Flo Sports

[WUPHF]

The last three minutes of the ODAC podcast hits on what I *think* is largely this additional promotion component and even acknowledges that much of this is yet to come and not even particularly pinned down yet. (concerning if the conferences are really hinging on this being a key part of the agreement yet have no contractual terms holding Flo to much of anything...)

Right, but the talk of content goes back to the Landmark release, so I would expect them to be further along then they are, unless the content is focused on other platforms.

Flo did some video promo work for the Landmark early on; I'm not sure how much of that has continued.  Obviously it's more and more difficult as they add conferences. 

As a for-profit company, they should be able to do more as the number of conferences grow and the economy of scale increases.

If I was the Landmark, I would not be particularly impressed with the content on X and YouTube, but again, maybe the content is elsewhere.

If a fan from one conference isn't used to jumping from app to app to watch different teams, they might be more likely to click on a Flo game from another conferences than whatever is next in their netflix queue?

I said earlier that I do not buy this as a benefit, but I'll admit that I was wrong if it becomes clear down the road that this has happened.

[WUPHF]

For example, one last basketball season's articles following the release of a D3Hoops.com Top 25 in early February contained this gem (link):

Trine dropped five spots after the inexcusable loss to them 11-6, Calvin

The need for an editor aside, this very much reads as someone who tried to offer analysis based on records and previous rankings alone rather than really knowing the ins-and-outs of the D3 basketball season. The article doesn't even recognize it as the D3HOOPS.COM Top 25, much less provide a link. I know the #d3hoops community did roast the Flo twitter accounts about this and they did start (kind of?) giving acknowledgement.

Maybe we start seeing something of higher quality and value when fall sports gets underway. Maybe.

This is hilarious!

[Pat Coleman]

This story on Mount Union football misspells Larry Kehres' name, as well as the name of the Mount Union alumnus who most recently coached a Super Bowl champ.

https://www.flofootball.com/articles/14451873-mount-union-football-has-what-it-takes-to-win-now-it-just-wants-the-title

[IC798891]

Pat, I'm not sure if you're aware. They're literally saving people's jobs and keeping colleges afloat with the bags of money they're dropping off. What more do you want from them? Quality?

[Ron Boerger]

It's not Flo, but the MIAC has decided they want to get in on the PPV action and will charge either $10/game or $25/sport to watch its playoff contests.  That could rapidly add up to more than the yearly cost of a Flo subscription.  It's supposed to be a trial; regular season webcast remain free (for now at least).

[CNU85]

Does the NCAA have any say in pay per view of playoff contests?

[Pat Coleman]

Of conference tournament, no.
Of NCAA Tournament, yes.

[y_jack_lok]

The past couple of days I've been thinking about what it takes for FloSports to make a profit for providing the streaming platform for schools and conferences given that Flo is paying to have them on the platform. I guess the two revenue streams are subscriptions and advertising. (Are there others?) And I'm also guessing that the number of subscriptions affects the ad revenue. Perhaps, also, the number of viewers of each event has an effect. Anyway, if $30,000 per school is, in fact, what Flo pays, then (thinking only about annual, not monthly, subscriptions) at $108 for a 12 month subscription, each school would need to generate 277 such subscriptions for Flo to break even. Does that seem likely to happen?

[Kuiper]

The past couple of days I've been thinking about what it takes for FloSports to make a profit for providing the streaming platform for schools and conferences given that Flo is paying to have them on the platform. I guess the two revenue streams are subscriptions and advertising. (Are there others?) And I'm also guessing that the number of subscriptions affects the ad revenue. Perhaps, also, the number of viewers of each event has an effect. Anyway, if $30,000 per school is, in fact, what Flo pays, then (thinking only about annual, not monthly, subscriptions) at $108 for a 12 month subscription, each school would need to generate 277 such subscriptions for Flo to break even. Does that seem likely to happen?

Flo's business model is going after things where demand is very inelastic.  So, niche sports where no one else is broadcasting them and the fans are passionate and can't go without it.  Or, in this case, colleges where parents want to watch their children play when they can't be there and there is no ability to substitute another event where their children are not on one of the teams.  Considering how many schools have a high percentage of their students playing sports, 277 is a pretty low floor for parent subscriptions on average.  Alumni and other fans probably supply the profit.

[jekelish]

The past couple of days I've been thinking about what it takes for FloSports to make a profit for providing the streaming platform for schools and conferences given that Flo is paying to have them on the platform. I guess the two revenue streams are subscriptions and advertising. (Are there others?) And I'm also guessing that the number of subscriptions affects the ad revenue. Perhaps, also, the number of viewers of each event has an effect. Anyway, if $30,000 per school is, in fact, what Flo pays, then (thinking only about annual, not monthly, subscriptions) at $108 for a 12 month subscription, each school would need to generate 277 such subscriptions for Flo to break even. Does that seem likely to happen?

Flo's business model is going after things where demand is very inelastic.  So, niche sports where no one else is broadcasting them and the fans are passionate and can't go without it.  Or, in this case, colleges where parents want to watch their children play when they can't be there and there is no ability to substitute another event where their children are not on one of the teams.  Considering how many schools have a high percentage of their students playing sports, 277 is a pretty low floor for parent subscriptions on average.  Alumni and other fans probably supply the profit.

That's a great point that I had never really considered. Like, how many other services are streaming at a high quality, things like jiujitsu and various forms of racing? I'm sure there are others, but especially in the US, there can't be too many.

[ziggy]

Overnght is another streamer of niche sports.

https://www.overnght.com/

I don't know to what extent they may be a direct competitor with FloSports but it is my understanding they have been in contact with at least one D3 conference in the past (and not one that has signed with Flo).

[CNU85]

Of conference tournament, no.
Of NCAA Tournament, yes.

Thanks Pat. For some reason, I never really consider conference tournaments as playoffs. But I guess indeed they are!

[WUPHF]

Overnght is another streamer of niche sports.

https://www.overnght.com/

I don't know to what extent they may be a direct competitor with FloSports but it is my understanding they have been in contact with at least one D3 conference in the past (and not one that has signed with Flo).

This is interesting.

There are other services, big and small, that could compete with FloSports.  And Agile has purchased a few of them over the years.

As for the FloSports business model, they have raised a lot of money over the past few years. I assume that they have bigger ambitions than broadcasting Division III sports.

Wikipedia says that FloSports has 300 employees and though that figure is dated, they have probably hired more since adding multiple conferences this year.

If they break even (or slightly exceed) the kick-backs to the conferences, how much do they have to earn from advertisements to pay for the account and media managers, IT and technical services, and executives?

It is interesting to see how many openings they have posted: https://www.flosports.tv/careers/

[y_jack_lok]

^^^ You mentioned that they have raised a lot of money in recent years. Here are the investors they identify on their website: https://www.flosports.tv/about/#ImageLinks

[y_jack_lok]

Been exploring the Flo platform a little more to get a feel for what it offers. Briefly watched some live Diamond League Track & Field from Lausanne, Switzerland.