YouTubers.

[Crow]

Can't see it being a success, I started to watch the video but I'm not a fan of pay to view YouTube channels and didn't watch to the end.

If it's £7 a month then it will be very hard to make a success of it.

YouTube golf where amateur "creators" can make a little money has had its heyday. There are far too many channels putting out similar stuff, which are now having to compete against corporate channels with star names, big money backers and professional production, and even they are struggling to get views as there are too many of those as well!

 

[Orikoru]

Agree entirely. In the early days he made such a big thing that viewers were mates not subscribers. This seems a total reversal and maybe justifies a change of title for the channel! I haven't watched much of him lately, lost the early interest and entertainment he achieved in his initial years.

Exactly that. I still follow but can't remember the last time I watched a video. They got pretty boring, seemed to be the same old same old and a lot of clickbaity titles. Will be an easy unfollow if they've made it that you have to pay. And I definitely won't be the only one.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

Can't see it being a success, I started to watch the video but I'm not a fan of pay to view YouTube channels and didn't watch to the end.

If it's £7 a month then it will be very hard to make a success of it.

YouTube golf where amateur "creators" can make a little money has had its heyday. There are far too many channels putting out similar stuff, which are now having to compete against corporate channels with star names, big money backers and professional production, and even they are struggling to get views as there are too many of those as well!

Your second point is prob key

Up until recently the market was just those PGA pros or club golfers etc

But as soon as the Big Tour names come along with the full production team then the market gets flooded and those “little” ones will be pushed out

A money game again

 

[timd77]

That’s very brave going behind a paywall. Seems a bit of a short term view of making some money now, but surely the drop off will be huge and probably rapid. Like others, I used to watch his religiously but they became very samey.

I watch loads of YouTube golf, as much as actual tv I’d say. Grant horvat, Pete finch, Rick Shiels and bryan bros being the main ones, plus others when they have a decent guest/format, they’re all really well produced, as good as watching tv. If any of them went behind a paywall I wouldn’t watch them, no question. I refuse to pay YouTube their fee to avoid all the adverts and the other benefits that come with it, so you can bet your life I’m not paying to watch one channel!

 

[Orikoru]

That’s very brave going behind a paywall. Seems a bit of a short term view of making some money now, but surely the drop off will be huge and probably rapid. Like others, I used to watch his religiously but they became very samey.

I watch loads of YouTube golf, as much as actual tv I’d say. Grant horvat, Pete finch, Rick Shiels and bryan bros being the main ones, plus others when they have a decent guest/format, they’re all really well produced, as good as watching tv. If any of them went behind a paywall I wouldn’t watch them, no question. I refuse to pay YouTube their fee to avoid all the adverts and the other benefits that come with it, so you can bet your life I’m not paying to watch one channel!

100%. Whenever I'm on my own at home, it's YouTube I stick on, and the fact it's free is the beauty of it really. So much so, I cancelled our TV licence since we were barely watching live TV at all. Saved myself £175.

 

[MACM85]

Generally it doesn’t work - but Liam has a decent following so you never know.
As I commented on his Facebook post on the subject - yesterday Bryson, Phil, Grant and Garret released a 60 minute video (1.1 million views in 12 hours) Poults released one with the Murray brothers (33K views on a channel with 5000 subs) - both are excellently and professionally produced with some of the biggest names in their respective sports. The algorithm will push those vids over Liams.
The guy has done countless giveaways, built a great community, and supported a lot of other people with charity events etc - all for nowt to the user. I’ve joined up - help the guy out. It’s hard work running a small business right now in the UK, let alone a golf You Tube channel in a rapidly changing market.

If Golf Mates got a fifth of their subscribers to join up then he would be earning £326,200 a month. Take that on an annual basis is just shy of £4m

Personally I feel he should have just had an annual charge of £30/£40 and gone down that route. I can't see what value for money is going to be from this way of monthly subscription. Isn't there already Youtube memberships available?

 

[Slab]

If Golf Mates got a fifth of their subscribers to join up then he would be earning £326,200 a month. Take that on an annual basis is just shy of £4m

Personally I feel he should have just had an annual charge of £30/£40 and gone down that route. I can't see what value for money is going to be from this way of monthly subscription. Isn't there already Youtube memberships available?

I wondered about this and with so many golf creators telling us that their stats say that 80% of views are from non-subscribers, the number of active subscribed viewers could be much less

The channel seems to average about 40k per video, so if only 20% are subscribers/followers that’s just 8k of the followers to work with who may go paywall. Now if 20% of those actually subscribe to the paywall service as suggested that’s 2k ppl and only £14,000 per month

Difficult to see a business like that surviving on so little revenue


my numbers are only working on what other channels have said about viewers so could be out by a little/lot

 

[MACM85]

I wondered about this and with so many golf creators telling us that their stats say that 80% of views are from non-subscribers, the number of active subscribed viewers could be much less

The channel seems to average about 40k per video, so if only 20% are subscribers/followers that’s just 8k of the followers to work with who may go paywall. Now if 20% of those actually subscribe to the paywall service as suggested that’s 2k ppl and only £14,000 per month

Difficult to see a business like that surviving on so little revenue


my numbers are only working on what other channels have said about viewers so could be out by a little/lot

Youtube membership would have been the better option. However they would have to share whatever they got in with youtube.

Least this way now they take 100% of the earnings.

Golfmates is a channel I find quite tedious to watch. All the same set up, Only generally play a few holes rather than the entire course. The usual faces every video.

I don't think youtube is as financially rewarding as it used to be. He has a few editors/camera guys. Presume he pays the guys who appear on most videos and he has to take a wage from it.

 

[simsini]

£7 a month for Golfmates? When the likes of Phil Mickelson are posting hour long chipping videos for free.

 

[Springveldt]

Didn’t Andy Murray only just take his 1st golf lesson a couple of years back?

Lad can flush it if he catches one right. He’s actually got some decent deadpan comedy in him as well.

I'd imagine being number 1 in the world at tennis would translate pretty well to golf. It's a rotation sport as well that requires great hand to eye co-ordination. I think Nadal is down to scratch as well and I'm betting Murray will be scratch in the not distance future.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

I'd imagine being number 1 in the world at tennis would translate pretty well to golf. It's a rotation sport as well that requires great hand to eye co-ordination. I think Nadal is down to scratch as well and I'm betting Murray will be scratch in the not distance future.

Alcaraz is now playing a lot of golf with Murray

A lot of those racquet and bat sports will transfer well into golf with the co ordination and rotation

It’s why imo I picked up golf well after playing lots of hockey and cricket

Some just need to not play the cover drive when playing golf

 

[simsini]

Alcaraz is now playing a lot of golf with Murray

A lot of those racquet and bat sports will transfer well into golf with the co ordination and rotation

It’s why imo I picked up golf well after playing lots of hockey and cricket

Some just need to not play the cover drive when playing golf

With cricket though, the right arm collapses in the back lift, a huge no no for golf.

 

[Springveldt]

Bold move, not sure if its easily reversible if it doesn’t convert enough followers to be subscribers. Seven quid a month isn’t cheap for limited streamed content
I guess he’ll get an initial euphoric rush that’ll quickly tail off as each subscriber hits any personal financial hiccup or don’t see the vfm etc

The biggest thing he'll need to adjust to is that his 'golf mates' are no longer his mates and are now his customers and will have diff expectations/requirements

£7 a month to watch however many videos he puts out compared to £10 a month for Netflix? Bold pricing strategy but I guess if he gets gets only 10% of his subscribers to sign up for a year he'll makeover £1M from it. 10% uptake might be a bit high though.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Didn’t Andy Murray only just take his 1st golf lesson a couple of years back?

Lad can flush it if he catches one right. He’s actually got some decent deadpan comedy in him as well.

He played when he was younger, largely stopped when tennis took over. Is now playing a lot, lots of free time. He wasn't new to the game. I believe his brother, Jamie, is also very good, talented duo.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

He played when he was younger, largely stopped when tennis took over. Is now playing a lot, lots of free time. He wasn't new to the game. I believe his brother, Jamie, is also very good, talented duo.

Don’t both of them play off scratch now ?

Murray played as a kid but started taking it more seriously when he retired hence taking lessons for the first time

 

[Orikoru]

I'd imagine being number 1 in the world at tennis would translate pretty well to golf. It's a rotation sport as well that requires great hand to eye co-ordination. I think Nadal is down to scratch as well and I'm betting Murray will be scratch in the not distance future.

I used to play tennis as a kid, and was pretty decent at it for a while. Hasn't helped my golf that much.

I love Nadal's swing, go and watch it - he plays golf right-handed, and his golf swing looks exactly like his two-handed backhand from tennis, it's amazing.

 

[Springveldt]

I used to play tennis as a kid, and was pretty decent at it for a while. Hasn't helped my golf that much.

I love Nadal's swing, go and watch it - he plays golf right-handed, and his golf swing looks exactly like his two-handed backhand from tennis, it's amazing.

Maybe you weren't as good at tennis as you thought you were?

 

[Orikoru]

Maybe you weren't as good at tennis as you thought you were?

I didn't say I was good! Probably just shy of Nadal and Murray's level.

 

[pendodave]

I think that the only piece of YouTube content I'd be prepared to pay for is of a youthful Orikoru skippng about in his flannels like a young Tim Henman...

As for the rest, not sure really. Maybe a one-off fee for a Dan Grieve offering?
As someone who enjoys pottering about on bikes, I might pay a small amount for GCN, but they're far, far better than golf mates.
It's a shame that YouTube seems to have changed its model to squeeze out this sort of amateur-level content provider, but that just seems to be the way of it.

 

[chico]

I enjoy the Golfmates channel but not to the extent of paying 6.99 a month.
Most of the benefits he talks about wouldn't apply to me.
Having 2 golf pros giving tips whilst there's thousands on you tube you get for free. Shotscope discount how often would that get used?
I hope it works out for him but I can see it being a slow steady decline. Even to the extent I'll probably not watch any of the channels vlogs if the best are being kept behind a pay wall.