NXN pay to watch

it says free

Thank you!

This is very unfortunate. I’ve enjoyed watching it year-after-year (particularly when it became possible to stream it on a large screen t.v.). You’d think Nike would want as large of an audience as possible. IMO they could throw in even more Nike promos and product placements in a free broadcast & I’d still be happy.

Screw this sh*t. Are they serious??? NXN has been free for years, as it should be. Nike just lost another percent of my ever-dwindling support

Heard earlier this fall that Nike was cutting budget from NXN. The webcast must have been one of those items in this case.

Undoubtedly the amateurish nature of the commentary and video coverage will dramatically improve, now that it's a pay-for service.

Don't hold your breath.

Last year had Paul Swangard and Galen Rupp as commentators, and both drone video and multiple cameras on the ground for coverage.
No complaints from me on that FREE broadcast.

Every chance I get I will say this

FLN>Nxn

I agree with that. Nike overcharges for regionals, and the clothing, and the pasta party. They make a lot of money from the event. I really enjoy watching the Footlocker event but I will alos watch Running lane and NXN.

I’m familiar with NXR Heartland from many years of attendance, so here are a few thoughts:

Revenue:

This year Heartland had a total (13 races) of 4,700 runners, at $40 - $50 entrance fees each. Let’s say a total of $250,000 in entrance fees.

Parking passes: $10/car. 5,000 cars? Let’s say $50,000 from parking.

Pasta Party: 1,100 tickets @ $20 = $22,000.

Merchandise? I have no idea, but six figures wouldn’t surprise me. There’s a huge lineup of people for hours on both Saturday and Sunday willing to shell out $40, $50, or whatever for shirts, jackets, sweats….Let’s say $100,000 at minimum.

What other sources of revenue are there? Fees for the food vendors to be onsite? Others?

Expenses:

The timing company. Wayzata Timing travels 4 hours from the Twin Cities. At least two trucks (I’ve stayed at the same hotel). 3 rooms (?) for 2 nights (?). Several staff. I’m sure their fee comes to many thousand dollars.

Large heated tent. Several thousand dollars.

Do they pay Sioux Falls to use Yankton Trail Park? I don’t know. I would think there’s a fee.

Insurance? Likely.

Truck rental, local labor, supplies, materials, etc.

Travel expenses (air, hotel) for Nike staff.

Several thousand knit caps - for the runners. Packet print costs.

Announcers, livestream costs, lead carts & fuel, etc.

Other expenses…

Profit:

It’s undoubtedly profitable. Some of the profit goes to the considerable expense of putting on NXN, but with multiple regional meets, Nike still can’t be losing money overall….

Back in August they posted on their instagram page that it would be free to watch, but now when you go to the link it says you need plus. Unbelievable

Does everyone remember when runnerspace plus had the rights to the US track 10k championships and the feed froze for the last minute of the race.

For them to do this they must have ownership so that it can't be watched anywhere else. Between Runnerspace and Milesplit I decided a few years ago to stop following high school running. I can't afford 10 different subscriptions to watch a handful of meets. I thought I would watch this one today, but not willing to pay. This is such a greedy move. A few entities now hold the enjoyment of following running coverage hostage. The people at Milesplit have made so much money off of high school kids and the kids get nothing off of their own talent. Not supporting that. NXN overestimates their importance. I guess they get enough paying spectators from the families and friends of these kids. Those of us with no one personal in the races will just pass and give up caring at all.

It was such a jerk move of Runnerspace to advertise it as free until the day of the race. Why do that to people?

I have been moving away from using Nike products. They used to be my go to, but now there are so many other great options on the market from other brands that Nike is easy to avoid. As much money as they are making from this event they couldn't keep the free live stream so that these kids could have the largest possible audience and have their day in the sun. Greedy corporations are the worst. They are ruining everything. So sick of it.

As far as I can tell the viewership is going to be terrible for this race. My buddies and I were planning to watch, but none of us is ponying up 13 bucks for runnerspace, and I doubt other people will either.

I subscribe to runnerspace. I watched Cross Champs on Thursday. Watching NXN today. They cover meets, at every level.

Thanks Nike! I didn't want to watch my friends anyways!

I am hoping the replay will be free.

“THE 2023 NIKE CROSS NATIONALS WILL BE BROADCAST LIVE FROM PORTLAND, OREGON ON SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2. THE BROADCAST WILL BEGIN AT 12:00 P.M. EASTERN / 9:00 A.M. PACIFIC.
If you miss the webcast, NikeCrossNationals.com will be the exclusive location to watch the full replay of the races. Broadcast replays will be available shortly after the conclusion of the event.”

It's one thing to require payment for the coverage you provide. It's another entirely to somehow own the rights to all coverage so that no one else can cover it. If you are confident that your product has the value you are charging then you should not need to squelch any other coverage. It's the ownership of a kids event that is weird. They can charge, but why limit anyone else if they know their video is the best. I am sick of companies owning the rights to coverage and then charging an arm and a leg for crappy coverage. Competition would improve this.