I thought I'd seen it all. Flotrack is charging people to watch South Regional - A stream the NCAA is putting on for free!

Can someone tell me why the NCAA would allow this?

Cause they are not douches.

Isn’t capitalism great, rojo?

rojo wrote:

Can someone tell me why the NCAA would allow this?

Wish I had the answer, regardless, thanks for the link.

where in that NCAA page is a link to any live feeds?

Why are you trying to destroy their business model? Do you hate small businesses and want to be a job destroyer?

;)

MeHereYouWhere?! wrote:

Why are you trying to destroy their business model? Do you hate small businesses and want to be a job destroyer?

;)

They're too greedy pal for the quality of product that they put out.

Destroy their business model? What?

I didn't post it, the NCAA did. Why don't yo so bravely contact them with your real name and tell them how wrong they are??? I won't hold my breath for that to happen.

I thought last year someone found where that was improper by NCAA rules. Rules may have changed, but are we sure.

where indeed does it say anywhere it is free via NCAA. It clearly says FloTrack is doing it and it costs. Guess that Ivy League education failed you.

trackster2 wrote:

where indeed does it say anywhere it is free via NCAA. It clearly says FloTrack is doing it and it costs. Guess that Ivy League education failed you.

On the South Regional live results page, it has two webstream links. The NCAA one said it was free (which is how I was able to watch the race) while the Flotrack one said $$$

trackster2 wrote:

where indeed does it say anywhere it is free via NCAA. It clearly says FloTrack is doing it and it costs. Guess that Ivy League education failed you.

I watched the entire race for free ath the following link:

Both streams were identical. They had the same announcer.

Flotrack needs to do what it needs to do to stay in business. I don't see the point in calling them greedy.

My beef is more with the NCAA.

Why is cross country treated differently than I think EVERY (or most EVERY) other NCAA sport? Correct me if I'm wrong but are there other NCAA championships behind a paywall.

Don't say a lot of NCAA sports are on cable networks you have to subscribe to. That is not the same thing as most sport fans in America still pay for a basic cable package and get access to the major channels with the major championshiops.

I was in Louisville last year for NCAAs or a couple of years ago and I think field hockey or something else was going on. DII or DIII champs. They are streamed for free. Now granted the NCAA maybe can't find some outside entity to put them behind a paywall on, but they could easily put the stream behind a paywall on their own, but they don't.

Yet cross country is allowed to be behind a paywall? I understand people are starting to cut the cord and Flotrack wants to pretend its like a cable network, but it's not. There is not 24/7 programming on the site.

Whether NCAAs XC is behind a a Flotrack paywall or an NCAA paywall makes no difference to the fan. I actually don't see what Flotrack bring of value to the situation accept the $ they are paying the NCAA. The NCAA in the past paid for professional broadcasters and put the meet on a free stream or on cable TV. If all this is about is the $ from the Flotrack paying why doesn't the NCAA put it behind it's own paywall. Just charge people a one off $15 to watch if they want? Better than making people pay for a monthly subscription they otherwise don't need.

***

So does anyone know of any other NCAA championships that are behind a non-cable paywall? Feel free to email me

wejo@letsrun.com

trackster2 wrote:

where indeed does it say anywhere it is free via NCAA. It clearly says FloTrack is doing it and it costs. Guess that Ivy League education failed you.

Dear trackster2,

Sometimes it's better to remain silent and be thought the fool than to speak and remove all doubt.

I watched it for free as well on the same site. If you had clicked on the link you would have seen it for yourself.

I had no idea that Flotrack was charging anything or that they were even filming it. I found it on the NCAA meet yesterday.

Sure, I'll pay over $30 for something that someone else is offering for free. That makes sense.

Also, the feed that I watched was fine and so were the announcers, versus Flotrack's announcers which I've heard in the past.

His Ivy League education didn't fail him as much as your Community College education appears to have failed you.

but why isn't NCAA archiving the videos and making them available for viewing later?

because I can't watch it now

there is something really wrong with USATF and NCAA not making amateur championship races publicly available, especially if they go the trouble of recording them in the first place - I know they aren't official government organizations but they are quasi-governmental and are responsible for promoting the sport

if hosting expense is a problem I am sure archive .org would help for free

Deer Flotrack:

I've had enough of Mick Byrne and his s-bombs. It's great that he built a sports car out of scrap parts at Iona, but he was handed the keys to a Lambo when he got to Wisco and can't get it out of the driveway. Please stick to coverage of championship programs as content filler, instead. Thanks!

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot wrote:

Deer Flotrack:

I've had enough of Mick Byrne and his s-bombs. It's great that he built a sports car out of scrap parts at Iona, but he was handed the keys to a Lambo when he got to Wisco and can't get it out of the driveway. Please stick to coverage of championship programs as content filler, instead. Thanks!

That's why their bottom line is falling.

Seems like any event being held on public property (Apalachee Regional Park) could be filmed and streamed by anyone. Wouldn't that be the case?

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot wrote:

Deer Flotrack:

I've had enough of Mick Byrne and his s-bombs. It's great that he built a sports car out of scrap parts at Iona, but he was handed the keys to a Lambo when he got to Wisco and can't get it out of the driveway. Please stick to coverage of championship programs as content filler, instead. Thanks!

haha-nice one---yeah it is like the Wisco show---car is out of the driveway but stuck in 1st gear!

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot wrote:

Deer Flotrack:

I've had enough of Mick Byrne and his s-bombs. It's great that he built a sports car out of scrap parts at Iona, but he was handed the keys to a Lambo when he got to Wisco and can't get it out of the driveway. Please stick to coverage of championship programs as content filler, instead. Thanks!

It looks like someone wasn't happy with the week's worth of Portland Pilot's coverage.