, I'm really looking forward to this weekend. Best of luck on the hunt...and managing to do anything productive at work the next two days (not gonna happen).
Our elk hunt is a bit of a crazy saga. We got halfway to Colorado last year when we got the call from the outfitter that everyone in camp tested positive for Covid. So they pulled the plug on the entire thing and we diverted to Nebraska to deer hunt for a few days. Since our hunt had to get rescheduled for this year, we didn't have many (or any) options on which dates to go. This was the only week they could fit us in. So we are going to start driving out tomorrow morning with the plan to roll into camp sometime on Friday afternoon, then start hunting on Saturday morning. Weather looks great so I'm hoping for some action!
people really watch fishing videos? (I mean, ones not featuring wanna-be Instagram butt models in bikinis, that is) I love to fish, and I literally can't think of anything less interesting than watching someone fish on TV (OK, maybe tied with golf.) At least with watching someone hunt on TV, you usually get some good outdoor scenery and the excitement of watching an animal come in or a stalk. Fishing?
Bro. Do you live under a rock? Fishing channels on YouTube are HUGE. These kids have millions of subscribers and make six figures A MONTH off their content. Hell, the entire Googan brand was spawned from their YouTube channels and now they have entire rows of product at ****'s, Bass Pro and others.
nah, dude, I spend too much time on the internet as it is. Besides a total lack of interest, if I found another voyeur hobby my wife would definitely leave me. Watching fishing on TV would be like watching someone else watch porn but not getting to see the screen with the actual porn.
also, not going to google it- but never heard of "Googan" brand. And pre-pandemic I was in Bass Pro probably once a month and usually hit Cabela's at least 2x per year.
They really blew up last year. You can't go anywhere and not see it now. Every kid under 18 that fishes is Googan head-to-toe. And it's 100% inspired by their YT channels. Pretty crazy/cool story, really.
speaking of youtubez and content creators... wife and I were talking about the media's infatuation with this van life chick that got murdered. My wife had no idea about that wholeYouTube van life world. So I was telling her about it, and that way more often than not they feature these semi-hot chicks and their significant others, then I showed her a couple channels. She's like - if you EVER tried to pimp me out like these a*holes I would first kick you in the balls and then file for divorce. She's right- they are basically in a pimp/ho relationship. These guys get paid to film their girls prance around in skimpy clothes. So, if they actually care about these broads then they're basically paid cucks; and conversely if they don't care about them and they're just doing it for money they are literally digital pimps. ...so don't get me started on what I think about that guy who films his own daughter noodling catfish.
i know of googans because I know one of the guys Dad and go to church with him/used to play softball with him. Im more into ice fishing videos and Jay Siemens fishing videos. Jay Siemens is good content, his recent video about fly fishing artic char near the 73rd parallel was cool.
I'm pretty sure my thoughts mirror yours, but I have to be careful what I say in public. Suffice it to say, I'm not a fan.
to each their own. I'm sure people think I am nuts for watching some of the content I watch. My wife thinks me watch people dig holes all over Maryland and Virginia in hopes of digging up old corroded coins is...not rational. ...but I don't own any of their t-shirts.
