Flo Sports

[Kuiper]

FloSports Launches New 'FloCollege' Streaming Service [thestreamable.com article]

Excerpts:

[...]

FloCollege will launch for subscribers as of Tuesday, Oct. 15. The streamer will carry two main subscription options: a monthly plan for $19.99, or a yearly option for $107.88 — around $8.99 per month, though of course, the entire subscription price is due upfront with the annual plan.

Students with a .edu email address from a partner institution will be able to sign up for FloCollege for $9.99 per month or $71.88 per year.

[...]

In addition to the BIG EAST and CAA, FloCollege will provide games from schools in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), Landmark Conference, New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC), South Atlantic Conference (SAC), California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), Lone Star Conference (LSC), Gulf South Conference (GSC), Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) and Northeast-10 Conference (NE10).

The article does not mention that not all schools in a conference will participate.  The SCAC has four schools that have opted out and there may be schools in other conferences who will not. 

I thought these stats from the article announcing the new platform were interesting

https://www.flosports.tv/2024/09/24/flosports-launches-flocollege-on-october-15-a-new-home-for-college-sports-featuring-more-than-12000-live-games-across-division-i-division-ii-and-division-iii/

Since the start of the 2024 college sports season, FloSports has seen a 37% increase in viewers for football and a 45% increase for soccer.

It's not surprising since the number of conferences using the service has increased, but it means people are buynig and using the service rather than going without their favorite teams and it probably means people who buy it for their favorite teams are using it to watch other games too.

[Ron Boerger]

Yeah, they have an "increase" because if you want to see broadcasts for dozens of schools you have no choice. 

[jekelish]

Yeah, they have an "increase" because if you want to see broadcasts for dozens of schools you have no choice. 

Yep. Honestly, the fact that it's only 37% with the number of schools that have gone behind their paywall feels lower than I would have expected.

[ADL70]

Penn State Behrend has a button to donate to support streaming. The minimum is $10, but it's optional.

[Gray Fox]

Penn State Behrend has a button to donate to support streaming. The minimum is $10, but it's optional.

Even if it is per game and optional, it is good.

[Gray Fox]

FloSports sent a survey to my email account today that covered my experience so far.

[Kuiper]

Little East Conference signs a deal with Flo Sports

Following unanimous approval of the Little East Conference (LEC) Presidents Council, Commissioner Albert Bean, Jr. announced the LEC has entered an exclusive five-year media rights agreement with FloSports that will begin in the upcoming 2025-26 academic year. The seven-figure partnership makes the LEC the fifth NCAA Division III conference to join the FloCollege portfolio.

"We're very excited about our new partnership and five-year media rights agreement with FloSports," said Bean. "This agreement will greatly enhance the visibility of the Little East Conference, assist us in telling the truly great stories and achievements of our student-athletes and team, and provide access to an international platform for those who choose to subscribe. Working with our conference members and FloSports, we look forward to delivering outstanding live video streaming and value added extras, which includes our content being available alongside other prominent NCAA Division I, II and III conferences."   

The LEC will add over 1,000 broadcast events annually to the internationally available FloCollege platform, which features a growing number of NCAA conferences. In addition to the LEC, FloCollege subscribers will have access to events broadcast by the Division I Big East Conference and Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), and DIII Landmark Conference, New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC), Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.

FloCollege will deliver live and on-demand coverage for the majority of the LEC's 23-sponsored championship sports, and will invest in original content and storytelling initiatives online and across social media aimed at elevating the profile of the LEC's student-athletes and institutions. Sports not offered by the LEC (football, gymnastics, wrestling, etc.) may be opted into the FloCollege platform based on institutional decisions.

[IC798891]

These FloSports articles are always written with such a slant.

They use the term "seven-figure deal", which is accurate, but is clearly done to underscore how little money each school receives each year. Funny that they don't mention the cost to consumers in that same article.

[Kuiper]

Unlike other conferences, when the SCAC signed on with Flo Sports a year ago, it allowed some schools to opt out.  Trinity, Southwestern, Austin College, and Texas Lutheran all opted out.  Texas Lutheran has now decided to opt in for 2025-26.

Texas Lutheran is opting in to the SCAC Flo Sports deal in 2025-26

After initially opting out of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference's (SCAC) multi-year, seven-figure media rights agreement with FloSports, Texas Lutheran Athletics has announced their decision to join the rest of the conference's agreement with FloSports. Starting with the 2025-26 season, all Texas Lutheran athletic events will stream on the FloCollege subscription-based streaming platform. FAQ | SCAC Release

The Bulldogs previous streaming platform, TLU+ on YouTube, will now serve as an archival database that will still feature TLU athletic events on-demand at later dates but will no longer show the games and matches live. "We look forward to continuing to provide the same high-caliber streams to Bulldog fans that they have grown accustomed to on TLU+ on the FloCollege platform," said Director of Sports Information and Sports Marketing Bryce Hayes. "Our first partnership came at the SCAC Championship track meet this spring which went extremely well and I look forward to seeing Nick Trumble and the rest of our staff continuing to strengthen our broadcasts in conjunction with FloSports."

"FloSports is a conference wide initiative that started in 2024-2025. TLU opted out initially to see what impact this type of streaming would have. Since FloSports is a conference wide partnership that is of great benefit to every conference member," said Director of Athletics Bill Miller. "FloSports not only allows the SCAC to build its own streaming network but provides the member institutions with the resources necessary to ensure the ability to provide a consistent, high-quality product while taking advantage of cutting-edge technology that might not otherwise be affordable and/or available. The SCAC and its members believe that this type of streaming is the way of the future."

[Ron Boerger]

See ya, TLU events.  Of course with Trinity going to the still-blessedly free of Flo SAA, there won't be as many opportunities anyway.

[Gregory Sager]

See ya, TLU events.

"See ya" = won't see ya