United States disc golf championships

[Mack eby]

Is pay per view at US dgc a good idea or not?

 

[oldmandiscer]

They can do what they want. Personally I am not a fan of the course and will not pay to watch it. If it's on for free (with ad revenue) then I would watch it, however it's not a big deal for me not to see it.

 

[Mack eby]

I think it is a bad idea, it's not gonna help grow disc golf. What it's gonna do is help destroy disc golf.

 

[Jimb]

Wish there was a No Opinion option. I wanted to see the poll results but it doesn't really matter to me either way.

 

[Ryan P.]

I think it is a bad idea, it's not gonna help grow disc golf. What it's gonna do is help destroy disc golf.

From memory, they've been doing it this was for the past 2-3 years and the sport is ballooning in numbers.

 

[rusch_bag]

Must have worked well enough last year to keep it going. Nothing new here.

 

[seedlings]

My thought is No. traditionally DG is a park/recreation sport, and there is value in carrying on 'free'. Maybe not a bait and switch, but sucking in customers with a free sport, only to charge for viewing, may not be the best marketing.

I'd guess they could make as much or more by selling custom stamped discs and other products. Ads even.

Ultimately the organization is El Capitan, so they can charge if they want.

 

[Rastnav]

I ended up voting yes, but I honestly think the right answer is "neither". It's not a good idea. It's not a bad idea. It is an idea. There isn't anything intrinsically wrong with trying an idea to see how it works. An idea might work, it might not, and at the end of the day it's an idea that allows live coverage to exist.

DGPT and DGN exist to put professional disc golf on a firmer footing, financially. Some people like that, some people don't, but it's not really the numbers that don't which matter. It's whether you have enough people that like it to make the whole thing work. And DGN is already a "pay for live coverage" model. Having USDGC follow that model isn't really any different.

The difference between DGPT as it exists right now, and USDGC, is the availability of post-production coverage. Not having immediate post-production is an attempt to increase the number of people consuming live coverage at the expense of losing total viewer numbers. But who benefits directly from the post-production coverage? Mostly the post-production crews (and the broad disc golf watching community).

Unfortunately, as someone who vastly prefers post-production coverage, I think this is where all of the elite pro events are likely heading, provided the viewer numbers support it. Note that DGPT "asked" GKPro to stop releasing same day post-production for a recent tournament (I think it might have been was Ledgestone?) When you look at pro sports overall, live coverage is where the big dollars are, and they all control broadcasting rights zealously. A huge chunk of sports media isn't actually available on free over the air broadcasts, you end having to pay for some channel package that includes the sports you want to watch (it's just hidden in the overall fees for cable, etc.)

We have had people who work for DGN in threads here basically spit on post-production. I don't know when or of it will happen, but I my guess is that DGPT and DGN would love to have post-production on their events go away in their ideal model. USDGC is just showing what firm control over a "must have" event will allow you to do.

 

[@CD-]

I think it is a bad idea, it's not gonna help grow disc golf. What it's gonna do is help destroy disc golf.

USDGC/TPWDGC fundraising contributes a large amount to Throw Pink and EDGE disc golf, two initiatives that Innova has been instrumental in founding and extremely supportive of over the years. I don't fault them for taking their premier invitation only event and maximizing the support they can give to those charities which attempt to 'grow the sport' as much/more than any video coverage does.

The pricing is reasonable as well, 8 live rounds over 4 days for $25. Hopefully they are able to get Climo back in the booth to commentate (worth the price!).

 

[oddjob]

We can always go back to DOTS. those were fun times.

 

[Hampstead]

I think it is a bad idea, it's not gonna help grow disc golf. What it's gonna do is help destroy disc golf.

LULZ!

 

[ThrowBot]

(Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere.)

What's the deal? Is the PPV though DGN or a separate service? Is post-pro just delayed, or is it paywalled, too?

I can't say if it's a good idea or not. Merely tryin' to watch some frolf!

 

[Horsman]

(Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere.)

What's the deal? Is the PPV though DGN or a separate service? Is post-pro just delayed, or is it paywalled, too?

I can't say if it's a good idea or not. Merely tryin' to watch some frolf!

I think its on DGN but behind a paywall on there. Theres a discount for people who already pay for DGN I believe.

 

[nothinbuttree]

I don't like the entire 'created' aura surrounding this one event. I guess it coincides with the 'created' fairways that this course is infamous for. Worlds is still the biggest event, and it was simply another event on one's DGN subscription.

I wonder how many would have seen the Holy Shot if had been behind a strict paywall.

Too many cooks in the DG kitchen right now. There needs to be one cohesive force, IMHO. The interests seem too varied. But then again, I have often stated I am quite content with where DG is right now, and if it never gets any bigger, I selfishly am OK with that.

 

[Cgkdisc]

Free market eventually destabilizes an environment once the largest players who have had control for a while get challenged.

 

[Horsman]

Should I pay $25 for 1 event or $25 for 5 months of DGN where I can watch 16ish events. The price for the USDGC just doesn't coincide with what we already pay to watch disc golf.

 

[Cgkdisc]

Should I pay $25 for 1 event or $25 for 5 months of DGN where I can watch 16ish events. The price for the USDGC just doesn't coincide with what we already pay to watch disc golf.

Marketing 101 has shown that higher priced products are seen to be worth it, or buyers convince themselves it's worth it such as several Apple products, for example (not saying they are or aren't worth it, just their consumers' point of view). So, whether coverage is not free and pay-per-view, and at what price, is purely a call made by those presenting the event. To think that Innova wasn't concerned about any impact related to growing the sport is foolish, especially when the EDGE and Throw Pink events are hosted and promoted, too.

 

[Ryan P.]

We can always go back to DOTS. those were fun times.

I remember being so excited for DOTS when it came out. I showed my friends and they said, "yeah ... uh cool."

 

[Steve West]

Marketing 101 has shown that higher priced products are seen to be worth it, or buyers convince themselves it's worth it such as several Apple products, for example (not saying they are or aren't worth it, just their consumers' point of view). So, whether coverage is not free and pay-per-view, and at what price, is purely a call made by those presenting the event. To think that Innova wasn't concerned about any impact related to growing the sport is foolish, especially when the EDGE and Throw Pink events are hosted and promoted, too.

Buyers convince themselves. Not all potential buyers.

 

[peabody]

Waiting on the $19.95 VHF tape.