Yesterday, Motor Trend experienced a watershed moment as they are moving all their content off YouTube. And some folks are not happy about it.
Motor Trend has a big announcement for you guys, as evidenced by the video below. From this point forward, their content will be hosted exclusively off YouTube’s platform. By and large, YouTube commenters’ responses to the move have been negative. Why? The reason could be that the company’s spinning off its video content into a paid subscription service. For the next ten days (from March 19, 2018) – the service is 50% off, or $2.99/month. However, when that promotional period ends, it stands to reason the price will go up to around $6.00/month, or $48.00/year.
Now, they still stand as one of the titans in automotive journalism. In print form, they’ve been around since 1949. They’ve been around for the lion’s share of the 20th century, and continue to produce print content today. However, as media has moved online, so too has the business model surrounding its production. Rather than focusing on print content, publishers are moving to video content instead. That’s the driving premise behind YouTube, and the motivation behind Motor Trend’s move off the platform as well. What do you think of their decision? Let us know in the comments below!
Moving away from YouTube: Bad move?
Some comments out there consider it bad news. One YouTube user writes:
“Sad day here on Youtube. As some of you might have heard the rumors are true. Motor Trend has indeed committed youtube suicide. We all saw the signs, decrease in content, teaser videos, deletion of comments, then the likes and dislikes, small extra’s videos etc… RIP Motor Trend it was a good ride while it lasted. Seems like the gearhead world is dwindling more and more.”
Notably, the company’s YouTube channel does not allow comments on any of its videos. Nor have they allowed comments on their written posts for awhile now. Other comments have been a bit more direct, such as “Motor Trend f—ed up”. Others blamed Motor Trend’s social media presence:
“They had terrible social media management for the last 2 years….couldn’t grow from a print magazine into YouTube…team was too big…too many employees…and they were a large company.”
It’s worth noting that, with a YouTube subscriber base of 5.5 million users, Motor Trend is one of the larger channels on the platform. The channel’s debut video content dates back to September 2008. Considering YouTube’s own immense user base, some aren’t seeking to follow the company to their “Motor Trend On Demand” service.
While some aren’t supporting the decision, and not signing up for a subscription service, others are looking at it in what may be the first in an exodus of content creators from the YouTube platform:
“YouTube is not what it once was for content creators. I’m not going to say it’s a sinking ship but if I was a betting man, this move won’t be an uncommon one in the near future.”
What are your thoughts on Motor Trend’s recent decision, TFLcar community? Let us know in the comments below!
Loading ...
