Flo Sports

[IC798891]

https://x.com/JoeGinley/status/1945228379801735530

This is exactly the kind of thing I'd be doing if I were a college not getting on the Flo train.

You offer up the free viewing as a benefit of sending your kids to the school. I talk to a lot of athletes, and, while I doubt it alone is enough to sway anyone, they all mention parents being able to watch them as being something that matters to them.

I would be too, but the SIDs also generally have no visibility as to what the conference will do. That could backfire in the wrong conference.

Well, yes, I wouldn't necessarily advise the SIDs to do it, but it's a point of differentiation that can be used, if you have people who *do* know what the conference will do

[y_jack_lok]

I'm sure by tonnage they mean something along the lines of "number of events."

Thanks.

[Gregory Sager]

https://x.com/JoeGinley/status/1945228379801735530

This is exactly the kind of thing I'd be doing if I were a college not getting on the Flo train.

You offer up the free viewing as a benefit of sending your kids to the school. I talk to a lot of athletes, and, while I doubt it alone is enough to sway anyone, they all mention parents being able to watch them as being something that matters to them.

I would be too, but the SIDs also generally have no visibility as to what the conference will do. That could backfire in the wrong conference.

I guess that that could be true of some conferences, but it's definitely not true of the CCIW. The nine CCIW SIDs generally talk to each other pretty regularly about anything and everything regarding the league, and each one appears to be pretty dialed in as to what his or her school's administration has in mind for athletics policy -- and it's the nine presidents and their cabinets who call the big-picture-policy shots in the CCIW, not the league office in Naperville.

Case in point: Last year folks from the eight other CCIW schools were in an uproar over Carthage putting two MBB games on PPV (Marquee Sports Network) long before the Carthage press release announcing it came out.

Again, though, every conference is different, so this is a YMMV situation.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I found some info from the Landmark's tax filings:

For 2023-24, the Landmark received $289,710 for media rights and distributed $242,860 of FloSports revenue to member schools.

With ten schools, Flo only needs each school to have 250 $100 subs to break even.  You might get all of those alone from just family members of football players - much more for bigger conferences.

The price point is what bothers everybody, and rightly so, but its the price point they need to stay in business.  We all resent being taken advantage of, but supply and demand are cruel, I guess.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

https://x.com/JoeGinley/status/1945228379801735530

This is exactly the kind of thing I'd be doing if I were a college not getting on the Flo train.

You offer up the free viewing as a benefit of sending your kids to the school. I talk to a lot of athletes, and, while I doubt it alone is enough to sway anyone, they all mention parents being able to watch them as being something that matters to them.

I would be too, but the SIDs also generally have no visibility as to what the conference will do. That could backfire in the wrong conference.

I guess that that could be true of some conferences, but it's definitely not true of the CCIW. The nine CCIW SIDs generally talk to each other pretty regularly about anything and everything regarding the league, and each one appears to be pretty dialed in as to what his or her school's administration has in mind for athletics policy -- and it's the nine presidents and their cabinets who call the big-picture-policy shots in the CCIW, not the league office in Naperville.

Case in point: Last year folks from the eight other CCIW schools were in an uproar over Carthage putting two MBB games on PPV (Marquee Sports Network) long before the Carthage press release announcing it came out.

Again, though, every conference is different, so this is a YMMV situation.

I would've said the same about a number of leagues Flo signed and yet, in almost every case, almost nobody knew until it was done.

[Gray Fox]

Here is what I could find about the business side of Flo  Eventually there will be an IPO.

https://forgeglobal.com/flosports_ipo/

[y_jack_lok]

I found some info from the Landmark's tax filings:

For 2023-24, the Landmark received $289,710 for media rights and distributed $242,860 of FloSports revenue to member schools.

With ten schools, Flo only needs each school to have 250 $100 subs to break even.  You might get all of those alone from just family members of football players - much more for bigger conferences.

The price point is what bothers everybody, and rightly so, but its the price point they need to stay in business.  We all resent being taken advantage of, but supply and demand are cruel, I guess.

Do you really think that? I know football rosters are big -- well over 100 in most cases, up to 200+ in a few. But it assumes literally every parent will subscribe, plus other relatives. I can maybe see getting to 250 across all sports.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I found some info from the Landmark's tax filings:

For 2023-24, the Landmark received $289,710 for media rights and distributed $242,860 of FloSports revenue to member schools.

With ten schools, Flo only needs each school to have 250 $100 subs to break even.  You might get all of those alone from just family members of football players - much more for bigger conferences.

The price point is what bothers everybody, and rightly so, but its the price point they need to stay in business.  We all resent being taken advantage of, but supply and demand are cruel, I guess.

Do you really think that? I know football rosters are big -- well over 100 in most cases, up to 200+ in a few. But it assumes literally every parent will subscribe, plus other relatives. I can maybe see getting to 250 across all sports.

I'm not sure what it is with my word choice today.  I did say "might."  I think there are some schools where a football team could sell 250 subs before you even get to family members.  That's definitely not true everywhere.  Some schools won't even get to 100 across all sports.  I'm just trying to say that the money isn't a huge risk for Flo.

[IC798891]

Yeah, honestly, football seems the least likely to get subscribers, given that Saturday games make travel easy as long as you're relatively close by. 1 p.m. game times might not even require an overnight.

It's the sports with *midweek* games you're going to get people subscribing. For example, IC men's lacrosse played 8 of 19 games on Monday-Thursday. Those are the ones you might get — in addition to families who live too far away to travel at all

[y_jack_lok]

Ryan, sorry. Not trying to be contrary or anything (well, maybe a little). I do see where you are going with the economic calculations for FloSports. I guess we have five years to find out how all this plays out. I still think it's bad for the fans/viewers and ultimately for the schools and conferences, for all the reasons that have been articulated by others so much more effectively than I can.

[Pat Coleman]

and it's the nine presidents and their cabinets who call the big-picture-policy shots in the CCIW, not the league office in Naperville.

True of most conferences for something at this level, and that point belies the thought that CCIW SIDs would magically know everything. The Flo MO is to tell conferences to keep this away from their SIDs, ever since the NACC SIDs got the proposal killed in their conference.

[jekelish]

and it's the nine presidents and their cabinets who call the big-picture-policy shots in the CCIW, not the league office in Naperville.

True of most conferences for something at this level, and that point belies the thought that CCIW SIDs would magically know everything. The Flo MO is to tell conferences to keep this away from their SIDs, ever since the NACC SIDs got the proposal killed in their conference.

Yeah, the Flo pitch starts at the top, from what I understand. The SIDs have typically been among the last to hear about it, after the pitch has taken place and the presidents/ADs have been told about the potential influx of cash. I know of at least one conference where the SIDs were only told about it after the wheels were already in motion.