https://caasports.com/news/2019/5/5/gene...rtner.aspx

More discussion and information to come.

I'll give it a fair chance, but just Google FloSports and DC United, and well...it's not pretty.

12.50/month for the service. If it works reliably, I am fine with it.

$12.50 per month as the introductory rate to watch CAA sports online? Meh. When you add that to all the other subscription packages I think I'll probably pass. But it is interesting that a company founded by a guy after his dad told him he was better off starting his own business rather than trying to take over his fathers and then building a company that films backyard wrestling for monthly subscribers only to eventually land the CAA contract is interesting to say the least.

If you're a fan of sports like softball, you'll get some use out of the subscription even if there is no JMU game on. Most of the large, early season tournaments are carried on Flo and a lot of Big 10 regular season is as well.

Pitz!!!

My son is a wrestler so I am already a subscriber to Flowrestling and it sounds like the $12.50 gets you all of the Flo sites. This ends up being a good deal for me. I have had no issues with the Flowrestling site.

(05-06-2019 08:35 AM)doubleduke2016 Wrote:  $12.50 per month as the introductory rate to watch CAA sports online? Meh. When you add that to all the other subscription packages I think I'll probably pass. But it is interesting that a company founded by a guy after his dad told him he was better off starting his own business rather than trying to take over his fathers and then building a company that films backyard wrestling for monthly subscribers only to eventually land the CAA contract is interesting to say the least.

Guess it was only a matter of time before JMU/CAA etc. monetized the game content.

While I enjoy watching the games and will probably always follow closely, I'm not sure I'll jump on this at this point in time. I'll more than likely continue to focus my time and money on my 3.5 year old and soon to newborn.

If you go to sign up you will see its $12.50/month if you pay annually at $150/year.

If you wanna opt in and out every month you pay $30/month

So why are we the only D1 league that can't seem to strike a deal with ESPN? I'd rather us have to pay $5/month for ESPN+ and know that it functions as expected. That almost seems like a deal in comparison, plus you'd have access to other FCS football.

In addition to the other sports on ESPN+. We will see how this goes. My main question is how it will work on mobile, since I can't always be on the couch watching on Roku.

(05-06-2019 08:43 AM)solohawks Wrote:  If you go to sign up you will see its $12.50/month if you pay annually at $150/year.

If you wanna opt in and out every month you pay $30/month

Even if a fan only cares about JMU football and wants to watch the 3-4 of our games that will show up on it, we can probably only pay $60 for a two month period and save money. That's still ridiculously priced for the content you actually care about though.

How do they expect to succeed if they offer no content fans want as a price no one wants to pay?

Hmmm...I googled Flosports reviews and these are some of first few reviews on the first site I looked at. It looks like they suffer from the same issues as most startup/low budget video companies with breaks in service/glitchy delays/and single camera angles. But it sounds like for some it is a great option to view sporting events that you normally would never be able to see online.

Reviews

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Mediocre at best

ChattOwl's Review of Flosports

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it’s slow and it needs a search bar
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This apps functions smoothly and is well designed for good user experience. It is fast and easy to find what you are like looking for and I’ve had no problem opening up media. However one IMPORTANT feature missing is the search bar. You can’t search for events and it would take a very long time to scroll through each one and find it. Please fix this issue and the app would be 5/5
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Disappointed
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Horrible service
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I downloaded this app in hopes of watching the SantaClara Vanguards Finals show that my niece was in because Flosports has snagged all the iTunes U video of it. I’m in Ct and it was in Texas so I couldn’t see it live and was working when it took place. The only video available on here is tiny and looks like it was shot aerially. Very disappointing to know that good video exists but they’re not making it available. Why?
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Are you kidding me?
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I absolutely love Flograppling but the app needs help. Where is the search bar? How do you search to watch certain people?
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A waist of money
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Garbage don’t waste your money
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These folks have potential, but have a lot of work to do. The ATV app does not have any support for delayed or time shifted coverage. If you work like most folks and miss the live coverage, you will not be able to go back that evening and watch later unless you want to watch on a browser sitting at your computer. How lame! Their service desk is responsive, and asked for patience, but so far have given no timeframe for resolution. I advise steering clear for now until they complete the product a little more. Also, there is not a current way to save your preferred sports. You must filter each time you go in.
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I love the FloSports app to get coverage on all of my favorite sports that get no love elsewhere - like on espn. On Flo, I can read up on and stay current with the world of track and and field, wrestling, hockey, cycling, and more! I also love the commentary and quality of video during coverage of live events. Flipping through the sports screen in the app is a bit difficult, but that is just a minor issue when you realize how much quality content is available from a passionate team!!!
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ehhh, I will reserve judgement but I am somewhat underwhelmed on the surface. Does not move any needle for me.

Looks like there will still be alternatives to watching... such as Facebook, Madizone, cable TV, etc, this is just another way to get the content.

(05-06-2019 08:57 AM)Deez Nuts Wrote:  Looks like there will still be alternatives to watching... such as Facebook, Madizone, cable TV, etc, this is just another way to get the content.

that is how i read it also, it is like Baskin Robbins, 31 flavors of how to view JMU athletics. However, this seems like a pretty 'pricey' option for what you would actually get.

Here is more news from their press release. It looks like we are the first conference to make them our primary provider. It also looks like they will carry the majority of CAA football and most of the championships but we still get to carry local "regular tv" games if we can negotiate the local channels.

"The agreement marks a pivotal moment for both parties as the CAA becomes the first college conference to select a streaming OTT, direct-to-consumer company as their primary media partner. In addition, the CAA becomes the first comprehensive college conference partner for FloSports."

"Over 50% of the CAA Football games this season will be broadcast on FloSports"

"the majority of conference championships to air on the network each year."

"The CAA member institutions will have the flexibility through their partnership with FloSports to retain local linear exposure."

(05-06-2019 09:01 AM)ShadyP Wrote:  

(05-06-2019 08:57 AM)Deez Nuts Wrote:  Looks like there will still be alternatives to watching... such as Facebook, Madizone, cable TV, etc, this is just another way to get the content.

that is how i read it also, it is like Baskin Robbins, 31 flavors of how to view JMU athletics. However, this seems like a pretty 'pricey' option for what you would actually get.

I think you have to look at this in relation to the other content that you are going to be getting. As I noted above I am already a subscriber because my son and I watch wrestling events that my son's teammates may be in around the country as well as college wrestling events. They are gathering more and more content. I have had no issues with the stream, but I am generally looking at content that is being viewed by smaller numbers of people. I also think that you will see price coming down and quality getting better as they are getting more an more money from investors that will allow them to pour more money back in.

(05-06-2019 08:57 AM)Deez Nuts Wrote:  Looks like there will still be alternatives to watching... such as Facebook, Madizone, cable TV, etc, this is just another way to get the content.

Interesting. I didn't read it that way. I read it as they will be the exclusive for any of the games they pick up (over 50%) but maybe I am wrong. I would think they would not be paying us 7 figures per year if we can still get the content for free from other options unless they think their coverage is so much better. I would assume the reason they are willing to pay millions is to get the exclusive online rights to over 50% of the football games not to share those rights with the free options.

(05-06-2019 09:13 AM)doubleduke2016 Wrote:  

(05-06-2019 08:57 AM)Deez Nuts Wrote:  Looks like there will still be alternatives to watching... such as Facebook, Madizone, cable TV, etc, this is just another way to get the content.

Interesting. I didn't read it that way. I read it as they will be the exclusive for any of the games they pick up (over 50%) but maybe I am wrong. I would think they would not be paying us 7 figures per year if we can still get the content for free from other options unless they think their coverage is so much better. I would assume the reason they are willing to pay millions is to get the exclusive online rights to over 50% of the football games not to share those rights with the free options.

This quote was in the release:

"That means that the vast majority of JMU events will still be available via a combination of free-to-consumer platforms in line with our current broadcast model."