Thanks for the feedback everyone. I read every single one of your posts and I appreciate it, the props and the critique alike.
Some common questions we've been getting so I'll address them:
"Why only the back 9?"
- This was a decision we made based on a few factors. We knew going in that some would write us off for not doing full rounds, but I'm happy we made the decision. The only "live TV" I've ever done was The Insider Show last year, and Avery has never done it. So when we looked and said "man 4 or 5 hours is a loooong time", we didn't want to effectively hang us out to dry on our first go-round. We also knew pretty early on that we wouldn't have enough pre-produced assets to cover that much airtime, and we didn't have the budget to create that amount. So our thought process was "quality over quantity", and obviously our broadcasts were not perfect, in fact we have lots of room to improve, so I stand by this decision. Truthfully, I didn't want to go live at all. I don't think disc golf is ready for it. There's too many links in the chain where things can go wrong, and you still have to spend an exorbitant amount of money just to do the bare-minimum-cheap-o-route (which everybody does, Smashboxx, DGP/TFMG, everybody...). I don't really see it as a good way to grow our sport in terms of $ investment, because IF a big broadcaster came in and thought it was valuable, they would bring it in house. That money can be better spent, but that's just my opinion.
"Why no Thursday?"
- We predicted the need for a rehearsal. We actually shot it as if it was live...and you're not going to see it for good reason. Again, Avery and I are new to this. We don't claim to be good, we just claim to work hard and be eager. Also, Thursday numbers historically are not good for anybody. More eyes watch Friday and Saturday rounds.
"Why does this sound like an infomercial for X brand?"
- OK, people might think I'm a dick here, but I'm just going to be candid. It's because of who pays the bills, and what they ask for in return for their cash. I don't make those deals, and my opinion doesn't get asked in the process. I would have to be stupid to get on a broadcast funded by Company A and actively hype their main competitor(s). Personally, I have no biases. I didn't grow up in disc golf so I don't have a homer sort of affinity towards a brand (now college football is a different story...). I think every major disc golf company does at least 1 thing really, really well. All that said, it's business, and all of those owners of other brands understand that. Jussi believed in me from the start of SpinTV, and so because of where that money comes from to keep doing our thing, we promote that brand over others. You just don't bite the hand that feeds. Admittedly I do tend to get frustrated at this, because with all the new eyeballs seeing disc golf through SpinTV you would think that company would get props for actively funding media that grows the sport, but strangely it's the opposite. It seems at times that only the smaller companies are allowed to say "#growthesport", which is illogical to me because this company has been doing it the longest, and their goals are very similar to everyone else's in the first place.
"This sucks/This isn't better than anything else/Doesn't live up to the hype"
- I'm truly sorry to hear that. Honestly we lost a big "battle", for lack of a better term, very late in the game on this production. We were supposed to reach an agreement with the county to use the cable internet in the park offices, but that fell through. With no internet in the park, we had to move the switch to a remote location (same setup in theory as Smashboxx with JVD at the controls from far away), which didn't allow us to set up a studio with a live feed monitor. I believe we found this out about 14 days out, which changed our original plans. It's nobody's fault, we just weren't able to secure it after we expected to be able to...and with the hype machine on full blast...well you can do the math from there. All I know is our crew works just as hard as the next one and I'm proud of them for adapting to that as well as multiple other last minute issues and changes, and just grinding out this weekend.
