RE: Pay per view: PH Blog

[mikebradford]

Intresting topic, as ive noticed we are incrasingly being asked to pay amounts now to different organisations to view content
adverts for specific series on netflix etc are just one example

Overal, it will be hard to justify paying a little to everyone. But the principle of only paying for what you actually watch is fine.

Life will be easier when the BBC license fee is scrapped! pipe dream maybe. as then everyone will have some money to spend as they wish. although i imagine the sunscription prices will rise faster over time.

also paying subscription and also having to see adverts may be the only way that people can make a business model work , but as a viewing experiance it can be annouying.

As others have hinted at, would have been great to see the Drive channel brought in by a mainstream channel. Dave would have been a great choice, and brightened up the endless topegear episodes

will have to maybe see try the free trial, before i commit to something not knowing how much content i will ultimatley get for my money.
maybe just a case of paying once every 6 months to get access to everything upto that point?

[robbieduncan]

Is there some guarantee of the amount of new content that will be added each month?

[collierrufus]

Depending on final details such as whether the subscription service on youtube has a delay compared to NBC, I'm in. Very happy to pay the subscription. Just the same as paying for Evo magazine or similar.

Would be nice to get a bit extra such as a better website with extra details. Formalisation and presentation of the material found when following Drive and the Drive hosts on Twitter for example.

[jimAtr]

I'd rather a pay-per-view/video instead of a blanket subscription. I really enjoy Drive, but only Chris' videos and the occasional big muscle and tuned, I'd prefer to pay for only what I watch rather than feel like I'm paying for content I don't watch.

[ayrton12]

So whats the point that a subscription is not available in Germany? Most of the tested cars are German, German people love their cars and there are a lot of petrol heads. I would subscribe instantly - if I had the chance to do so.

[collierrufus]

VladD said:

b14 said:

Chris, I love your videos, and will probably subscribe (depending on price), but it's difficult for me to reconcile this with all the stories about your many expensive cars - leases on FFs, shiny Range Rovers, M3 rally cars, 2CVs, M5s, 512TRs, etc etc.

I know, you aren't going to personally fund the Drive videos and I get that, but you many need to manage this perception in order to avoid a negative view on this story.

I have to disagree here. Chris's personal situation is irrelevant. Being a motoring journalist is his job and his living. He's not going to do all of this at a loss just to keep the viewers happy. We don't expect to get Evo magzine free because some of the employees own supercars. Same thing in my opinion.

Good luck Chris, I hope it goes well.

With reference to this, has anyone seen Harry Metcalfe's twitter and car collection?? Here is one of the veterans of the auto media trade who has earned quite a lifestyle and collection of cars, and deserves all of it for being business savvy and good at what he does. Chris has every right to do the same.

[jaik]

£25 per year is nothing if the quality of the content is what it's been so far. Count me in.

[sagarich]

jaik said:

£25 per year is nothing if the quality of the content is what it's been so far. Count me in.

[bluerainer101]

No doubt a lot of us are thinking it might be worth the sub, just a shame the costings weren't in there so we could make an informed decision.

[mike-r]

VladD said:

b14 said:

Chris, I love your videos, and will probably subscribe (depending on price), but it's difficult for me to reconcile this with all the stories about your many expensive cars - leases on FFs, shiny Range Rovers, M3 rally cars, 2CVs, M5s, 512TRs, etc etc.

I know, you aren't going to personally fund the Drive videos and I get that, but you many need to manage this perception in order to avoid a negative view on this story.

I have to disagree here. Chris's personal situation is irrelevant. Being a motoring journalist is his job and his living. He's not going to do all of this at a loss just to keep the viewers happy. We don't expect to get Evo magzine free because some of the employees own supercars. Same thing in my opinion.

Good luck Chris, I hope it goes well.

It's not entirely irrelevant, 'We have to pay me X, so the videos cost X+1, I won't get out of bed for X-1'. Obviously we don't have any figures, but my heart doesn't exactly bleed for inflated production costs if the host rocks up in an FF and needs his expenses paying.

[V8 FOU]

Ooh, FFS! £24.99 a YEAR. That is F all. Pay per view? Oh dear.

For such a piffling ammount I would happily pay that for 5 videos per year......


You all need to MTFU. If you want to see Chris's excellent videos, then the amount asked is very little. If you think it is too expensive, then carry on watching the endless dire TG repeats on Dave etc.

[K0409964]

I will subscribe, I think £25 for a year of programming is pretty good really, and I really enjoy the videos and Chris’s infectious enthusiasm for cars!

Chris, hope you and the team will read these comments, as amongst the moaning I suspect there will be some good points.
For me the main one is a decent delivery method, what I would really love is a new Drive episode delivered to my iPad automatically, when available, like the Economist for example (I also don’t really care if that is a week after cable TV). I can then watch on the train to work, happy days. At the moment I have to down load from YouTube and mess around like that.

I would also like regular updates.

Also Chris, is there any way you can get your content on Motors TV, or does the business case not stack up?

Good luck!

[fistenburger]

I'm in. Chris' take on cars big & small, fast & slow is good entertainment. I think the Drivers Republic thing was a bit ahead of its time, and it will be interesting to see if the subscription model will work in 2014 and beyond. Good luck chap - you deserve to make Drive+ a success!

[donteatpeople]

At that price it’s cheaper than:
- A magazine subscription
- DVDs, hour for hour
- A TV licence

Seems reasonable value to me, I’ll be subscribing.

[T1berious]

Given the production values and the content I can't help but think I'm in. It would have been nice like others have mentioned if you could get a tie in with Amazon Prime or Netflix (as I'm already tied in with lovefilm etc).

The truth is, even SWMBO "enjoyed" the few CH Vids I "showed" her. Pretty amazing, as the usual tat the UK endures as motor journalism is woeful (IMHO).

I hope it works out as millions of views to break even sounds way too dependent on stuff going viral.

[sad61t]

"...despite amassing two million views, to date has grossed us just £4,800." That's about a quarter of a penny per view; you'd make more selling 'penny-licks'. I for one don't have the slightest interest in a La Ferrari drift-o-fest so it wouldn't entice me to pay the subscription. But a penny per view? - I'd hardly notice it and /DRIVE would collect four times the advertising model amounted from the same number of views.

The adverts are strangely targeted too; I'll often skip it if it is the same as one I've seen before or completely inappropriate. Today's is at least for an S1 Quattro, so vaguely interesting.

[ContiLean]

If any of you have accrued wealth from previous endeavours, you should all do your jobs for free, or make a loss if at all possible. If you wish to be paid for your job, ensure your employer suspects you live in abject poverty.

[365daytonafan]

Maldini35 said:

A new busines model is needed clearly (understandably it has to make money) but is this it?

Advertisers are looking to align to content that has viral potential - not necessarily globally but certainly within the right community.
Sticking great content behind a paywall that relatively few will see and cannot be shared will just kill it quicker I fear.
Yes the audience will be pure and committed but if there is not enough of them then the ad space can't be justified - unless there are some serious new developments in terms of interaction, data capture & convergence etc. to help prove the ROI.

I hope I'm wrong but the Times are still struggling having made this jump a few years ago. Media agencies just can't recommend it.

I genuinely wish you the best of luck, the world would be a poorer place without your execellent work.

I will be subscribing, it's less than a monthly car mag.

Just checked and Drive has 1.1m subscribers on You tube. if 50,000 take out a yearly subscription that's nearly £1.3m in revenue. I reckon getting less than 5% of the current audience to pay should be doable over the next year or so.

Imagine there are issues such as stopping people from downloading the vids and loading them onto other sites though.

Also can you view subscription channels on youtube through the iOS app? I can find Drive+ in the browser but not when I search for it in the youtube app.

[TVRinBFG]

Chris - I really love your videos but there is too much free content out there to watch, so I wouldn't sign up.

I understand that the F40/F50 video at Angelsey cost £9,000 to shoot, and so far has had two million views, grossing just £4,800. But presumably the number of views will continue to grow and eventually like the McLaren P1 video will racked up over 3.6 million; and so eventually be in profit? And then, as you say, cheap to make videos like the McLaren one, make a profit for the expensive to make ones like the F40/F50?

Good luck with the new venture though.

Edited to add: You make brilliant films Chris, I am sure the BBC/ITV/C4/C5 etc will be calling on you soon.

Edited by TVRinBFG on Wednesday 30th July 13:36

[anonymous-user]

b14 said:

Chris, I love your videos, and will probably subscribe (depending on price), but it's difficult for me to reconcile this with all the stories about your many expensive cars - leases on FFs, shiny Range Rovers, M3 rally cars, 2CVs, M5s, 512TRs, etc etc.

I know, you aren't going to personally fund the Drive videos and I get that, but you many need to manage this perception in order to avoid a negative view on this story.

I agree. Managing perception is absolutely required. I don't begrudge anyone who has a passion and the legitimate means to fund a lifestyle. Whatever your thoughts are on Mr Clarkson (for example - other presenters are available), he doesn't make many films using vehicles from his own garage. We all know he will have a decent selection of expensive machinery but they are rarely the focus of an item.

Be wary of drawing possible negative and bitter criticism to yourself for asking people to pay to watch you drive your own expensive cars, amongst others. Personally, I'd happily pay for a channel dedicated to nothing but watching the 512TR potter about but that's just me.

I really like the Drive videos since accidentally stumbling across Chris riding shotgun in the Group B classics a few years ago. I've been surprised they've been for free in all honesty. I'd consider a subscription but have a think about toning down the 'doh, look what I've gone done and bought now' angle, or at least sell it in a different way perhaps?