Nate Sexton boycotting DGPT?

[Jimb]

The Orioles have been fortunate to have some excellent announcining crews over the years. Mel Proctor and John Lowenstein, for example, were a hoot. Even Michael Reghi, though, didnt stop me from watching the games.

So for me it is about the game action, more than the announcers. Yes, good commentary adds to the experience, but bad commentary won't stop me from watching.

I mean, I've watched tons of videos with that Ian guy, and that didn't stop me. :hfive:

 

[Flick Maniac]

About turning off the commentary... Hell I've suffered through numerous Avery videos so my bar isnt all that high lol

 

[jvphobic]

So, Nate is scaling back. Mostly because of his family situation. And the events that he IS going to are places where he can do commentary and earn extra income on top of playing. Totally makes sense to me. Nate is a very well respected person and makes smart decisions.

What about the places that Jomez is going, but Nate isn't there? Does that make Jomez's channel LESS enjoyable if Big Sexy isn't doing the commentary. If Jomez is covering 20 events and Nate will only be at 10 (I honestly dont know), are you fearful of Jomez's channel being "as bad" as the DGPT is assumed to be by some?

Here is what I know. Dodge and the DGPT are taking WAY more crap for this than they should be from people. Jomez is not banned from the DGPT. They just can't cover the lead or 2nd card. They can still film 3rd card coverage, they just are currently choosing not to. And from a little insider info, my understanding is that Jomez was offered very good compensation that they turned down because the sticking point between the two teams was what channel it would be hosted on (and possibly carrying live equipment as well). I respect Jonathan & Steve both greatly for their positions.

And my guess is that I can count the number of people on both hands that will TRULY hold a grudge and not watch the DGPT events out of spite. I was fired by Steve live on the air and I will be still watching. hahah

 

[Cgkdisc]

I think well presented, updated graphics are more important than commentary in the scheme of things for more knowledgeable viewers. Good commentary helpful for newer and casual viewers but hard to know what percentage of the viewership they might be.

 

[ZMan44]

The solution here is simple. Neither is mutually exclusive. People will watch both in the short-term. That's just the way it is. That being said, Dodge has put himself and his tour in a precarious state in that he's entering a market where the consumers have high expectations, and those expectations can already be filled by others while his production teams grow out of initial deficiency. As a business person, that's a terrible position from which to launch a product. From the outside looking in, it seems that Dodge saw this as a way to siphon profits away from Jomez and CCDG because they were collecting these profits based on his events. That's a short-sighted approach. If his videography is subpar and the commentary is bland, then people will eventually turn it off, regardless of who is playing. A question was posed many pages ago (I'm paraphrasing...sorry) of whether you would choose to watch subpar production of the lead card or a Jomez/CCDG level production of the 3rd card. 8 years ago, I'd choose the lead card. The 3rd card was full of nobodies. Now, I'd choose high level productions of the 3rd card every time because the depth of talent is there. I watch disc golf to enjoy the broadcast. I probably already know who won the tournament thanks to Twitter/IG, so it's not as if the lead card offers suspense.

Sexton isn't the only player who has voiced displeasure. Many others have as well. But the most interesting came from McBeth when he said he could see players choosing Jomez covered events over DGPT events because disc golfers today are ALL about trying to build their brand. Outside of Worlds and the USDGC, it's not the tournaments that they care about...it's being on high-quality video broadcasts. That's where they get exposure and bring value to their sponsors and sell discs.

Everyone should be willing to give the DGPT crew a chance. But if they can't produce, the players will be the ones who make the decision to move to other events where the coverage is better. If the coverage is great (maybe even just OK), we get more disc golf to watch. If it sucks, Dodge will be fighting for the viability of his tour because the players will migrate to the better publicity. Honestly, nobody has any idea how this will end up. But Dodge is taking a HUGE risk with this direction.

 

[scarpfish]

Steve made a business decision. Nate made a touring decision. I'm sure they both know what's in their best interests.

But neither of their decisions has an iota of effect on my life sooo........who cares?

Can't believe this many people get wrapped up in whose disc golf coverage they're going to watch. No wonder it's so easy for politicians and the media to divide us.

 

[Jimb]

Steve Dodge is the Maple Hill/Vibram Open guy, right? Does anyone know who did the DVDs in years past before YouTube took over dg coverage in general?

I haven't watched my DVDs in a while, but at the time, they were the best coverage available, imo. So if they were done in house, then there's already some experience there.

Thoughts?

 

[Dcinmd]

Perhaps you jest, but this is exactly what I will never understand. You have zero skin in the game. Why would I EVER intentionally withhold something I like from myself, to seemingly punish someone, who will never be impacted by my decision? Dang, I know enough about football....turn off the sound and put on some tunes.

I am not trying to punish someone else. I just don't like the quality. I am not trying to make an impact, I just will not support poor quality. Life is too short to spend doing things you do not enjoy.

Here is an example. Jomez best of 2018. Simple could not watch it due to the way the audio was clipped. I watch 10 minutes of the 2 hours or so.

But on the other hand I watch the recent Q&A with Jomez expecting to watch 5 minutes and turn it off but I made it all of the way thru. Because it was high quality, genuine responses and well screen questions.

 

[rocthecourse]

The folly in your argument is the notion that most viewers are only watching Jomez because it's Jomez and not because they've been showing the top cards at the top events in the game.

Honest question...you have one hour to watch disc golf coverage and a choice between final round lead card coverage of elite tournament X featuring McBeth, Wysocki, Barsby, and Ulibarri or final round third card coverage of the same event featuring Lizotte, McMahon, Heimberg, and Melton. You don't know the results yet. Which one will you watch? Unless you're a superfan of one of the four on the third card, you're most likely picking the lead card, no? Without even considering which channel it's on.

Content drives viewership, not the provider.

I watch whatever card Jomez filmed first. Then sometimes I will watch the other channel's coverage. I'm not the only one. Just go and look at the views Jomez got last year filming chase card versus the other other guys filming lead card. For the 2018 Ledgestone Open. Jomez had chase card for rounds 2,3, and 4 and has more views than CCDG who had lead card. For the first half of round 4 Jomez had 85,000 views while CCDG only had 63,000.

The reason people watch Jomez is because they have the best tournament coverage out there.

 

[jjmiller]

The reason people watch Jomez is because they have the best tournament coverage out there.

And the best commentary. Like you, I watch Jomez first. Player commentary is the best commentary, and Big Sexy is the best of the player commentary.

 

[mizunodave]

I was fired by Steve live on the air and I will be still watching. hahah

You guys handled that a million times better than I could have. Doing that live on your show was a total dick move imo. The fact that you're not holding a grudge is amazing but I'm still going to hold one on your behalf.

 

[mizunodave]

But Dodge is taking a HUGE risk with this direction.

I think people aren't talking about the tournament directors enough here. These aren't Dodge's tournaments. If the coverage is sub standard and the turn out of pros is sub standard there is nothing stopping the TDs from withdrawing from the DGPT and asking Jomez/CCDG to come film their A tier.

 

[Mocheez]

You guys handled that a million times better than I could have. Doing that live on your show was a total dick move imo. The fact that you're not holding a grudge is amazing but I'm still going to hold one on your behalf.

I've always wondered how that actually played out.

Here is how I think it went down... Steve delivered the news to JV and Terry the weekend before the broadcast. He asked them to keep quiet because DGPT wasn't ready to release their full media plans. JV and Terry declined and said they would talk about it on Smashboxx the following Tueday. Steve then asked if he could come on as a guest and make the announcement and explain his reasoning behind the decision. Everything blew up after that.

 

[dark_clark]

I think people aren't talking about the tournament directors enough here. These aren't Dodge's tournaments. If the coverage is sub standard and the turn out of pros is sub standard there is nothing stopping the TDs from withdrawing from the DGPT and asking Jomez/CCDG to come film their A tier.

Exactly. Who knows what kind of contract and commitment length Steve Dodge had the various tournament directors sign up for, but I'm all for TDs telling Steve to piss off and find a loop hole and get their tournament off of the DGPT schedule.

 

[Orioles_Lefty]

People who are comparing the DGPT media change to a sport simply moving from one channel to another are referencing an outdated model and one that's never applied to DG.. Seeing as people were donating to Jomez's success through Paetron contributions and merch purchases, it makes sense that these people may have a preference for their coverage if not also an investment in their continued success.

A large degree of Jomez's success is surely due to access to top-level cards/tournaments, but both CCDG and Jomez facilitate a sense of community that goes beyond a traditional provider-consumer relationship. Both are now banking on their own content creations (Champs v Chumps, Final 9s, etc.) to contribute more to their bottom line. It's likely that DGPT will do fine with its new media model and the big players (Jomez, CCDG) in disc golf media will succeed with their own original content and their "alternative" tournament coverage. That they will be able to do so speaks to the value of their "brand" unattached to DGPT access.

 

[sidewinder22]

About turning off the commentary... Hell I've suffered through numerous Avery videos so my bar isnt all that high lol

Steve Dodge voice/commentary is the worst bar none, I have to mute that.

 

[DarkAce1978]

There are other excellent commentators out there besides BigSexy. I can't remember if it was a Ccdg or Jomez production but I was really impressed by Matt Dollar and his color commentary from the tourney he did last season. I'm sure someone on here remembers which event it was. He was thoughtful, smooth and informative in his coverage. BigSexy is a great team but I am willing to give some other guys a shot on the upcoming DGPT coverage especially if they get a few guys like Dollar.

 

[biscoe]

Steve Dodge is the Maple Hill/Vibram Open guy, right? Does anyone know who did the DVDs in years past before YouTube took over dg coverage in general?

I haven't watched my DVDs in a while, but at the time, they were the best coverage available, imo. So if they were done in house, then there's already some experience there.

Thoughts?

IIRC they were done in house for the most part. Prior to moving back to Maple Hill Dodge was in the DVD reproduction business (with our own dear banned Vegan Ray). I believe for those DVD's they were primarily relying on novice camera people and just trying to generate a lot of footage to edit from.

 

[Timthenchant3r]

I think people aren't talking about the tournament directors enough here. These aren't Dodge's tournaments. If the coverage is sub standard and the turn out of pros is sub standard there is nothing stopping the TDs from withdrawing from the DGPT and asking Jomez/CCDG to come film their A tier.

This is why I'm not jumping to any conclusions yet. Let's see how it plays out and if the coverage is good or bad, people will respond accordingly. Too soon to tell whether it was a good or bad decision.

 

[AndyJB]

Any way you slice it, I don't think we are looking at some monumental sea change in the disc golf environment. There are very few of us who follow the sport seriously enough to get on these boards and comment. Hell, I rarely even followed the pro tour last season because I was too busy on my own real world stuff and just getting out to the course and having fun. Diversifying media, especially in this modern age, can easily bring more people watching, but I just feel the same as I did five years ago in that, for the most part, it will still be disc golfers watching disc golf. if Jomez and/or Central Coast were bringing in any real number of casual viewers, Dodge would have kept them on board.