Photo: screenshot from DriveTribe
When it was launched on November 28th, 2016, the digital automotive community platform DriveTribe held great promise. Combining the qualities of CarThrottle and a social network such as Facebook, some people expected DriveTribe to be the next big thing in how we consume automotive media. But the truth of the matter is, the platform founded by Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond is £12.5 million in the red.
The Mirror writes that the company filed accounts showing how DriveTribe lost “£8.3 million in 2017 on top of a £4.2 million loss for 2016.” Considering that the website is 21 months old and member registrations aren’t going up, it’s safe to assume that the profit hasn’t been of utmost importance for the three amigos when they came up with their network.
As a side note, yours truly submitted his own tribe on the network ahead of the official launch, but the tribe in question didn’t go anywhere at all. The underwhelming experience is mirrored by other people who tried to get involved in the project, with the notable exception of all-stars such as the three presenters, Shmee 150, Salomondrin, and so forth. In other news, what started out as a community for every car lover among us became a sort of monopoly for the rich and famous.
“Papers filed at Companies House blamed losses mainly on administrative costs,” reports the cited publication. “DriveTribe has backing from investors including 21st Century Fox,” and even though nobody would return calls for a comment on this situation, the directors “assume that revenues will grow steadily through 2018 and 2019.”
Even if DriveTribe gets in the black, there’s still the problem of paying off the £12.5 million accumulated until the present moment. In other words, the only way the company can break even is to hold it out for a few more years, provided that the team behind the community does its best in terms of monetization.
In related news, The Grand Tour will be back on Amazon Prime for a third season. The first episode will air in the lattermost part of the year, and according to Jeremy Clarkson, he and his buddies aren’t done yet. On the other hand, Amazon didn’t announce if it will sign the three for further seasons of the British motoring television series.
As a side note, yours truly submitted his own tribe on the network ahead of the official launch, but the tribe in question didn’t go anywhere at all. The underwhelming experience is mirrored by other people who tried to get involved in the project, with the notable exception of all-stars such as the three presenters, Shmee 150, Salomondrin, and so forth. In other news, what started out as a community for every car lover among us became a sort of monopoly for the rich and famous.
“Papers filed at Companies House blamed losses mainly on administrative costs,” reports the cited publication. “DriveTribe has backing from investors including 21st Century Fox,” and even though nobody would return calls for a comment on this situation, the directors “assume that revenues will grow steadily through 2018 and 2019.”
Even if DriveTribe gets in the black, there’s still the problem of paying off the £12.5 million accumulated until the present moment. In other words, the only way the company can break even is to hold it out for a few more years, provided that the team behind the community does its best in terms of monetization.
In related news, The Grand Tour will be back on Amazon Prime for a third season. The first episode will air in the lattermost part of the year, and according to Jeremy Clarkson, he and his buddies aren’t done yet. On the other hand, Amazon didn’t announce if it will sign the three for further seasons of the British motoring television series.
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