When Donut Media popped up on YouTube in 2015, it came out full noise with a great mix of high-energy videos and a high-contrast aesthetic that hooked a lot of new people into car culture. A half-dozen years and 5.89 million subscribers later, it’s established itself as a powerhouse of automotive entertainment. That’s why I’m stoked to announce that as of this week, Donut is joining the same media empire that presides over us at Car Autance and our friends at The Drive.
Recurrent, the parent company of this site and many others you might like, has officially acquired Donut Media making it a part of our digital family.
What does this mean for you as a reader, fan, or follower? Well, practically speaking, not much yet… but in a good way. Donut’s going to keep bringing the heat on YouTube, The Drive remains your prime source for automotive news, and Car Autance will remain true to its core mission of DIY-focused hands-on adventures. Except now we’ll have more collaborative opportunities and the biggest car media brain trust in the business to keep a steady supply of stuff for you to read and watch about all things automotive.
If you’d like to read a little more about this confluence of car media companies, my counterpart at The Drive Kyle Cheromca wrote up a comprehensive announcement on his site. AdWeek has even more details, too. Recurrent’s also issued a press release that includes some specifics on what’s happening, which you may be interested in if you’re a fan of Donut already. Here’s the meat:
“This acquisition represents a pivotal moment in our strategy, as we’re integrating a company of Donut’s caliber, magnitude, and capabilities at the ideal time,” says Recurrent CEO, Lance Johnson. “Investing in this brand, putting more resources behind its brilliant team, and enabling them with our Recurrent Playbook will only further Donut’s growth. This solidifies our dominance in the automotive vertical and establishes Recurrent’s foothold in video and social for years to come. We’re committed to delivering our audiences the best content out there, while also providing creators with the capabilities to amplify their voices across web, email, social, podcasting, and video.”
All Donut employees will be joining Recurrent. Donut co-founder and CEO Matthew Levin will continue to lead Donut’s day-to-day operations, as well as oversee Recurrent’s video strategy as SVP of Video. CCO Jesse Wood, Editor-in-Chief James Pumprey, and hosts Nolan Sykes, Zach Jobe, and Jeremiah Burton—along with the many talented creatives behind the scenes—will all remain in their roles in addition to advising on strategy across Recurrent’s portfolio.
“We’ve had many acquisition offers over the years, but we’ve held out for a partner who truly values Donut’s creative voice and unique culture, while also presenting an opportunity for us to push our vision even further. Our whole team feels confident that Recurrent is that company,” says Levin. “We’re excited to accelerate the growth of Donut, to work with Recurrent’s brilliant editorial teams and iconic brands to bring them onto YouTube and other social video platforms in a big way.”
Recurrent
The bottom line is that as our sites build momentum together, you’re going to get cooler car content to consume. And as a fan of the culture myself, I’m very excited to be a big part of keeping the car scene thriving.
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- The supposed deal between Hertz and Tesla made a big splash, but it doesn’t really make sense for the rideshare drivers.
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