Flosports deal with new WCHA a disaster for fans

[Dirty Dream No. 2]

I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE to know how much flosports is paying the new WCHA for its sham known as the WCHA's streaming partner because requiring fans to pay either $30 per month or $240 per year is an absolute disgrace. Who is actually watching the WCHA this year?

The last few years I'd pay to watch the WCHA title game and maybe a game or two during the regular season. Not anymore as flosports does not offer single game viewing, only the $30/monthly rate or $240 per year. Which is absolutely outrageous. Would love to know what those streaming numbers are and the according trends as I can only imagine that WCHA streaming for this year took a huge dive as I for one am not willing to pay $30 nevertheless $240 to watch WCHA hockey.

I'm sure the WCHA doesn't care as long as it has that sweet sweet floaction money to line its pockets.

 

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Re: Flosports deal with new WCHA a disaster for fans

I'm curious as well. While I enjoyed the season pass, I fielded a lot of questions from frustrated OOC fans (WMU in particular). Seems like Flo could pick up some additional revenue by offering single game passes for OOC games.

 

[Deman]

Re: Flosports deal with new WCHA a disaster for fans

Hell, I'd pay $10 for a 2day pass so I could watch some away games, especially this coming weekend. Only having a monthly or yearly pass sucks.

 

[UAFIceAngel]

Re: Flosports deal with new WCHA a disaster for fans

I didn’t use the service until this past weekend for playoffs so I’ll be canceling my subscription here soon since we got knocked out of the first round. Even then, we missed the entire second period on Saturday due to issues with the broadcast.

I liked being able to watch my team, but not at $30 a month and not with the home teams play by play because I prefer listening to our announcer. So I’ll stick to radio.

 

[lakersparty]

Re: Flosports deal with new WCHA a disaster for fans

Where are you getting $240 from? I paid $150 for a year's subscription. Given it's been Lake Superior State's best year since 1996 and I got to see it, I'm pretty happy FloHockey exists.

 

[lakersparty]

Re: Flosports deal with new WCHA a disaster for fans

Hell, I'd pay $10 for a 2day pass so I could watch some away games, especially this coming weekend. Only having a monthly or yearly pass sucks.

I do think they should have a cheaper road game subscription for local fans. For someone like me, out of state and not able to attend pretty much any game, I think it's worth the $150.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: Flosports deal with new WCHA a disaster for fans

I'm not surprised, given most companies like this insist upon monthly services in order to upsell the other things offered. For $150 and 14 games, works out to about $11 per game depending on sales tax. If you feel that's worth it...

 

[GoNanooks]

I didn’t use the service until this past weekend for playoffs so I’ll be canceling my subscription here soon since we got knocked out of the first round. Even then, we missed the entire second period on Saturday due to issues with the broadcast.

I liked being able to watch my team, but not at $30 a month and not with the home teams play by play because I prefer listening to our announcer. So I’ll stick to radio.

Purchased the month pass for the first time this season and though my team is now out, I will try to get my money’s worth and catch a few other games. There have been a few times in past years I have paid for a single weekend of hockey, but with the time difference it’s not worth it to pay that much money to get home after work and it’s in the third period. I would also rather listen to Bruce call the games. It would be nice if they had an option of which audio feed you wanted to listen to, for the teams with that available.

 

[lakersparty]

Re: Flosports deal with new WCHA a disaster for fans

I'm not surprised, given most companies like this insist upon monthly services in order to upsell the other things offered. For $150 and 14 games, works out to about $11 per game depending on sales tax. If you feel that's worth it...

I think LSSU has been on Flo nearly 40 times this year. $3.75 a game is worth it to me.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: Flosports deal with new WCHA a disaster for fans

I think LSSU has been on Flo nearly 40 times this year. $3.75 a game is worth it to me.

I was more referring to those that wanted just away games. Obviously it changes if you go for home games as well, and/or playoffs.

 

[Alaska Hockey]

Re: Flosports deal with new WCHA a disaster for fans

I didn’t use the service until this past weekend for playoffs so I’ll be canceling my subscription here soon since we got knocked out of the first round. Even then, we missed the entire second period on Saturday due to issues with the broadcast.

I liked being able to watch my team, but not at $30 a month and not with the home teams play by play because I prefer listening to our announcer. So I’ll stick to radio.

The broadcast problems is the home teams sorry video teams lack of proper supervision and training ......a lot of schools have no pride in their product.........so crap in crap out......The league is just as bad no pride in production or even wanting improvement, won't even email you back when you have a question.........


Flosports..... can"t fix stupid ..... WCHA charges more for same bush league product......

 

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Re: Flosports deal with new WCHA a disaster for fans

BG's broadcasts are all student run and that's not going to change any time soon. It's an opportunity to start learning your craft whether it's behind the camera, behind the board, or on the mike. Doc Emrick never hesitates to say he was thankful for the opportunity to make mistakes broadcasting the second period of all those BG games back in the 70's. It's college and we have to cut these kids a little slack.

BTW, I think Ferris' Harrison Watt is one of the better play-by-play guys in the league.

 

[Laker Dude]

Re: Flosports deal with new WCHA a disaster for fans

I think LSSU has been on Flo nearly 40 times this year. $3.75 a game is worth it to me.

I paid $150 also. I have a feeling this was a one time deal though and the auto renewal next fall with be $240.

I have made it in person to 3 home games and 2 away games this season, so I have watched 25-30 LSSU games on flo this season. I have also caught numerous big 10 games along with other WCHA games on FLO.

The positive to me, is I can get to the screen to view games on demand without seeing a score. The score would automatically display on the old WCHA TV system, which makes me less likely to watch a game tape delayed.

It sounds like Atlantic Hockey is going to use FLO next season. I look forward to being able to watch some teams I do not normally get to see as they have numerous weeknight games.

 

[Dirty Dream No. 2]

Re: Flosports deal with new WCHA a disaster for fans

I didn’t use the service until this past weekend for playoffs so I’ll be canceling my subscription here soon since we got knocked out of the first round. Even then, we missed the entire second period on Saturday due to issues with the broadcast.

I liked being able to watch my team, but not at $30 a month and not with the home teams play by play because I prefer listening to our announcer. So I’ll stick to radio.

This is one of the things that drives me crazy. If I'm paying $30 per month (was HBO or Showtime ever $30 per month 20 years ago when it was cutting edge for pay-TV programming?), it's got to be almost perfect broadcasting, meaning no bush league stuff like interruptions to the broadcast.

Really frustrating the cost of WCHA TV has gone up but the quality has not. At least with NCHC, you are getting state of the art broadcast quality.

I paid $5 per month for ESPN+ which includes ECAC, and it was worth the money. My school isn't a ECAC school but the broadcasts were decent enough.

 

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Re: Flosports deal with new WCHA a disaster for fans

The Flosports deal has been very well received in Minnesota. It looked like well over 10,000 Gopher fans were at home glued to their computers this past weekend longing for the days of the old WCHA...
Ryan

<img width=800 src="https://stmedia.stimg.co/ctyp_empty-mariucci-arena.jpg">

 

[bigblue_dl]

Re: Flosports deal with new WCHA a disaster for fans

BG's broadcasts are all student run and that's not going to change any time soon. It's an opportunity to start learning your craft whether it's behind the camera, behind the board, or on the mike. Doc Emrick never hesitates to say he was thankful for the opportunity to make mistakes broadcasting the second period of all those BG games back in the 70's. It's college and we have to cut these kids a little slack.

BTW, I think Ferris' Harrison Watt is one of the better play-by-play guys in the league.

If people are paying $30 per month, it is absolutely unacceptable to have students doing the broadcast that don't know what they're doing. This is a business, not a class. If they're going to be student broadcasts, the price needs to be FREE. If they're charging, it needs to be a professional production. END OF STORY.

 

[The Exiled One]

Re: Flosports deal with new WCHA a disaster for fans

If people are paying $30 per month, it is absolutely unacceptable to have students doing the broadcast that don't know what they're doing. This is a business, not a class. If they're going to be student broadcasts, the price needs to be FREE. If they're charging, it needs to be a professional production. END OF STORY.

Really depends on the school. When Fox Sports picks up the SCSU games, the productions are student run and are as good as any professional sports broadcast. The PxP (Jim Rich) and Color (Pat Micheletti) guys are paid professionals, but everything else is students including rinkside reporting and intermission pieces and interviews. Of course, the broadcast journalism program is one of SCSU's hallmarks, so it wouldn't be fair to expect the same from other schools.

The UMD broadcasts are pretty good too. I'm not sure who runs those. Everybody else's local broadcasts are fairly amateurish except for when CBSSN picks them up nationally.

Also, the early bird annual pass for NCHC.tv is only $99. I heard Josh Fenton on an interview last night say that there were 15,000 subscribers. That's about $1,500,000 in revenue and I expect they're still losing money on the deal, but he sounded optimistic about growing into profitability. The WCHA pricing model seems to suggest they're going for profitability straight out of the gate. Comments on this thread seem to suggest that strategy may be failing.

 

[bigblue_dl]

Re: Flosports deal with new WCHA a disaster for fans

Really depends on the school. When Fox Sports picks up the SCSU games, the productions are student run and are as good as any professional sports broadcast. The PxP (Jim Rich) and Color (Pat Micheletti) guys are paid professionals, but everything else is students including rinkside reporting and intermission pieces and interviews. Of course, the broadcast journalism program is one of SCSU's hallmarks, so it wouldn't be fair to expect the same from other schools.

The UMD broadcasts are pretty good too. I'm not sure who runs those. Everybody else's local broadcasts are fairly amateurish except for when CBSSN picks them up nationally.

Also, the early bird annual pass for NCHC.tv is only $99. I heard Josh Fenton on an interview last night say that there were 15,000 subscribers. That's about $1,500,000 in revenue and I expect they're still losing money on the deal, but he sounded optimistic about growing into profitability. The WCHA pricing model seems to suggest they're going for profitability straight out of the gate. Comments on this thread seem to suggest that strategy may be failing.

That is why I added the "that don't know what they're doing". If a program can have a student broadcast team, and still put out a professional looking product, more power to them. But it should not be an excuse for a ****ty product. People are paying for that product, and those paying customers, at $30 per month, are paying for a professional product.

 

[manurespreader]

Re: Flosports deal with new WCHA a disaster for fans

That is why I added the "that don't know what they're doing". If a program can have a student broadcast team, and still put out a professional looking product, more power to them. But it should not be an excuse for a ****ty product. People are paying for that product, and those paying customers, at $30 per month, are paying for a professional product.

I don't know, Sure some of the broadcasts are less than good but honestly i get what's going on. I watch 4 games per weekend at least, and I get a goood bang for the buck.

 

[chickod]

Re: Flosports deal with new WCHA a disaster for fans

I can understand both opinions. But I have to say, as one who remembers sitting in my dorm room huddled next to a transistor radio trying to hear the broadcast of the NCAA tournament (which was like trying to tune in a radio station from Finland), I have to take the view that being able to see the game is better than nothing. Yes, the production could be better. What's REALLY annoying is the schools that just take the scoreboard feed, and what's even worse is how the production literally ends about 1.5 seconds after the clock goes to zero. But it's still better than not being able to watch the game at all.