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

[ziggy]

I just discovered yesterday that North Carolina Wesleyan games are on FloSports. While all the pub has been about conference broadcast rights the streamer has been acquiring, it appears they will also do deals at the institution level, which apparently happened with NCWU beginning a year ago: https://ncwsports.com/sports/2024/8/26/flosports.aspx

I'm not sure of another example of this, but then again I wasn't aware this one existed until yesterday. Only other exception to the conference all-or-nothing deals I'm aware of is when we saw the SCAC deal with FloSports announced with a couple schools opting out.

[Ron Boerger]

So I had my first experience with Flo last night, since Trinity's two away games this month are Flo.  What a disaster.  The stream kept buffering and then Flo would put up screens saying "WE ARE EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES" while playing a video showing you all the things you could watch on Flo if only it was working.  This happened literally (and I do mean literally) dozens of times.  Sometimes the audio and video would be out of sync when things came back.  I don't know how many times I restarted the stream (browser, not app) trying to get things working.  Lots of plays were missed.

I don't know if the source of the problem was TLU's stream (though I don't remember this being a problem with TLU streams pre-Flo, plenty of which I've watched) or Flo, but the fact of the matter is Flo has responsibility for ensuring things work since they're the ones collecting the fees and they absolutely, positively did not deliver.  0 out 10 would not recommend.

[y_jack_lok]

I just discovered yesterday that North Carolina Wesleyan games are on FloSports. While all the pub has been about conference broadcast rights the streamer has been acquiring, it appears they will also do deals at the institution level, which apparently happened with NCWU beginning a year ago: https://ncwsports.com/sports/2024/8/26/flosports.aspx

I'm not sure of another example of this, but then again I wasn't aware this one existed until yesterday. Only other exception to the conference all-or-nothing deals I'm aware of is when we saw the SCAC deal with FloSports announced with a couple schools opting out.

Thanks for that explanation. I was watching that game as well (poor Averett) and wondered if it was a conference-wide arrangement or not.

[y_jack_lok]

So I had my first experience with Flo last night, since Trinity's two away games this month are Flo.  What a disaster.  The stream kept buffering and then Flo would put up screens saying "WE ARE EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES" while playing a video showing you all the things you could watch on Flo if only it was working.  This happened literally (and I do mean literally) dozens of times.  Sometimes the audio and video would be out of sync when things came back.  I don't know how many times I restarted the stream (browser, not app) trying to get things working.  Lots of plays were missed.

I don't know if the source of the problem was TLU's stream (though I don't remember this being a problem with TLU streams pre-Flo, plenty of which I've watched) or Flo, but the fact of the matter is Flo has responsibility for ensuring things work since they're the ones collecting the fees and they absolutely, positively did not deliver.  0 out 10 would not recommend.

Sound like Flo and TLU need to get in sync. So far, all the games I've watched on Flo (not many) since signing up have been normal streams. Nothing to make them seem better than what I've watched over the years, but no glitches like you experienced.

[Pat Coleman]

I've seen a few SIDs complaining about lack of timely communication from Flo Central around issues on game day. Might be some growing pains around expansion.

[TLU05SA]

So I had my first experience with Flo last night, since Trinity's two away games this month are Flo.  What a disaster.  The stream kept buffering and then Flo would put up screens saying "WE ARE EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES" while playing a video showing you all the things you could watch on Flo if only it was working.  This happened literally (and I do mean literally) dozens of times.  Sometimes the audio and video would be out of sync when things came back.  I don't know how many times I restarted the stream (browser, not app) trying to get things working.  Lots of plays were missed.

I don't know if the source of the problem was TLU's stream (though I don't remember this being a problem with TLU streams pre-Flo, plenty of which I've watched) or Flo, but the fact of the matter is Flo has responsibility for ensuring things work since they're the ones collecting the fees and they absolutely, positively did not deliver.  0 out 10 would not recommend.

Couldn't agree more about the experience of trying to watch this game.  It kept buffering but, on my screen, the visual kept skipping (like every-second). The visual was never smooth. I gave up watching before halftime because of the visual presentation.  Years ago, I had buffering issues while watching TLU games but not in the past few years.  Even the buffering issues I had years ago, it was not as bad as the visual product last night.

On the screen, when you want to fast forward or rewind, there is a little flag emblem on the bottom right corner of the screen.  You can click that emblem to report problems. A QR-Code pops up on the screen and you can report the problem on your phone. I did this multiple times during the first half and filled out the report as requested.  It did nothing for the game last night but I did receive an email from FloSports this morning inquiring about the issue, which I responded to.  I guess we will see if that helps for the next game.

I am going to give this another shot, maybe two, but if the viewing experience continues like last night's game, why bother?