Flo Sports

[jknezek]

^^^ Yeah, guess that's about right. They probably figure people won't notice small stuff like that. They certainly don't. I'm just gonna keep pointing out all these things and see if they're paying attention and make changes.

Good luck. I talked to some of the W&L and Emory parents at the soccer game this weekend. They were pissed in a resigned kin of way. They pay for their kids to go to these rich schools, they pay for them to play sports, they are hit up for money constantly, and now they have to pay again for the games. It's such a scuzzy double dip by these schools. I feel embarrassed to be an alum. There is no defending it.

[IC798891]

^^^ Yeah, guess that's about right. They probably figure people won't notice small stuff like that. They certainly don't. I'm just gonna keep pointing out all these things and see if they're paying attention and make changes.

Good luck. I talked to some of the W&L and Emory parents at the soccer game this weekend. They were pissed in a resigned kin of way. They pay for their kids to go to these rich schools, they pay for them to play sports, they are hit up for money constantly, and now they have to pay again for the games. It's such a scuzzy double dip by these schools. I feel embarrassed to be an alum. There is no defending it.

They should be reaching out to the AD and the VP of Philanthropy about it.

[jknezek]

^^^ Yeah, guess that's about right. They probably figure people won't notice small stuff like that. They certainly don't. I'm just gonna keep pointing out all these things and see if they're paying attention and make changes.

Good luck. I talked to some of the W&L and Emory parents at the soccer game this weekend. They were pissed in a resigned kin of way. They pay for their kids to go to these rich schools, they pay for them to play sports, they are hit up for money constantly, and now they have to pay again for the games. It's such a scuzzy double dip by these schools. I feel embarrassed to be an alum. There is no defending it.

They should be reaching out to the AD and the VP of Philanthropy about it.

Trust me, I made that point. AD, President, BoT, etc.

[Kuiper]

Here's an initial report on the experience of watching (or attempting to watch) some events today.

First, I'm having to learn the most efficient way to access the event I want to watch. Perhaps someone with more experience watching games broadcast via Flo can give me some pointers. It's not intuitive for me yet, so I don't want to complain until I'm sure I have a legitimate reason. Having said that, it seems like there are more steps involved than the way I'm used to. For example, I wanted to watch Randolph-Macon men's soccer hosting NC Wesleyan. I went to the RMC website, found the "watch" link and clicked on it. Last year that would have taken me directly to the game. This year it first required me to login to Flo (maybe I'll just stay logged in through the end of basketball season to avoid this step), then there were a couple of additional steps (exactly what they were, I've forgotten) before I got to the game. I only caught the end of the first half, but the actual stream seemed okay, which I understand isn't really Flo's responsibility

Second, I wanted to watch Webster volleyball playing Loras and Bluffton in a tournament at Wash U. The matches were presumably available because when I got to Flo, the icon for each one (a box with the two team logos and a "Watch" link below it to click on) was there. But when I clicked the watch link it went to a screen that said the match was completed (in the case of Loras) or hadn't started (in the case of Bluffton). But both matches were definitely being played at the time I was seeking them because live stats for both were being updated constantly. I suspect this experience means that Wash U wasn't actually streaming these matches, which were likely taking place on an alternate court, rather than on the main fieldhouse court. So, this raise the question of why, if they weren't going to be streamed, they were on Flo's event list for the day.

Seems like there are some things that need to be polished up.

I'll be interested to hear the experiences others are having in finding and watching games on Flo.

I find that it makes more sense for me to go to the school's schedule and click on the link to watch the game from there.  If you've logged in before from that device, it should just log you in on FloCollege (perhaps you had to check a box to keep yourself logged in to do that).  Part of the reason I prefer starting with the school site is that I like to also have the LiveScores open to give me access to the lineups and to see who was credited with scoring a goal (in soccer) and to see stats in real time.  It can produce spoilers, though, if your stream is behind (which is typically an issue on your end, rather than the school's).  It also takes you directly to the game so you don't have many steps.  Finally, I find it's the most accurate information for the game time and day, since schedules can change and that change may not be communicated to Flo.

If you do want to toggle between different matches and different games, it's best to start on your specific sport and gender.  That's the way Flo organizes it and then you have all the games on the same page.

[WUPHF]

Good luck. I talked to some of the W&L and Emory parents at the soccer game this weekend. They were pissed in a resigned kin of way. They pay for their kids to go to these rich schools, they pay for them to play sports, they are hit up for money constantly, and now they have to pay again for the games. It's such a scuzzy double dip by these schools. I feel embarrassed to be an alum. There is no defending it.

People who clearly do not recognize the impact of the partnership, the branding opportunities, the production quality... [/sarcasm]

[y_jack_lok]

At about 23-24 minutes into this podcast interview with ODAC commissioner Brad Bankston there is a +/-20 minute discussion of Flo. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/district-2-sports-podcast/id1546174200.

One takeaway, for me, is not to expect much of anything to be different this year, but look for improvements starting in year two -- more cameras/angles in many sports, audio commentary for all sports, improvements in overall broadcast quality, etc. He acknowledges the unhappiness people have with having to pay for something that was previously free, but seeks to minimize the monthly dollar amount (for someone with an annual subscription using a .edu email address) by relating it to the cost of a smoothie he bought for breakfast. He also reiterated what I perceive to be a Flo talking point that with a subscription you can watch so much stuff on one platform, forgetting that it really wasn't that hard to access all those same things for free previously.

I will admit that I've almost already forgotten about the $108 I paid six weeks ago for an annual subscription. But I'm not a parent of an athlete (or multiple athletes) paying for my kid(s) to go to an expensive school. I guess I hope this works out for the schools and conferences in the long run. He says a lot of thought went into the decision starting a couple of years ago. I'm still giving this the benefit of the doubt and will probably have to for an additional year or two.

[Gray Fox]

It's year two for me.  There was some improvement in year one, so it should be great this year.

[WUPHF]

At about 23-24 minutes into this podcast interview with ODAC commissioner Brad Bankston there is a +/-20 minute discussion of Flo. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/district-2-sports-podcast/id1546174200.

I appreciate the commissioner discussing the issue again.

It is smart to temper expectations after giving a glowing report in the last podcast.

I find that when I am watching a broadcast with multiple camera angles, I am typically wishing they would use one camera instead, but with technology, the multiple camera broadcasts will get better.

[ADL70]

I stumbled across "In the Huddle" on Flo