I think you guys might be underestimating the value of this company. From the article:

Quote:The company has over 40 million followers across its social media channels... The company says its content is streamed more than 1.7 billion times a month across all social platforms — mostly by Gen Z. Polls have suggested this group of 13-to-24-year-olders prefers highlights and quick sports content over traditional formats, and they favor basketball over other sports.

If this company starts a basketball league of elite youth, the founder already has an audience. It's not you or me. It's the Gen Z. They get their revenue thru ads. I don't think this pitch is as dead on the doorstep as much of you are thinking it will be.

This is how content is digested by younger people. They don't watch cable, they watch highlights. This league would have its own monopoly over the highlight distribution.. just a bunch of kids their own age making crazy plays everywhere. They would eat it up.

And lastly, I know the title says 16-18 year olds, but this league would probably start with all 18 year olds except for generational talents that could be younger. This gives them that one year requirement to play, and yes they could get paid $100k and be given a stake in the company.

(03-08-2021 01:55 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(03-08-2021 01:51 PM)Gamecock Wrote:  Where is the revenue going to come from though? That is what these minor leagues always miss. The NCAA has built in fanbases that these teams will not.

Streaming and ad sales most likely. I'm more curious as to the opponents the league finds, if any.

Who is going to pay for streaming besides friends and family? I don’t care about high school basketball. Who wants to see these guys play without a college attached to them? I would love to see ratings for G-League Ingite games. If I had a company, I wouldn’t advertise with this league because I know their audience would be so tiny.

(03-08-2021 02:43 PM)nodak651 Wrote:  This. It's mind boggling that the NBA requires kids to go to college for one year (age rule).

The 19-year-old age requirement isn't fair to some NBA-ready players who might be drafted earlier, and it isn't convenient for multi-million-dollar college basketball coaches. But it is not mind boggling.

Other US pro leagues have their own age limit rules. The NFL, which has no minor league of its own, requires that players have to be out of high school for three years before they are draft eligible. The NHL only permits its teams to draft players who are at least 18 as of September 15th of the draft year.

Even MLB, whose rules some college basketball fans want to copy, has its own restrictions: High school grads are eligible, but only if they haven't attended a college, and if they have started at a "four year" college they're not eligible until they complete three years in college (though there's a loophole for juco baseball players).

(03-08-2021 01:55 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(03-08-2021 01:51 PM)Gamecock Wrote:  Where is the revenue going to come from though? That is what these minor leagues always miss. The NCAA has built in fanbases that these teams will not.

Streaming and ad sales most likely. I'm more curious as to the opponents the league finds, if any.

I don't think they'd be looking for opponents. This isn't about teams, it's about showcasing the stars of tomorrow. They may just play mix and match scrimmages against each other, since wins and losses aren't the point. Highlights are.

(03-08-2021 03:07 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(03-08-2021 02:43 PM)nodak651 Wrote:  This. It's mind boggling that the NBA requires kids to go to college for one year (age rule).

The 19-year-old age requirement isn't fair to some NBA-ready players who might be drafted earlier, and it isn't convenient for multi-million-dollar college basketball coaches. But it is not mind boggling.

Other US pro leagues have their own age limit rules. The NFL, which has no minor league of its own, requires that players have to be out of high school for three years before they are draft eligible. The NHL only permits its teams to draft players who are at least 18 as of September 15th of the draft year.

Even MLB, whose rules some college basketball fans want to copy, has its own restrictions: High school grads are eligible, but only if they haven't attended a college, and if they have started at a "four year" college they're not eligible until they complete three years in college (though there's a loophole for juco baseball players).

They don’t require them to go to college for 1 year though, just an age requirement. I don’t have a problem with it, as it probably weeds out some kids from being duped out of their college eligibility because they have an Uncle telling them they’re NBA material. The rule is there to protect them. The Zion’s, LeBron’s, and KG’s of the world, are few and far between.

(03-08-2021 02:57 PM)odu09 Wrote:  I think you guys might be underestimating the value of this company. From the article:

Quote:The company has over 40 million followers across its social media channels... The company says its content is streamed more than 1.7 billion times a month across all social platforms — mostly by Gen Z. Polls have suggested this group of 13-to-24-year-olders prefers highlights and quick sports content over traditional formats, and they favor basketball over other sports.

If this company starts a basketball league of elite youth, the founder already has an audience. It's not you or me. It's the Gen Z. They get their revenue thru ads. I don't think this pitch is as dead on the doorstep as much of you are thinking it will be.

This is how content is digested by younger people. They don't watch cable, they watch highlights. This league would have its own monopoly over the highlight distribution.. just a bunch of kids their own age making crazy plays everywhere. They would eat it up.

And lastly, I know the title says 16-18 year olds, but this league would probably start with all 18 year olds except for generational talents that could be younger. This gives them that one year requirement to play, and yes they could get paid $100k and be given a stake in the company.

I agree. I would never have thought of this concept, but having seen it I wouldn't sell it short. Just because I probably wouldn't digest content this way, at my age (76) nobody cares much what I think anymore because I won't be in any market for much longer. The kids who will eat this up will be consumers for a long time into the future. They're the ones advertisers care about.

(03-08-2021 02:59 PM)DoubleRSU Wrote:  

(03-08-2021 01:55 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(03-08-2021 01:51 PM)Gamecock Wrote:  Where is the revenue going to come from though? That is what these minor leagues always miss. The NCAA has built in fanbases that these teams will not.

Streaming and ad sales most likely. I'm more curious as to the opponents the league finds, if any.

Who is going to pay for streaming besides friends and family? I don’t care about high school basketball. Who wants to see these guys play without a college attached to them? I would love to see ratings for G-League Ingite games. If I had a company, I wouldn’t advertise with this league because I know their audience would be so tiny.

They don't have to make it a paid service. All they need to do is run ads and ship out highlights, which is currently being gobbled up by their fanbase (see my post above yours). It can definitely be profitable without any of us watching.

(03-08-2021 04:20 PM)odu09 Wrote:  

(03-08-2021 02:59 PM)DoubleRSU Wrote:  

(03-08-2021 01:55 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(03-08-2021 01:51 PM)Gamecock Wrote:  Where is the revenue going to come from though? That is what these minor leagues always miss. The NCAA has built in fanbases that these teams will not.

Streaming and ad sales most likely. I'm more curious as to the opponents the league finds, if any.

Who is going to pay for streaming besides friends and family? I don’t care about high school basketball. Who wants to see these guys play without a college attached to them? I would love to see ratings for G-League Ingite games. If I had a company, I wouldn’t advertise with this league because I know their audience would be so tiny.

They don't have to make it a paid service. All they need to do is run ads and ship out highlights, which is currently being gobbled up by their fanbase (see my post above yours). It can definitely be profitable without any of us watching.

I have 4 kids (2 boys & 2 girls), all currently in their 20s...3 of my kids are college basketball fans. We generally have a weekend a year that we attend an NCAA Regional tournament. I’m amazed at how they follow high school age basketball and recruiting. They know about the top players coming into the college game...especially Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, etc. There is something social and exciting about high-level youth basketball.

(03-08-2021 04:50 PM)Wahoowa84 Wrote:  

(03-08-2021 04:20 PM)odu09 Wrote:  

(03-08-2021 02:59 PM)DoubleRSU Wrote:  

(03-08-2021 01:55 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(03-08-2021 01:51 PM)Gamecock Wrote:  Where is the revenue going to come from though? That is what these minor leagues always miss. The NCAA has built in fanbases that these teams will not.

Streaming and ad sales most likely. I'm more curious as to the opponents the league finds, if any.

Who is going to pay for streaming besides friends and family? I don’t care about high school basketball. Who wants to see these guys play without a college attached to them? I would love to see ratings for G-League Ingite games. If I had a company, I wouldn’t advertise with this league because I know their audience would be so tiny.

They don't have to make it a paid service. All they need to do is run ads and ship out highlights, which is currently being gobbled up by their fanbase (see my post above yours). It can definitely be profitable without any of us watching.

I have 4 kids (2 boys & 2 girls), all currently in their 20s...3 of my kids are college basketball fans. We generally have a weekend a year that we attend an NCAA Regional tournament. I’m amazed at how they follow high school age basketball and recruiting. They know about the top players coming into the college game...especially Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, etc. There is something social and exciting about high-level youth basketball.

Especially if you're recently "youth" yourself. FWIW, I think it would be a mistake to take this to Europe. Their kids already have a viable path to the NBA without leaving the continent. Our kids don't yet have that same path.

I’m not sure what a year in a league where the games are all exhibitions designed to create highlight reels is going to help develop young talent.

If you really want to develop young guys and give them an opportunity to earn some money the games need to be competitive and what better way to make them competitive than to incentivize winning with cash.

Like others have already said I don't see those of us that post on these message boards as being the primary target for this. Probably not the best comparison, but esports are something else that are big with a younger audience. One game called League of Legends has "divisions" around the world. The LCS, which is the NA division, paid an average salary of $410k. Some of their players make seven figures so that affects the average. Anyway they seem to be banking financially mostly on that audience.

(03-08-2021 02:10 PM)Renandpat Wrote:  

(03-08-2021 11:10 AM)ken d Wrote:  

(03-08-2021 10:25 AM)Renandpat Wrote:  I'm not sure if the 27-30th kids within this concept will really get better as opposed to staying in HS and attending any college program. In addition, the idea of relocating 30 families to a European city seems full of issues, primarily getting the parents eligibility to have a job. It appears that the league will try to make money more from NBA Top Shot-like highlights than from gate and rights to the games themselves.

At least Lavar Ball's failed barnstorming attempt had a viable NBA player in LaMelo. Whose going to choose this when the G League has the Ignite team already set up?

I saw nothing in that article about locating this league in Europe. Have you seen this somewhere else?

Mentioned on the latest Yahoo Sports College podcast

I listened to the podcast and found the article they were referencing. I didn't get the impression that it would be completely in Europe.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/04/sport...l-pay.html

Quote:The new league, Overtime Elite, most resembles soccer academies in Europe and elsewhere. The players, and possibly their families, will move to one city — Overtime says it is selecting between two choices — to live and train together. Overtime will hire education staffers to teach the athletes and help them get high school diplomas. A basketball operations division will include coaches and trainers and will be led by Brandon Williams, the former N.B.A. player who was also previously a front office executive for the Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings. The commissioner is Aaron Ryan, a former longtime N.B.A. league office executive.

Quote:Some details on what the league will actually look like or how fans can watch are still unsettled. There will be no permanent teams, but instead dynamic rosters within the league, and Porter and Weiner envision some sort of barnstorming tour of Europe. Games will no doubt be viewable online, but Overtime promises the games themselves and content around them won’t look too similar to typical basketball telecasts.

So when it comes to Europe I'm guessing they do something like the Globetrotters, but not being based in Europe itself. That may be the case for how they handle the US as well.

I have serious doubts about the credibility of the claims they are making regarding subscribers and views. Both are easy to fudge, easy to purchase, and don't indicate any level of engagement, imo.

Quote from the article linked previously--

"High-school sports were not a passion, or even an interest, really, of Overtime’s founders, Dan Porter and Zack Weiner, before they began brainstorming ideas for a new company, a few years ago, while working together at the talent agency William Morris Endeavor. Porter, who is fifty-three, is a so-called serial entrepreneur..."

Sounds like someone who wants/knows how to create click bait, and possibly monetize all of those annoying auto play videos, but little else.

They claim 40 million subscribers, but thats more 14-18 year olds than there are in the US, and I really doubt international kids are following US high school basketball in any significant numbers. Maybe the big NBA stars, but not high school kids. And even in the US, I doubt more than 5% of their demographic being subscribers. I would be shocked if they had anywhere near their claims.

However, I'm all for it. It separates some fool backers from their money and keeps non academic types out of the college game. And seeing it flop will provide a good laugh for me.

(03-08-2021 07:49 PM)Todor Wrote:  I have serious doubts about the credibility of the claims they are making regarding subscribers and views. Both are easy to fudge, easy to purchase, and don't indicate any level of engagement, imo.

Quote from the article linked previously--

"High-school sports were not a passion, or even an interest, really, of Overtime’s founders, Dan Porter and Zack Weiner, before they began brainstorming ideas for a new company, a few years ago, while working together at the talent agency William Morris Endeavor. Porter, who is fifty-three, is a so-called serial entrepreneur..."

Sounds like someone who wants/knows how to create click bait, and possibly monetize all of those annoying auto play videos, but little else.

They claim 40 million subscribers, but thats more 14-18 year olds than there are in the US, and I really doubt international kids are following US high school basketball in any significant numbers. Maybe the big NBA stars, but not high school kids. And even in the US, I doubt more than 5% of their demographic being subscribers. I would be shocked if they had anywhere near their claims.

However, I'm all for it. It separates some fool backers from their money and keeps non academic types out of the college game. And seeing it flop will provide a good laugh for me.

Actually it said "over 40 million followers across its social media channels" so I don't take that as over 40 million individuals. Plus the age range you mention is smaller than the one the article mentions which was 13-24 and also said that not all of them came from that group. But I do agree the numbers can be questionable. I think if a person is an amateur purist they would want to see it succeed.