Flo Sports

[DagarmanSpartan]

To be honest, I watched a few CWRU broadcast reruns as well, and I couldn't really see any difference from before, much less any improvement.

I guess there was one pre-game interview with Coach Debaljak, but that's about the only real "improvement," if that even counts.

I hope that the schools are at least seeing some additional money/athletic revenue from this, if nothing else.

[Patrick Coleman]

I would bet the biggest improvements would probably come in sports that are not football and basketball -- I suspect those sports were already getting the best production a department could manage and would have less room to grow than other sports would.

[WUPHF]

To be honest, I watched a few CWRU broadcast reruns as well, and I couldn't really see any difference from before, much less any improvement.

I guess there was one pre-game interview with Coach Debaljak, but that's about the only real "improvement," if that even counts.

I hope that the schools are at least seeing some additional money/athletic revenue from this, if nothing else.

Case Western Reserve has one of the best broadcasts in Division III, there was definitely less room for improvement.

[y_jack_lok]

I would bet the biggest improvements would probably come in sports that are not football and basketball -- I suspect those sports were already getting the best production a department could manage and would have less room to grow than other sports would.

I did notice that RMC has changed its camera location for softball from centerfield to behind the plate. However, they did recently upgrade the stadium to include a new press box, so the change may have been coincidental with the onset of Flo.

Didn't notice any change with the few baseball games I tuned into.

[Ron Boerger]

The SCAC has extended their Flo partnership through 2031, a two-year extension.  The release claims a 78% YoY increase in "total live viewership" in the second year of the contract recently ended, though (of course) no mention is made of the drastic reduction that took place the previous year.

[y_jack_lok]

The SCAC has extended their Flo partnership through 2031, a two-year extension.  The release claims a 78% YoY increase in "total live viewership" in the second year of the contract recently ended, though (of course) no mention is made of the drastic reduction that took place the previous year.

Yeah, that could mean anything. Could be an increase from 1,000 viewers to 1,780 viewers. Or it could mean an increase from 10 viewers to 17.8 viewers.

[MCScots2013]

Seems to me these schools and conferences are playing the waiting game knowing first and/or second year viewership might (will) reduce, but as the paywall becomes the norm we'll forget we got it for free and pony up the money willingly.  It will be the norm for most families and fans of the freshman class of 2027--ignorance is bliss.

I didn't watch any ODAC games last year due to the paywall but will this year since the SAA is on the Flo train.  Wonder how they will account for guys like me? Inflated numbers, no?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

This actually matches what I've been hearing from schools.  Few people like the idea.  Lots of folks complain, many vociferously. The majority of core supporters (family and alums) buy the subscription anyway and eventually the vitriol dies down and people just accept it.

Jumps from year 1 to year 2 are likely people who started angry and stubborn and eventually gave in.

This seems like any other inconvenience in our lives - and it's pretty quickly divorced from the justice or injustice of the thing itself.

[KnightSlappy]

Also, the SCAC had 12 schools participating last year and 10 the prior year with Trinity and Southwestern opting out. So some part of the increase in Total Live Viewership could be that more games were on-platform.

[Kuiper]

The SCAC has extended their Flo partnership through 2031, a two-year extension.  The release claims a 78% YoY increase in "total live viewership" in the second year of the contract recently ended, though (of course) no mention is made of the drastic reduction that took place the previous year.

Although I think people may be starting to accept it, especially as new recruits come in with families that are used to paying for live streaming (or at least contributing to the equipment and subscription costs) and don't recall a world without it, isn't this phenomenon in the SCAC mostly attributable to more participating schools? That's why they report it as "total live viewership," rather than viewership per school or per match.

[EDIT] KnightSlappy beat me to it

[ziggy]

The SCAC has extended their Flo partnership through 2031, a two-year extension.  The release claims a 78% YoY increase in "total live viewership" in the second year of the contract recently ended, though (of course) no mention is made of the drastic reduction that took place the previous year.

I am a little surprised we are seeing conferences already agreeing to extensions rather than taking more of a wait and see approach. However, the wording of the SCAC release suggests to me that it is perhaps an avenue to get more out of the deal than they were initially.

As part of the extension agreement, SCAC member institutions will have full access to the FloSports Production Suite, a comprehensive collection of hardware and software tools developed exclusively for FloSports partners.

[y_jack_lok]

Seems to me these schools and conferences are playing the waiting game knowing first and/or second year viewership might (will) reduce, but as the paywall becomes the norm we'll forget we got it for free and pony up the money willingly.  It will be the norm for most families and fans of the freshman class of 2027--ignorance is bliss.

I didn't watch any ODAC games last year due to the paywall but will this year since the SAA is on the Flo train.  Wonder how they will account for guys like me? Inflated numbers, no?

Viewrship stats aside, it's one thing to have to pay for something that was previously free. It's another thing to be told that what you are paying for is going to be better than what you were getting for free, but it turns out not to be noticeably better. It's also another thing to be told that there is going to be all this additional great content (articles, profiles, etc.) and get little or nothing of it that is original or of any real value.

But you are right, as time marches on people are likely to just accept paying for Flo.

[jekelish]

Also, the SCAC had 12 schools participating last year and 10 the prior year with Trinity and Southwestern opting out. So some part of the increase in Total Live Viewership could be that more games were on-platform.

Austin College had also opted out the previous year, as well. This past year was their first year as a Flo client.

[WUPHF]

The SCAC has extended their Flo partnership through 2031, a two-year extension.  The release claims a 78% YoY increase in "total live viewership" in the second year of the contract recently ended, though (of course) no mention is made of the drastic reduction that took place the previous year.

The press release states that the contract provides resources to host championships in first-class venues.

Dwayne Hanberry mentions this in the interview with Pat Coleman as well.

As with many other details of the contract, it would be interesting to know what that means.

[jekelish]

The SCAC has extended their Flo partnership through 2031, a two-year extension.  The release claims a 78% YoY increase in "total live viewership" in the second year of the contract recently ended, though (of course) no mention is made of the drastic reduction that took place the previous year.

I'm assuming, in part, it refers to the football championship being played at War Memorial in Little Rock.

The press release states that the contract provides resources to host championships in first-class venues.

Dwayne Hanberry mentions this in the interview with Pat Coleman as well.

As with many other details of the contract, it would be interesting to know what that means.