Bourne Dialogue regarding Flosports
"It is critical for the vitality of all sports in the conference that men’s basketball be a thriving sport as a primary revenue generator for the league. This investment in basketball aligns well with JMU’s impending move into the Union Bank & Trust Center in the Fall of 2020."


Bourne stating that it is critical that men's basketball thrive as the primary revenue generator of the athletic departments of the CAA after the systematic destruction of the men's basketball program at JMU over his entire tenure all the while watching the closet we had to institutional peers leaving the CAA...woof. I don't know if that is ballsy or out-of-touch with reality.

I give Bourne credit, he said branding in a sentence and he said men's basketball. Good.

(05-06-2019 09:29 AM)Purplehazed Wrote:  Bourne Dialogue regarding Flosports
"It is critical for the vitality of all sports in the conference that men’s basketball be a thriving sport as a primary revenue generator for the league. This investment in basketball aligns well with JMU’s impending move into the Union Bank & Trust Center in the Fall of 2020."


Bourne stating that it is critical that men's basketball thrive as the primary revenue generator of the athletic departments of the CAA after the systematic destruction of the men's basketball program at JMU over his entire tenure all the while watching the closet we had to institutional peers leaving the CAA...woof. I don't know if that is ballsy or out-of-touch with reality.

I give Bourne credit, he said branding in a sentence and he said men's basketball. Good.

In fundraising discussions this is exactly what is being said to potential donors in regards to Men's basketball being the way to more revenue generation and national recognition. At least in those conversations it appears that JMU realizes that going forward we need to invest more in basketball as it is the sport that will get us the most recognition. Remains to be seen whether there will be follow through on those statements, but they are being made.

(05-06-2019 09:15 AM)Deez Nuts Wrote:  

(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."

Gotcha, I'm assuming that is referring to the "other" sports. I guess I only think of the JMU Big 3 in terms of watching something online (Football, WBB, Softball). I'm assuming at least football will only be available through this new platform. The good news is when we make the NCAAT in sports each year the games will be available on ESPN+ for $5 a month.

Ok, I’m admittedly behind the times on a lot of this stuff.

But does this mean it’s only another option, or that Madizone will no longer have home bball games, esp when we move to the Bank?

(05-06-2019 09:56 AM)JMUDunk Wrote:  Ok, I’m admittedly behind the times on a lot of this stuff.

But does this mean it’s only another option, or that Madizone will no longer have home bball games, esp when we move to the Bank?

it's another option.

(05-06-2019 09:59 AM)Deez Nuts Wrote:  

(05-06-2019 09:56 AM)JMUDunk Wrote:  Ok, I’m admittedly behind the times on a lot of this stuff.

But does this mean it’s only another option, or that Madizone will no longer have home bball games, esp when we move to the Bank?

it's another option.

Ok thx.

Now, if only madizone on demand would stop having the final scores plastered at the top of each game page. Especially if it’s an L, what’s the point in watching?

Ah well, first world problems...

(05-06-2019 09:29 AM)Purplehazed Wrote:  Bourne Dialogue regarding Flosports
"It is critical for the vitality of all sports in the conference that men’s basketball be a thriving sport as a primary revenue generator for the league. This investment in basketball aligns well with JMU’s impending move into the Union Bank & Trust Center in the Fall of 2020."


Bourne stating that it is critical that men's basketball thrive as the primary revenue generator of the athletic departments of the CAA after the systematic destruction of the men's basketball program at JMU over his entire tenure all the while watching the closet we had to institutional peers leaving the CAA...woof. I don't know if that is ballsy or out-of-touch with reality.

I give Bourne credit, he said branding in a sentence and he said men's basketball. Good.

he actually said "a" primary revenue generator...not "the" primary revenue generator.

i still believe football will always be the one that brings in the donations, no matter what basketball achieves.

(05-06-2019 10:26 AM)Duke Dawg Wrote:  

(05-06-2019 09:29 AM)Purplehazed Wrote:  Bourne Dialogue regarding Flosports
"It is critical for the vitality of all sports in the conference that men’s basketball be a thriving sport as a primary revenue generator for the league. This investment in basketball aligns well with JMU’s impending move into the Union Bank & Trust Center in the Fall of 2020."


Bourne stating that it is critical that men's basketball thrive as the primary revenue generator of the athletic departments of the CAA after the systematic destruction of the men's basketball program at JMU over his entire tenure all the while watching the closet we had to institutional peers leaving the CAA...woof. I don't know if that is ballsy or out-of-touch with reality.

I give Bourne credit, he said branding in a sentence and he said men's basketball. Good.

he actually said "a" primary revenue generator...not "the" primary revenue generator.

i still believe football will always be the one that brings in the donations, no matter what basketball achieves.

Agreed, however, football currently has a revenue ceiling. The results JMU sees now with the disadvantage, wow, what could be...

I'll stick to Reddit for free streams of Football and Basketball that aren't on Madizone. Can't see many people buying this..

(05-06-2019 09:15 AM)Deez Nuts Wrote:  

(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."

I'm not sure how how to interpret that. I would assume they will want JMU football. If it's there is it not on local cable?

Also -

The agreement with FloSports is significant in terms of providing the CAA with an average annual seven-figure payout over the four years of the contract

I assume this is for the conference and must be relatively close to $1,000,000. If it was much more they probably would not of just said "annual seven-figure payout". So I guess 100k per scheool. I'm not sure how many fans that don't frequent this board would consider paying.

It sounds like if fans start paying to watch what they get now for free the schools will get the money.

On the positive side I would probably give it a shot and pay.
- I would like to have more alternatives/broadcasts
- Would be interesting to see other broadcasts for other conference mates

On the realistic side
- I don't watch but maybe 5-7 events on Madizone a year. How much would most people watch? How many JMU fans used to pay when Madizone was not free?
- I could probably watch conference mates for free now, but never do.

I guess to me it's not a big deal either way. I do wish we could do something with ESPN/Fox/NBCS/CBS with some standard cable converage and more revenues.

If it meant less football games on Local cable I would not be for it.

If they think 7 figures is exciting, imagine gate receipts for JMU alone of 7 figures.

Deals like this feel shortsighted to me. It seems like they are trading higher long term exposure and revenue (eg ESPN+) for an attempt to maximize the short term revenue of the existing viewer fan base.

I'm sure having some guaranteed revenue is good for our school and the conference. Just concerned this also means less eyeballs and less growth than if we were on a more mainstream platform. Hope I'm wrong and FloSports becomes a much bigger player than they are today. This is the first time I ever heard of them.

I’m not paying more than ESPN+ and Disney+ combined for CAA sports. I feel that I’m the prime demo they are targeting for this. That should alarm them if they’re following along.

(05-06-2019 11:11 AM)jmu007 Wrote:  I’m not paying more than ESPN+ and Disney+ combined for CAA sports. I feel that I’m the prime demo they are targeting for this. That should alarm them if they’re following along.

Agree. I applaud them for trying to find ways to get us more JMU content but why do it through a service that costs more and provides way less content for other collegiate and professional sports? And what about production value? I don't see this startup company matching ESPN on the quality of the broadcast.

This seems like the CAA is going with the option that could potentially earn them the most, but at this price they're going to sell far fewer subscriptions and probably end up making less. Does this seem like an option "one of the nation’s top athletic and academic collegiate conferences" would take?

FLO reminds me a lot of WOW, the brand of potato chip that made your butt leak, as well as the now defunct airline.

It looks like FloSports is a collection of many individual websites, like FloWrestling, FloHoops, FloMarching, etc. Oh that's right... these guys got freaking live Marching Bands events, like DCI, on their website! No wonder JMU and FloSports are such a great fit; we are right in line with their goal of showcasing "the best marching events." I wonder if we can watch the MRD performances on their as part of the CAA sports package.

EDIT: Here is the link to all the separate sites. A Pro membership should get you access to all of these: https://www.flosports.tv/join-now/

Some additional info from the CAA Press Release.

The CAA member institutions will have the flexibility through their partnership with FloSports to retain local linear exposure. The conference will also maintain its relationship with LAX Sports Network for coverage of CAA men’s and women’s lacrosse, while other events will remain on CAA.TV, the conference’s digital network.

Sounds like there will still be options for 'linear' (cable) broadcasts as we've had in the past. I'd be shocked if FloSports CAA events are allowed to also made available on Madizone for free, though. The way I read Bourne's announcement is that only about 15% of JMU events will be streamed through FloSports, but the remaining 85% will continue to be available on Madizone or other free streaming services as a way of saying it's not that significant of a change. Of course, FB, MBB, and WBB almost certainly make up the vast majority of actual viewership.

Since I already have a membership I will start watching some live events and report back with how the quality is. Looks like they must have a rights deal with the Big Ten for baseball as there are a lot of those games available.

(05-06-2019 11:36 AM)Centdukesfan Wrote:  FLO reminds me a lot of WOW, the brand of potato chip that made your butt leak, as well as the now defunct airline.

Thanks man. Got me good.

FloMarching has been the DCI/WGI live video providers for a while to mixed reviews.