Flo Sports

[AndrewB]

I hate to be that guy but only 1 sport will move the needle for FloSports and that's football.  Frank was talking about Flo week 1 games on YouTube that had the highest rankings.  One game I watched was Linfield vs UW Oshkosh.  You look at all the weekly clips of games done by D3.  What conference teams have the most views week in and out, WIAC. FloSports is great for getting schools to a certain standard they otherwise might not care to meet.  But as long as Culver's helps the WIAC Network financial, I can't see it moving to FloSports.

[WUPHF]

FLO GOT THERE FIRST

You may not like the FloSports model. The NBA and MLB are about to prove it was never an aberration.

By Frank Rossi — @D3FBHuddle
[...]
__________

Dear @grok, can you summarize for brevity and remove the condescension.

[IC798891]

So, story time. Feel free to skip.

The largest individual gift in Ithaca College history was given in 1995. It was for $17 million, from a man named James Pendleton.

James Pendleton was not an Ithaca College alumnus. He was not a faculty or staff member. He was not a parent. In fact, in his entire life, James Pendleton never even set foot on Ithaca College's campus. So why did he give the school $17 million?

Well, in 1976, he happened to meet an IC professor when both of them were vacationing on a Greek island. They got to talking, became friends, and in the early 1980s, the professor told him about how the juniors at the college produce films for their coursework, but often needed financial support. Pendleton agreed to create a competitive cash award for student filmmakers. The dean at the time worked with him to take half of Pendleton's annual contribution and create an endowment while using his discretionary budget to bring the award money back up the the original amount.

Every year, the dean and the winning students hand wrote thank you letters to Pendleton. When he died, his lawyer called the dean and, essentially told him

"James was putting away money to give to you and one other school. Every year, he gave to both of you, but you were the only ones to thank him, so every year he took some of the money out of their pile, and added it to yours. You ended up with almost all of it."

That story has nothing to do with athletics. Or paywalls. But it is how affinity works. And that's why your goal is to create as many pathways to affinity as possible. Because you never know what chance encounter, what fleeting moment, can turn into the kind of affinity that changes an institution.

Now, I know some of you may be saying "IC798891, that gift took 20 years to materialize. Not all institutions have that kind of time!"

To which I would respond with the following:

1. Specifically, I would suspect, that most people, saving up to give an eight-figure sum to a college upon their death, would be willing to give that money a few years earlier if they knew the institution was in dire, dire straits.

2. In general, while we are all dealing with the current challenges in the higher education landscape, most of our institutions are not one or two or even five years away from closing. Yes, you need to start changing things now, but you also have time to plant seeds, cultivate relationships

[y_jack_lok]

Well, that was a long winded X post by Frank Rossi. A lot to unpack, which I'm not capable of attempting. However, I did chuckle when I read this: "Two days ago, on July 21, Flo launched the FloSports Channel, a free ad-supported channel on Prime Video carrying more than 300 live events and over 1,000 hours of live programming, plus studio shows, podcasts, replays and documentaries, with additional distribution partners promised in the coming weeks."

I know this is inconsequential in the overall context of that post and that it is maybe nitpicking, but it's my understanding that it costs $139/year for Amazon Prime, so the new channel isn't technically free. But, I've heard that 75% to 80% of U.S. households subscribe to Prime, therefore for most people maybe this new channel is free. But, I don't do Prime and the last time I ordered anything from Amazon was almost two years ago.

I suppose what Frank was trying to say, in  nutshell, is that sooner or later everyone is going to have to pay something to watch the sports they are interested in, so get used to it.

[WUPHF]

The Landmark and other conferences could have implemented a paywall a long time ago if the broadcasts were such a drag on the bottom line without the ROI (e.g. affinity building).

The biggest innovation that Flo Sports brought to the market was giving colleges and universities an excuse to go behind a paywall with promises of improved broadcasts, student-athlete branding and original content. 

It is hard for an organization that brings in tuition and then gives everything away for free (housing and food service excluded) to add a fee.

I have said it before, but I remain convinced: if the Flo Sports model was profitable, Hudl would have responded differently.  I am not convinced that the future of Division III is Flo Sports.

[y_jack_lok]

The Landmark and other conferences could have implemented a paywall a long time ago if the broadcasts were such a drag on the bottom line without the ROI (e.g. affinity building).

The biggest innovation that Flo Sports brought to the market was giving colleges and universities an excuse to go behind a paywall with promises of improved broadcasts, student-athlete branding and original content. 

It is hard for an organization that brings in tuition and then gives everything away for free (housing and food service excluded) to add a fee.

I have said it before, but I remain convinced: if the Flo Sports model was profitable, Hudl would have responded differently.  I am not convinced that the future of Division III is Flo Sports.

It's been a long time since I've had to send money to a college/university, but don't many institutions have "add on" fees beyond tuition, room, and board for a variety of things under the umbrella of student activities?

[WUPHF]

It's been a long time since I've had to send money to a college/university, but don't many institutions have "add on" fees beyond tuition, room, and board for a variety of things under the umbrella of student activities?

Students do pay other fees, sure, but the modus operandi of most institutions is to package all manner of services under one tuition and fee package that all students pay.

[Kuiper]

Here is more information on the FloSports Channel, which is not limited to college sports

https://www.sportsvideo.org/2026/07/22/flosports-launches-free-streaming-channel-on-prime-video/

FloSports has announced the launch of the FloSports Channel, a free ad-supported streaming channel premiering on Prime Video in the U.S. on July 21. The channel will feature more than 300 live events and more than 1,000 hours of live programming, along with original programming, studio shows, podcasts, highlights, replays, and documentaries. Additional distribution partners and programming details will be announced in the coming weeks.

"The traditional linear market is not built to fully serve the depth, quality, and growth potential of many non-Tier 1 sports rights," says Phil Wendler, EVP, Global Rights Acquisition, FloSports. "FloSports has spent years building a better model for rights holders who want more than a distribution outlet. The FloSports Channel on Prime Video expands that promise by giving our partners another scaled, free-to-consumer distribution path, helping new fans discover the sports and communities that make FloSports unique."

FloSports covers more than 55,000 live events annually across 25 sports. According to Wurl's 2025 CTV Trends report, more than 61 million U.S. monthly active households watch free ad-supported streaming TV, with monthly active households up 12% year over year and total viewing time up 29% across platforms.

[Ron Boerger]

FloSports covers more than 55,000 live events annually across 25 sports

Bull****.  They "cover" virtually nothing in D3; they provide access to sports covered by the schools themselves.  Nothing more.

[y_jack_lok]

FloCollege on X has posted early predictions of Gagliardi finalists: https://x.com/FloCollegeFB/status/2081843319466827790

D3football.com commented, correcting the school one of them is playing for this season.

[AndrewB]

FloCollege on X has posted early predictions of Gagliardi finalists: https://x.com/FloCollegeFB/status/2081843319466827790

D3football.com commented, correcting the school one of them is playing for this season.

That's funny. FloSport really should have demanded more for the money they paid to schools.  I know some might think this is crazy.  And it 100% on them for not knowing of the transfer to John Carroll.  But they needed to demand a certain number of Coaches Corners to get fans interested in the upcoming season.  If they demanded media days. Live coverage of a spring practice.  A summer interview with offensive, defense and head coach.  It could work, but it would take work.  I don't see a better option to grow the game.  Pat and Keith have been busting their ass trying to grow the sport.  There's only so much they can do. (Along with Frank).  At some point, somebody had to come with money, which FloSports has done.  If this doesn't work, nothing will work to grow D3 football.

[jknezek]

FloCollege on X has posted early predictions of Gagliardi finalists: https://x.com/FloCollegeFB/status/2081843319466827790

D3football.com commented, correcting the school one of them is playing for this season.

That's funny. FloSport really should have demanded more for the money they paid to schools.  I know some might think this is crazy.  And it 100% on them for not knowing of the transfer to John Carroll.  But they needed to demand a certain number of Coaches Corners to get fans interested in the upcoming season.  If they demanded media days. Live coverage of a spring practice.  A summer interview with offensive, defense and head coach.  It could work, but it would take work.  I don't see a better option to grow the game.  Pat and Keith have been busting their ass trying to grow the sport.  There's only so much they can do. (Along with Frank).  At some point, somebody had to come with money, which FloSports has done.  If this doesn't work, nothing will work to grow D3 football.

Nothing is going to grow D3 football past the small audience of alumni, parents, and people close to the schools. It's up to the schools to maximize their athletic teams for alumni connection. The schools that do it really well have outstanding game day atmospheres and more connection, the schools that do it poorly have what they have. But nobody, on a Saturday afternoon, is going to be flipping around the internet with the chance to watch LSU vs Ole Miss grudge match and instead decide on W&L vs Bridgewater without a baked in reason.

No, D3 schools need to learn from the places that do it best in D3 and try and make that a regular thing across the division. Get your own people invested and it will pay dividends. That's the best that will happen.

[MCScots2013]

I agree with both of you to an extent. Will a Maryville home game or Flo cast threaten the Florida or Alabama games? Of course not. But, look where D3 is now versus 15-20 years ago. I'm not even sure half the D3 schools 20 years ago had games on the radio, much less on web-based video.

Maybe the play for schools on Flo is to get 100 families in the area to say, "Hey, looks like Local U is playing." Watch a little, get Junior or Sally interested enough to visit campus and maybe apply. Or it gets a kid in South Carolina with no D3 options to think about checking out some USA South games. 100 new students for many D3's is a material increase.

[y_jack_lok]

^^^ I was going to ask AndrewB what it would look like to grow D3 football, but I think jknezek has summed it up pretty well.

AndrewB is right that if Flo were to demand more from the schools in order to provide more, then it would take work -- not just on the part of the schools, but on Flo's part as well. That would mean Flo might have to dedicate more people to providing more content, something there is no evidence they care to do.

[WUPHF]

But they needed to demand a certain number of Coaches Corners to get fans interested in the upcoming season.  If they demanded media days. Live coverage of a spring practice.  A summer interview with offensive, defense and head coach.  It could work, but it would take work. 

Does any coach ever turn down offers to do an interview?  Rhetorical question.  The answer must be very few.  Flo Sports could do this today, but someone needs to do the work as you say.  And Flo Sports has not demonstrated that they are interested in that.