DGPT Drops New Media Outlook for 2019

[Finny]

Didn't this happen with Murder Mike? It seems like he was doing general DG coverage and then got "picked up" by Prodigy to cover their players.

"Prodigy Disc" still has a YouTube channel but I have no idea if this is still Murder Mike or not.

Or I could be absolutely wrong. Wouldn't be the first time!!

That was Marty McGee. McFlySoHigh

 

[markmcc]

That was Marty McGee. McFlySoHigh

So close...:wall:

 

[jvphobic]

The logistics of each media team is different. Most of our teams are primarily powered by Patreon. That is a fluctuating value depending on how many people are donating and their number of creations each month.

Every situation is going to be different. Who are the pros showing up? How many rounds? Can they have their own sponsors? There is no hard and fast rule.

 

[JTacoma03]

I definitely see this as a much different scenario than the DGWT launch and to me it looks like DGPT is trying to move towards a more DGWT-ish model, where most if not all content comes out under the DGPT banner (I think we agree on that?).

Please correct me if I'm wrong on this: weren't DGWT and SpinTV both under the Innova/Discmania umbrella of companies and therefore corporate partners (or associates) of a sort before DGWT launched?

Thanks for chiming in Allen - always good to hear from you!

So, the short answer is "yes" to asking about partners/sharing an umbrella. My attempt at subtly suggesting that was the use of quotes for "agreed".

But it's not so much that there weren't boundaries. Spin18 is/was the production company responsible for the DGWT, owned formerly by Jussi and a business partner, but now solely by Jussi.

Jussi reached into his other bag of brands to bring along DiscGolfPark, Discmania, and SpinTV...adding those relevant components.

Jussi then inked deals with Innova and Grip Eq, though I don't think he'd mind me sharing that he did reach out to other brands as well.


PS - don't read into the use of Russ Hanneman as a proxy for Jussi. The two are nothing alike, I just love that show and thought the joke was appropriate.

Perhaps we see media companies with exclusive manufacturer sponsorships.

That would dictate which tournaments they can cover.

Or maybe that wouldn't work.

I'd say that SpinTV was the best case study for this. Prodigy did in-house McFlySoHigh, but the channel never really caught traction.

For the last few years, in concert with the increased efforts from CCDG and Jomez covering the tour more, we focused our coverage efforts on events that [Innova, Innova Europe, Discmania, DGWT] either ran or put significant investment behind (LVC aka GCC, Masters Cup, USDGC, European Open, European Masters, Konopiste, European Championships, etc.).

It became cheaper to outsource and purchase ads on those other channels for the other events, rather than to absorb the cost of in-housing everything.

3 years ago I did think of that as the way of the future, but we've shifted into a new era. It's the era of the content creator, and I think that the general public has spoken - it would rather co-fund and co-support the creators alongside the manufacturers/brands, rather than support a flow through model...

[ Audience $ ] ---> [Creators] <--- [Sponsor Support]

rather than

[ Audience $ ] ---> [Business, Potential Sponsors] ---> [Creators]

 

[toddnick]

I think that in the long run the model will/should be the media paying the league to broadcast/do media...it is the model in pretty much every other sport...

The media doesn't work for the sport, it is its own business...which yields it's profits from advertisers and subscribers...

By both the media and the league/tour being independent and negotiating deals, they both are motivated to put the best product out there...

The question is how to balance the income generated by the media with payments the media makes to the league/tour so that everyone comes out in the red...and that the fans get the best media with well run tournaments and generous purses...

My thoughts anyway...

 

[toddnick]

I think I meant "in the black" rather than "in the red", I'm not a finance guy...I meant that both parties end up ahead...

 

[WautownRob]

So.. I've wanted to ask this question for a while, and almost started a thread some time ago... Whatever happened to McFlysoHigh? He was the best cameraman and had 4k when ccdg maybe just started to have 720 videos. I know he went to prodigy, but last year i'm pretty sure that stuff coming out didnt look like his work at all. If Marty couldn't make it, what hope is it for the rest of these filming crews? And where did PHP go? Dude made some great vids as well. Its a shame when business and friends are wrapped up together because it rarely seems to end up well. Anyways, it will be interesting to see how this production crews v. DGPT Tour plays out.

 

[teemkey]

I wonder if there's been any push back from the 2019 DGPT Tournament TDs.

 

[JTacoma03]

So.. I've wanted to ask this question for a while, and almost started a thread some time ago... Whatever happened to McFlysoHigh? He was the best cameraman and had 4k when ccdg maybe just started to have 720 videos. I know he went to prodigy, but last year i'm pretty sure that stuff coming out didnt look like his work at all. If Marty couldn't make it, what hope is it for the rest of these filming crews? And where did PHP go? Dude made some great vids as well. Its a shame when business and friends are wrapped up together because it rarely seems to end up well. Anyways, it will be interesting to see how this production crews v. DGPT Tour plays out.

I'll take Jomez's and CCDG's crews every single day over that guy. Personally and professionally.

What happened was better products came into the market and pushed inferior products out. Capitalism baby.



EDIT: Talking about McFly. PHP (Paavo) is a good dude.

 

[frasnow]

So.. I've wanted to ask this question for a while, and almost started a thread some time ago... Whatever happened to McFlysoHigh? He was the best cameraman and had 4k when ccdg maybe just started to have 720 videos. I know he went to prodigy, but last year i'm pretty sure that stuff coming out didnt look like his work at all. If Marty couldn't make it, what hope is it for the rest of these filming crews? And where did PHP go? Dude made some great vids as well. Its a shame when business and friends are wrapped up together because it rarely seems to end up well. Anyways, it will be interesting to see how this production crews v. DGPT Tour plays out.

Felt like his fall coincided with Will's injury. The Prodigy sponsorship forced him to film the top Prodigy pro during tournments. Without Will on lead card, this often caused him to film a lower card.

 

[Beable]

I listened to the Upshot podcast on this issue last night and it was really good. It was a very frank discussion that got right to the point.

 

[jvphobic]

McFlySoHigh wasn't always the easiest guy to work with when sharing a fairway. But, there were times he was completely cordial as well. Once the world started going to 2 camera, he tried to adapt and get his wife to film 2nd cam, but ultimately it wasn't the quality that we were becoming accustomed to with some of the other crews.

On top of that, he was employed by Prodigy, so he had to try and work with them and still want to cover top cards. The mixture just didn't work out.

 

[BuiltTooLong]

Paavo from Pure Hyzer Productions has said that the time and effort he put into the videos just wasn't worth the investment. It's a shame, as I really enjoyed his work. He left the door open to return to it at some point, but it doesn't sound like that'll happen.

 

[Royalhghnss]

So.. I've wanted to ask this question for a while, and almost started a thread some time ago... Whatever happened to McFlysoHigh? He was the best cameraman and had 4k when ccdg maybe just started to have 720 videos. I know he went to prodigy, but last year i'm pretty sure that stuff coming out didnt look like his work at all. If Marty couldn't make it, what hope is it for the rest of these filming crews? And where did PHP go? Dude made some great vids as well. Its a shame when business and friends are wrapped up together because it rarely seems to end up well. Anyways, it will be interesting to see how this production crews v. DGPT Tour plays out.

OK so first defending myself. We had 720 for the very first vid in 2011. After that I've shot 1080/60p since. Youtube didn't always let us upload 60p, but as soon as they did, I did.

2nd. He just used a DSLR. I've ranted on this before, but DSLRs are not the right tool for the job. They're great for artsy/highlight type vids, but when shooting rounds with it, and using shallow depth of field, and filming putts from directly behind, you're robbing the viewer of information. How far was that putt? Then there are cases where the aperture needed adjusting (open fairway --> wooded green), but hands are full with zoom/focus.

You don't see any other sport using DSLRs to shoot the actual footage. Everyone uses camcorders/ENG cams.

That said he did a pretty damn good job with it, it's just not the tool I, or the rest of us picked.

Some of his old videos are absolute gold (viz. 2013 MPO Final 18 at the Hall of Fame Classic, which, at the time of this writing, has 236K views--gotta be a strong contender for most views of a full round, even now, right?).

Not even close surprisingly. 2013 European on SpintTV open has 1.4 million views (part 1 at least). Commentary by yours truly and my buddy Brett.

Annnnd I'm back out of bed after realizing that in a post quoting Jamie Thomas I'd clipped a sentence about SpinTV to reorganize and forgot to put it back in. I deserve whatever excoriation I get.

Also, I miss lcgm8, Pure Hyzer Productions, Hyzernauts, Billy Crump, and North Alabama Disc Golf.

Paavo from Pure Hyzer Productions has said that the time and effort he put into the videos just wasn't worth the investment. It's a shame, as I really enjoyed his work. He left the door open to return to it at some point, but it doesn't sound like that'll happen.

I've actually been talking with Paavo. You might not have seen the last of him. Plan is to have him film some of the NorCal stuff, and get it on CCDG.

 

[BuiltTooLong]

I've actually been talking with Paavo. You might not have seen the last of him. Plan is to have him film some of the NorCal stuff, and get it on CCDG.

Splendid news. He would be a great addition to your team. Now you just need someone from the midwest **ahem**

 

[Beable]

Can someone who actually knows the inner workings answer this: do Steve Dodge and the DGPT actually have the power to unilaterally decide how filming will take place? Or did the local TDs also have to agree? I'm not seeing any discussion related to the actual events that make up the DGPT.

In the podcasts that I've listened to, it sounds like the media teams (or maybe just Smashboxx) were working without contracts. Is there some kind of binding agreement between the local clubs who are putting on each tournament in the pro tour and the DGPT that extends into 2019? Is he just betting that all of the TDs will go along with him?

So, for example, the Memorial has existed as a tournament for many years before the inception of the DGPT. What would happen if the TD of that tournament, who appears to not be a DGPT employee, said "nope, we want Jomez to film MPO1"? Would they be in breech of contract or would the DGPT just be down a tournament? What are the ramifications, if any?

 

[Royalhghnss]

Can someone who actually knows the inner workings answer this: do Steve Dodge and the DGPT actually have the power to unilaterally decide how filming will take place? Or did the local TDs also have to agree? I'm not seeing any discussion related to the actual events that make up the DGPT.

I know he talks to the TDs about stuff, but Dodge has final say.

In the podcasts that I've listened to, it sounds like the media teams (or maybe just Smashboxx) were working without contracts. Is there some kind of binding agreement between the local clubs who are putting on each tournament in the pro tour and the DGPT that extends into 2019? Is he just betting that all of the TDs will go along with him?

I'm 99% sure they've signed a contract with the DGPT that gives them media control. Maybe Nate Heinold will pop in and correct me if I'm wrong

So, for example, the Memorial has existed as a tournament for many years before the inception of the DGPT. What would happen if the TD of that tournament, who appears to not be a DGPT employee, said "nope, we want Jomez to film MPO1"? Would they be in breech of contract or would the DGPT just be down a tournament? What are the ramifications, if any?

I'd imagine they'd be in breech. Ramifications depends on the contract, and if someone feels like suing.

 

[Beable]

Thanks dude, that's interesting. I guess what I'm wondering is how much value the DGPT adds to those tournaments that were already large and successful before. And also that it seems to me that the TDs are tacitly approving Dodge's decisions if they don't speak up.

 

[perklc]

Thanks dude, that's interesting. I guess what I'm wondering is how much value the DGPT adds to those tournaments that were already large and successful before. And also that it seems to me that the TDs are tacitly approving Dodge's decisions if they don't speak up.

Interesting thought. More than half of the tournaments I'd say are large enough to easily stand on their own, and if Jomez/CCDG are willing to film, they can all stand out from the pro tour. Something like Ledgestone doesn't need the pro tour, so I'd be interested in what value is really added to an event like that.

Additionally, if something like the Memorial decided it's better off with Jomez/CCDG instead of being under the DGPT umbrella, what is the DGPT's next move? With the rules the PDGA has about A-tiers, how close they can be, etc., does he try to find an event that same weekend and hope players follow?

 

[gammaxgoblin]

In McBeths PDGA radio interview he says he can definitely see players choosing an A-tier covered by Jomez over a DGPT event because the video exposure, Jomez's subscriber base and long term exposure are worth more than a few hundred bucks one time they might get from a DGPT event over the competing A-tier.

Very interesting....Steve Dodge is rollin' the dice.