Automotive Streaming Platform 'Driven' To Launch In 2026
Automotive content platforms have come and gone over the years, whether they've been traditional TV channels or online communities. A new streaming service, known as Driven, has entered the fray. With the backing of "Top Gear USA" host Tanner Foust and "Gran Turismo" actor Emelia Hartford (both of whom are also successful racers in their own right), plus producer Michael George, Driven hopes to become a one-stop shop for your car-viewing pleasure. From Variety:
Per the team behind the project, "On Driven, car fans will be able stream hundreds of hours of produced, commissioned and acquired automotive programming, from premium original series to master classes to curated content from popular creators. The platform will additionally include community-building features and forums to spark conversation and promote engagement among its users."
On the surface, that sounds a bit like the formula of DriveTribe, which ultimately failed in its original mission despite the backing of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May. However, the online content landscape has changed quite a bit since DriveTribe launched in 2016. With some smart choices, the idea might just work this time around. Unlike DriveTribe, which nobody really understood what it was, Driven seems to have some rather solid goals, including some that are quite needed these days. From The Hollywood Reporter:
After the success of Top Gear, Formula 1: Drive to Survive and The Grand Tour, and automotive and car enthusiast channels proliferating on YouTube and other social platforms, Driven will invite content creators to be co-owners of their content should it debut exclusively on the planned streaming platform."Our goal is to reshape how niche audiences experience content, conversation, and culture, minimizing industry noise and barriers in favor of authenticity, ownership, and connection," Driven CEO George said in a statement. "Driven isn't about competing with traditional media. It's about uniting the best of it. We're building a platform that solves distribution challenges for creators, brands, and audiences, while keeping authenticity and audience top of mind."
In the same article, Emelia Hartford cuts right to the chase. "Driven will give creators and talent more autonomy, and will do so in a way that allows them to give their fans exactly the kind of content they want – instead of serving an algorithm."
An idea whose time has come
Every creator I've ever known has complained about the algorithm, the mysterious and top-secret methods by which YouTube and other platforms decide what videos to suggest and promote to viewers over others. It forces them to make content for the algorithm, not the viewers, which prevents creators from pursuing topics that may interest their fans but are less popular to the general public. To be successful and profitable, creators must appeal to the mainstream, and a deep dive into the manufacturing process of the curved rear quarter windows of the AMC Pacer would only interest a small, niche audience (like me).
YouTube will also demonetize or even remove content it doesn't like, making all the hard work of creating that video worth nothing. Dangerous and illegal street racing videos would make sense to penalize, but lately, YouTube seems to have expanded its "harmful or dangerous content policy" to include legal track driving or racing videos, and even junkyard walkarounds and rebuilds of crashed cars, a major blow to all the channels that built themselves on such content. TK's Garage explains this situation in more detail. And don't even get us started on all the AI slop channels competing with legitimate human creators.
A similar formula to Driven's that has worked before is Nebula, an independent streaming service started by a group of creators who were tired of all these restrictions. Many still make videos for YouTube, but they also make exclusive content for Nebula on topics that wouldn't perform well, be banned or demonetized on other platforms, or longer, more detailed videos that dedicated fans enjoy, but the general public's short attention spans wouldn't tolerate. Since its launch in 2019, Nebula had 680,000 total subscribers as of the end of 2023 and has continued to expand its original offerings ever since. Unlike YouTube, its business model prioritizes treating both creators and customers fairly and respectfully, and it works.
If Driven copies Nebula's work with a focus on quality car content, I think it has a good chance of success. Many popular automotive creators have recently quit the big channels they were part of and struck out on their own, mainly because they got tired of the corporate algorithm-driven grind that Driven also wants to avoid. There are also many great independent creators out there, some already successful, and smaller channels yet to be discovered. It's still too early to tell if Driven will truly go in this direction or cave into corporate greed, but I hope it stays true to its word and gives us the quality automotive content we're looking for.