So does motortrend not post full length videos to YouTube anymore?

"DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever" (eg6)
07/23/2018 at 11:27 • Filed to: None

Or are they just going to wait till the ‘season’ is over before posting the full videos to YouTube?

DISCUSSION (16)

facw > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever
07/23/2018 at 11:34

Don’t know specifics, but this FP article is an interesting read on Motortrend leaving and the challenges of Youtube :

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Also Doug’s comment is quite insightful:

I find it disappointing that this article states “YouTube sucks” as if that’s an accepted fact. YouTube has flaws, but I don’t think you can simply state that it “sucks” and move on with the rest. I look at that with the same disapproval I did when people used to tell me “Jalopnik sucks” back when I proudly worked for this site.

I don’t think YouTube sucks, and I’m surprised to see so many people blaming YouTube for Motor Trend’s misguided decision to leave the platform. I got an economics degree, and one of the very basic things I learned back then was that if your business is failing, there are two ways to increase profits: improve revenue, or cut costs. Everyone seems to be focused on the former — dastardly YouTube won’t let Motor Trend survive!!! — but what about the latter? Why is no one suggesting they cut costs? How come no one is blaming Motor Trend?

I saw MT’s production setup at the Ford GT launch last year, and I was shocked at how involved it is. Many production guys, multiple rental vans, many expensive cameras, etc. etc. I also made a video at the Ford GT launch with a camcorder, an iPhone, and a tripod. My video got more views than theirs.

I love MT’s videos and I will pay to subscribe on MotorTrend.com, but there’s a question here no one is asking: Why are they spending thousands of dollars to create a video that goes on YouTube? To me, this would be like buying a minor league baseball team, paying millions to sign MLB players, then you’re shocked you aren’t bringing in the same revenues. Well, sure, you’re the best, but you’re still playing in the minor leagues, in a 15,000-seat stadium, against the Reno Tube Socks, with a fourth-inning promotion to give away a 2009 Dodge Caliber.

I get that we want nice content. But has anyone considered that maybe that simply isn’t what YouTube is designed for? Maybe TV-quality stuff doesn’t make sense there? I like sunflowers, but I wouldn’t plant them in the vase I have on my kitchen table. Maybe YouTube shouldn’t be blamed for not being everything to everyone.

YouTube may “suck” for some creators who are spending a lot of money to create videos, but it doesn’t suck for me. It doesn’t suck for Hoovie’s Garage, or Tavarish, or Engineering Explained, or Vehicle Virgins, or dozens of us who make popular content without 5 cameras, a sound guy, three microphone people, and two rented minivans. I love Motor Trend and I will continue to watch. But there’s a lot of car content on YouTube, and many of us are just getting started.

CaptDale - is secretly British > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever
07/23/2018 at 11:38

No, they have their own pay to watch subscription video site now.

DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever > facw
07/23/2018 at 11:38

So I guess Motor Trend is like the guy that went out and got a loan to buy a new car so he could do Uber full time thinking he could pay off the car and his mortgage doing that.

Takuro Spirit > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever
07/23/2018 at 11:48

They’re just teaser trailers to get you to go to MTOD.com and sign up to watch the large percentage of the videos that AREN’T free, never will be free, or will only be free for a limited time.

Frenchlicker > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever
07/23/2018 at 12:25

They post teasers there mainly. Peeves you can still watch free on their website. However instead of waiting one month for the most recent episodes it is now two months for free.

E92M3 > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever
07/23/2018 at 12:27

YouTube cut ad revenues across the board , so MT switched to their own subscription model. It costs money to produce videos of their quality. Print revenue has been dwind ling for a lo ng time, so they must have a digital platform that is profitable to stay in business. I think they learned peopl e will wai t a month for the video to be free, than to pay a monthly subscription.

That’s the main reason Matt Farah passed the torch on “ One Takes” . Even with zero editing, the time spent scheduling the cars, and driving to and from the canyons, uploading the videos..etc, was no longer worth it for $150 per video. . He could use those hours and make more money doing something else with that time. He can make the same amount of money spending 1- 2 hours writing a freelance article for ano ther outlet. Or using that time to land better podcast advertising (like he’s done with Hagerty). Of course he was still workin g with /Drive when he made the decision to hand One Takes over to Zack. I’m sure his fiance got tired of him commiting a day of every weekend to it also, especially with how much he was out of town during the week.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever
07/23/2018 at 12:28

MT and Discovery Communications Velocity channel merged; and I’m sure the new company has a stupid multi-hyphenated name to go along with their enormous and unrealistic aspirations.

I vaguely recall Discovery Com being saddled with debt, so no doubt this is an attempt to print money so they can pay off their outstanding loans. Shame it will likely kill everything that was worthwhile about watching MT videos in the process.

I have not watched any of the new Roadkill vids as a result of them putting all their content behind their insipid paywall. And I get that nothing gets made for free, but their “free” episodes are so riddled with ads as to be unwatchable. I am fine with an un-skip-able ad before an epiosde, maybe even one in the middle if it is an especially long video; ~30 minutes plus. Guess that isn’t enough ad money though.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever
07/23/2018 at 12:31

MT is working on migrating over to their own on-demand video platform. All they post on YouTube anymore is previews. It’s due to the changes YT made to the way videos are monetized.

DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever > Frenchlicker
07/23/2018 at 12:33

Damn, I know I’ve already used a free trial once, guess I’ll have to make a new gmail or something to get some more outta them.

DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever > E92M3
07/23/2018 at 12:35

I can understand the one takes not being profitable, but IIRC with stuff like ignition and head2head, they didn’t even try to get their own sponsors like Roadkill did with Optima and JEGS.

RickSanchez:Fury Road Edition aka Junkrat > facw
07/23/2018 at 13:06

Doug summed it up perfectly.

My X-type is too a real Jaguar > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever
07/23/2018 at 13:16

Watch for specials I got a year for 29.99. Worth it for more roadkill garage

DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever > My X-type is too a real Jaguar
07/23/2018 at 13:29

I just realized now that I game on PC, I don’t have to pay for Xbox live and can use that money for MTOD!

nafsucof > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever
07/23/2018 at 14:30

i watch it on amazon prime

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever
07/23/2018 at 15:33

Motor Trend is part of Discovery so it's more like they got investors to give them millions of dollars so they could buy a new car and Uber full time.

Frenchlicker > DC3 LS, Fuck Hyundai, now and forever
07/23/2018 at 20:09

You can still watch a majority of it for free. Just look for the stuff without a lock emblem.