RE: Pay per view: PH Blog
Discussion
My tuppence worth, I'm done with paying for it having previously been supportive of the paid content idea.
Primarily, it's the output quality just hasn't been up to snuff. They set a very high bar when Google were bankrolling things, so perhaps my expectations were a little high, but I'd expect quality to improve after switching to a paid model, not decline. More of the same would have been fine.
Secondly, while I've no idea what's going on behind the scenes, it just feels like there's no workable plan in place. Maybe there was and it hasn't worked or something, but it's definitely feeling less polished, it's like they've accidentally released a beta version.
I do hope it works out for them though, perhaps in a few months I'll chip in again when the content is free flowing and as good as it was.
Primarily, it's the output quality just hasn't been up to snuff. They set a very high bar when Google were bankrolling things, so perhaps my expectations were a little high, but I'd expect quality to improve after switching to a paid model, not decline. More of the same would have been fine.
Secondly, while I've no idea what's going on behind the scenes, it just feels like there's no workable plan in place. Maybe there was and it hasn't worked or something, but it's definitely feeling less polished, it's like they've accidentally released a beta version.
I do hope it works out for them though, perhaps in a few months I'll chip in again when the content is free flowing and as good as it was.
Perhaps given the rather haphazard scheduling of releases, they should move to a real PPV model, i.e. charging 99p per movie.
The subscription thing is all good sounding but people's expectations of the amount, regularity and quality of content get set high (perhaps unreasonably) and once people feel it's not delivering your brand and all the great work you've done in establishing it are screwed.
Google Inc, meanwhile will just harvest the profit, allow the blame to fall outside thier useless content payment model, and go and leech on the next enthusiasts...
The subscription thing is all good sounding but people's expectations of the amount, regularity and quality of content get set high (perhaps unreasonably) and once people feel it's not delivering your brand and all the great work you've done in establishing it are screwed.
Google Inc, meanwhile will just harvest the profit, allow the blame to fall outside thier useless content payment model, and go and leech on the next enthusiasts...
Stu R said:
My tuppence worth, I'm done with paying for it having previously been supportive of the paid content idea.
Primarily, it's the output quality just hasn't been up to snuff. They set a very high bar when Google were bankrolling things, so perhaps my expectations were a little high, but I'd expect quality to improve after switching to a paid model, not decline. More of the same would have been fine.
Secondly, while I've no idea what's going on behind the scenes, it just feels like there's no workable plan in place. Maybe there was and it hasn't worked or something, but it's definitely feeling less polished, it's like they've accidentally released a beta version.
I do hope it works out for them though, perhaps in a few months I'll chip in again when the content is free flowing and as good as it was.
100% agree. I was a massive fan of them and happy to pay to watch and support them but I've lost the will with it now. Aye, it's only £2.50 but we're getting nothing like what we used to or what I believe we were promised. No NBC videos online yet and that's been going a few weeks, no video telling us what was going on after posting about it being in final edit around 2-3 weeks ago to be uploaded within 24hrs... no communication, nothing. Primarily, it's the output quality just hasn't been up to snuff. They set a very high bar when Google were bankrolling things, so perhaps my expectations were a little high, but I'd expect quality to improve after switching to a paid model, not decline. More of the same would have been fine.
Secondly, while I've no idea what's going on behind the scenes, it just feels like there's no workable plan in place. Maybe there was and it hasn't worked or something, but it's definitely feeling less polished, it's like they've accidentally released a beta version.
I do hope it works out for them though, perhaps in a few months I'll chip in again when the content is free flowing and as good as it was.
I'm grumpy today but the truth is I'm very disappointed by what I've seen so far and it seems like a total mess. I'm going to cancel today and keep an eye out for it improving. If it does, I'll happily subscribe again. For now, it's just a shambles. Sorry guys, but it's not working for me and I really, really wanted it to fly.
Andy
Went and looked at it just now...
Sadly unsubscribing was incredibly simple. One click and that's it. Compared to the hassle it took to sign up in the first place (for me at least) it seems totally the wrong way round. This is obviously a YouTube issue though, not a Drive one.
Best of luck to the Drive guys, I hope it works out one way or another for you as I understand the work you guys put in. Until the result at this side is sorted a bit though it's just not for me.
Sadly unsubscribing was incredibly simple. One click and that's it. Compared to the hassle it took to sign up in the first place (for me at least) it seems totally the wrong way round. This is obviously a YouTube issue though, not a Drive one.
Best of luck to the Drive guys, I hope it works out one way or another for you as I understand the work you guys put in. Until the result at this side is sorted a bit though it's just not for me.
SpeedBall said:
andyps said:
A good video, but in fairness it should be free as it is essentially an advert for RM Auctions and the current owner of the car.
Also - this week, evo did a 30 minute video from RM Auctions - with Harry Metcalfe. It's a fantastic piece of film that eclipses the DRIVE offering. Harry's knowledge is pretty astounding. I miss his diaries.SpeedBall said:
andyps said:
A good video, but in fairness it should be free as it is essentially an advert for RM Auctions and the current owner of the car.
Also - this week, evo did a 30 minute video from RM Auctions - with Harry Metcalfe. It's a fantastic piece of film that eclipses the DRIVE offering. Harry's knowledge is pretty astounding. I miss his diaries.kor0 said:
...I have a slight suspicion that everything aired on NBC until now is re-used content from their 2 previous years on the Youtube channel...
That was my understanding too, seems like they are repackaging earlier videos into themed NBC shows, with only the initial Monaco show as 'new' content.I'm subscribing to D+ and will be for now until videos dry up.
Biggest problem from me is lack of communication and schedule.
2/3 vidoes a week is fine for me, and I appreciate the cost of production etc - having some sort of blog with updates and a schedule (and articles etc) would be worthwhile IMO...
Biggest problem from me is lack of communication and schedule.
2/3 vidoes a week is fine for me, and I appreciate the cost of production etc - having some sort of blog with updates and a schedule (and articles etc) would be worthwhile IMO...
kor0 said:
For everyone mentioning no NBC videos yet, I don't know if you follow their Twitter feed, but I have a slight suspicion that everything aired on NBC until now is re-used content from their 2 previous years on the Youtube channel...
I hope to be proven wrong though.
I've followed Drive, JF, Chris Harris and Matt Farah since Drive started and can't tell from Twitter if this is case or not. Drive was very active on Twitter until recently, which is why I can't understand the lack of information coming through. To be honest, it's that aspect that has made me cancel rather than less overall videos. I'm not expecting a lot, 2-3 videos a week is fine. I just want something consistent.I hope to be proven wrong though.
It seems now that having aimed to keep Drive global that they've had to move to a nearly 100% US focused setup now, albeit on mainstream media. This again is fine, but tell us something please.
Also, it feels that now people are paying for content they want to get something for it. When it was free I wouldn't have been wound up by the lack of information or content (naturally, it's free!). But paying and not seeing this reflected by some sort of update or "service" it changes the whole dynamic. We become customers and customers want something for their money... even when it's only £2.50 a month.
Edited by andyp79 on Friday 5th September 10:57
Edited by andyp79 on Friday 5th September 10:59
Edited by andyp79 on Friday 5th September 11:03
I originally subbed to Drive+ as soon as it came out - but a week or so in I realised that I wouldn't be continuing past the free trial for a number of reasons.
Firstly, I only really like the content provided by Chris Harris, Matt Farah and Mike Musto. Whilst I was happy to pay for that the idea that my money would be going to fund things I wasn't interested in at all was mildly annoying.
Secondly, I feel that paying a subscription to one channel (and that channel working and becoming a big success) could open the floodgates and see a lot more channels moving to that model. Whilst I was originally happy with the idea of giving Drive £2.50 a month, I am subscribed to 92 channels on YouTube. I understand that many of them do not provide anywhere near the content or quality of /Drive however if even a quarter of those moved to a Subscription Model with the same price as /Drive would I be happy to pay the near £60 a month that would cost? The answer was no.
The Final main reason that made me cancel my subscription was a Reddit post made by Matt Farah! Admittedly he appeared to be very stressed dealing with the vitriolic reaction to the new /Drive+ model however the content of the post was very surprising to me.
Firstly, I only really like the content provided by Chris Harris, Matt Farah and Mike Musto. Whilst I was happy to pay for that the idea that my money would be going to fund things I wasn't interested in at all was mildly annoying.
Secondly, I feel that paying a subscription to one channel (and that channel working and becoming a big success) could open the floodgates and see a lot more channels moving to that model. Whilst I was originally happy with the idea of giving Drive £2.50 a month, I am subscribed to 92 channels on YouTube. I understand that many of them do not provide anywhere near the content or quality of /Drive however if even a quarter of those moved to a Subscription Model with the same price as /Drive would I be happy to pay the near £60 a month that would cost? The answer was no.
The Final main reason that made me cancel my subscription was a Reddit post made by Matt Farah! Admittedly he appeared to be very stressed dealing with the vitriolic reaction to the new /Drive+ model however the content of the post was very surprising to me.
Matt Farah said:
[–]TheSmokingTire 6 points 1 month ago
We overdelivered the first 2 years, creating a situation that is impossible to repeat. It would require nearly $3m/year to replicate that amount of content. It's just not possible. So while you make a point, that paying for something should result in more, continuous content, which it will, it can not ever be to that level again, because we just gave way too much away for free, just burning cash in the process.
I wish the /Drive team every success in perhaps finding a big backer in the vein of the MotorTrend channel etc however I'm afraid the subscription model just doesn't work for me!We overdelivered the first 2 years, creating a situation that is impossible to repeat. It would require nearly $3m/year to replicate that amount of content. It's just not possible. So while you make a point, that paying for something should result in more, continuous content, which it will, it can not ever be to that level again, because we just gave way too much away for free, just burning cash in the process.
MaximumD said:
The Final main reason that made me cancel my subscription was a Reddit post made by Matt Farah! Admittedly he appeared to be very stressed dealing with the vitriolic reaction to the new /Drive+ model however the content of the post was very surprising to me.
Hadn't seen that before - it reminds me of the way Bernd Pischetsrieder managed to destroy Rover at the same time as launching something which could save them. Essentially Farah is saying there that what people will get when they pay will be very poor compared to what they had before - talk about shooting yourself in the foot, but at least he was maybe being honest even if lacking in detail to enable a proper decision to be made.Matt Farah said:
[–]TheSmokingTire 6 points 1 month ago
We overdelivered the first 2 years, creating a situation that is impossible to repeat. It would require nearly $3m/year to replicate that amount of content. It's just not possible. So while you make a point, that paying for something should result in more, continuous content, which it will, it can not ever be to that level again, because we just gave way too much away for free, just burning cash in the process.
I wish the /Drive team every success in perhaps finding a big backer in the vein of the MotorTrend channel etc however I'm afraid the subscription model just doesn't work for me!We overdelivered the first 2 years, creating a situation that is impossible to repeat. It would require nearly $3m/year to replicate that amount of content. It's just not possible. So while you make a point, that paying for something should result in more, continuous content, which it will, it can not ever be to that level again, because we just gave way too much away for free, just burning cash in the process.
My overriding impression from this is that the people involved are not business minded - they were offered something which paid them for a couple of years during which time they managed to have a great time on the income provided btu completely forgot that it was a fixed term contract and didn't do anything about that until too late, and then what was done was half baked anyway.
At least CH said it was fun and worth trying.
KarlMac said:
SpeedBall said:
andyps said:
A good video, but in fairness it should be free as it is essentially an advert for RM Auctions and the current owner of the car.
Also - this week, evo did a 30 minute video from RM Auctions - with Harry Metcalfe. It's a fantastic piece of film that eclipses the DRIVE offering. Harry's knowledge is pretty astounding. I miss his diaries.Truckosaurus said:
Thanks. I actually missed it completely when I looked before! 
Truckosaurus said:
kor0 said:
...I have a slight suspicion that everything aired on NBC until now is re-used content from their 2 previous years on the Youtube channel...
That was my understanding too, seems like they are repackaging earlier videos into themed NBC shows, with only the initial Monaco show as 'new' content.They have a good back catalogue to use after all.
KarlMac said:
SpeedBall said:
andyps said:
A good video, but in fairness it should be free as it is essentially an advert for RM Auctions and the current owner of the car.
Also - this week, evo did a 30 minute video from RM Auctions - with Harry Metcalfe. It's a fantastic piece of film that eclipses the DRIVE offering. Harry's knowledge is pretty astounding. I miss his diaries.giblet said:
KarlMac said:
SpeedBall said:
andyps said:
A good video, but in fairness it should be free as it is essentially an advert for RM Auctions and the current owner of the car.
Also - this week, evo did a 30 minute video from RM Auctions - with Harry Metcalfe. It's a fantastic piece of film that eclipses the DRIVE offering. Harry's knowledge is pretty astounding. I miss his diaries.
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