Flo Sports

[y_jack_lok]

^^^Yep. Every year I have to call Spectrum to see what kind of a renewal deal I can get on my internet. This year they actually increased my speed, sent me a new modem, and lowered the price by $10/month.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

^^^Yep. Every year I have to call Spectrum to see what kind of a renewal deal I can get on my internet. This year they actually increased my speed, sent me a new modem, and lowered the price by $10/month.

I have an unboxed Verizon router sitting next to my desk.  It's not nearly as powerful or effective as the one I bought myself, but they cut $10 a month off my bill for letting them send it to me!

#Capitalism

[y_jack_lok]

^^^ Interesting. A year before the Spectrum deal I mentioned above, the deal I got was to get a Spectrum phone and mobile service for $5.55/month. That was the monthly cost of the phone (not the mobile service) for 3 yrs. I thought it was locked in that way. Turns out it wasn't. At the end of the year they started charging $40.00 for the mobile service. I don't recall that this was explained to me at the time, but whatever. So I canceled the mobile service and paid off the balance of the phone. Now I have a phone sitting in a box, just like you have a router in a box.

[Kuiper]

I thought this tidbit from the Report of the DIII Analysis Working Group's survey responses was interesting and relevant to this thread, even though it relates to conferences, and not schools individually.

Commissioners indicate that 43% of conferences have media/streaming deals, but only 27% report generating meaningful revenue.

What I found interesting is that 27% of all conferences report generating meaningful revenue.  That's larger than I would have expected.  This isn't limited to FloSports, but I'm assuming that the FloSports deals constitute a majority of the 43% figure for conferences with media/streaming deals.  It might be that FloSports are one of the only deals that generate meaningful revenue, with "meaningful" undefined.  Other deals (Hudl?  Conference self-produced?) may not produce any revenue at all other than through ad sales, if any. 

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

There are 10? d3 conferences on Flo now?  It's hard to keep track sometimes.  That would be the 27%, correct?

I suspect the other deals are like the New England schools covered by NSN or some local production company that they outsource to?

[jekelish]

There are 10? d3 conferences on Flo now?  It's hard to keep track sometimes.  That would be the 27%, correct?

I suspect the other deals are like the New England schools covered by NSN or some local production company that they outsource to?

Up to 12 D3 conferences now after they just announced the USA South as the latest Flo partner this morning.

American Southwest Conference
Landmark Conference
Little East Conference
New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference
Northwest Conference
Ohio Athletic Conference
Old Dominion Athletic Conference
Southern Athletic Association
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
University Athletic Association
USA South Athletic Conference

[y_jack_lok]

There are 10? d3 conferences on Flo now?  It's hard to keep track sometimes.  That would be the 27%, correct?

I suspect the other deals are like the New England schools covered by NSN or some local production company that they outsource to?

Up to 12 D3 conferences now after they just announced the USA South as the latest Flo partner this morning.

American Southwest Conference
Landmark Conference
Little East Conference
New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference
Northwest Conference
Ohio Athletic Conference
Old Dominion Athletic Conference
Southern Athletic Association
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
University Athletic Association
USA South Athletic Conference

Here's the press release from the USA South: https://usasouth.net/news/2026/6/25/general-usa-south-announces-five-year-media-rights-agreement-with-flosports.aspx

Sounds basically like the ones from the UAA and ODAC last year.

Someone with a podcast should reach out to USA South commissioner Tom Hart for an interview about the decision and the benefits that will accrue to the schools and their fans. I was somewhat acquainted with Dr. Hart when he was AD at Webster. He's very nice and a straight shooter, so I'm sure he will be honest and candid in answering questions.

[Ron Boerger]

If so, he'll be the first to do so.  All the other conferences have provided boilerplate answers about how much better things are gonna be.  The SCAC commissioner is the only one I know to have gone on record saying the conference itself is receiving funds that it is using to improve conference championships. 

[DagarmanSpartan]

Aw what the Heck.  I finally gave in to temptation and went ahead and got a "Flo College" annual subscription for $6 a month so that I could see every CWRU home football game and keep up with UAA action in other sports.

I noticed that they also carry NEWMAC sports, so I'll probably try and watch a few USMMA football games.  Not a grad of that school, but as a retired Army Officer, it's my favorite service academy (met two USMMA grads who were Army Officers and they were both quality).  Despite my 20+ years in the Army, I've never been a West Point fan.  I try to cheer them on against Navy, but that's it.

I guess I'll decide whether to renew next year depending on how much I watch, but I'll give it a try.

I can't lie though.  I'm a little bummed that the D3 sports action that I used to stream in for free will now actually cost something.  I hope that the athletic department at CWRU sees at least some of that money.

[y_jack_lok]

^^^ How did you manage to only pay $6/month?

[y_jack_lok]

If so, he'll be the first to do so.  All the other conferences have provided boilerplate answers about how much better things are gonna be.  The SCAC commissioner is the only one I know to have gone on record saying the conference itself is receiving funds that it is using to improve conference championships. 

Are you aware of any conference commissioners who have gone on a podcast and specifically answered in depth questions regarding the benefits of Flo to the schools in their conference and to the fans of those schools who are now having to pay for what was once free? Last summer the ODAC commissioner was on a more generic podcast, part of which covered the decision to sign with Flo, but did not get to the in depth issues of the benefits to the fans and the schools. Now that there is more data available they could also address the issues of viewership, how it is affecting recruiting, etc..

[DagarmanSpartan]

^^^ How did you manage to only pay $6/month?

"FloCollege" subscription was $5.99 per month billed annually ($71 and change).

[IC798891]

If so, he'll be the first to do so.  All the other conferences have provided boilerplate answers about how much better things are gonna be.  The SCAC commissioner is the only one I know to have gone on record saying the conference itself is receiving funds that it is using to improve conference championships. 

As a longtime Flo hater and citer of the D3 philosophy statement, I will say, at least this is a use of the money that mostly* fits in with "Prioritize the experience of the participants, and the internal constituency (e.g., students, alumni, institutional personnel) rather than on the entertainment needs of spectators or the general public"

*Paywalling doesn't prioritize the experience of some of those constituents -- alumni who don't live close enough to go to games in person, or even students who may not be able to even if they're on campus. But if you're using the money to improve the conference championship experience for the fans who can -- and crucially, for the athletes themselves, that I can get behind, in theory

[Ron Boerger]

If so, he'll be the first to do so.  All the other conferences have provided boilerplate answers about how much better things are gonna be.  The SCAC commissioner is the only one I know to have gone on record saying the conference itself is receiving funds that it is using to improve conference championships. 

As a longtime Flo hater and citer of the D3 philosophy statement, I will say, at least this is a use of the money that mostly* fits in with "Prioritize the experience of the participants, and the internal constituency (e.g., students, alumni, institutional personnel) rather than on the entertainment needs of spectators or the general public"

*Paywalling doesn't prioritize the experience of some of those constituents -- alumni who don't live close enough to go to games in person, or even students who may not be able to even if they're on campus. But if you're using the money to improve the conference championship experience for the fans who can -- and crucially, for the athletes themselves, that I can get behind, in theory

Agreed.  You would think that if the SCAC is getting some money (and doing some good for their student-athletes, families and supporters) that other conferences must be too, but I've never seen any other statement to this effect. 

If this is a more global thing it could provide further insight into why conferences are signing up for this despite the financial impact on those same people and reduced viewership. 

If so, he'll be the first to do so.  All the other conferences have provided boilerplate answers about how much better things are gonna be.  The SCAC commissioner is the only one I know to have gone on record saying the conference itself is receiving funds that it is using to improve conference championships. 

Are you aware of any conference commissioners who have gone on a podcast and specifically answered in depth questions regarding the benefits of Flo to the schools in their conference and to the fans of those schools who are now having to pay for what was once free? Last summer the ODAC commissioner was on a more generic podcast, part of which covered the decision to sign with Flo, but did not get to the in depth issues of the benefits to the fans and the schools. Now that there is more data available they could also address the issues of viewership, how it is affecting recruiting, etc..

Can't say that I have, though I primarily follow the conferences in Texas (SCAC, SAA, ASC) and could easily have missed other interviews.  But nobody, to my knowledge, has gone on record saying "well, we lost 80% of our viewers but the average viewer watches 50% more content".  I've seen people saying things like that, but it's always "according to people I know" or something like that.