Originally published at: https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2020/10/02/mailbag-usdgc-wnc-paywall-night-strike-3/
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Q: Listening to Smashboxx right now and Brodie Smith is talking about the Pro Tour not allowing post production. This is by no means an original idea, I know. I just wanted to add for potential mailbag that I would definitely have a DGN subscription if there was no post for a week or more and if the final round was not free. The only real reason I don’t subscribe now is that I can’t watch Thursday or Friday because of work. And the only time of the week I can play my own round is on Saturday. So Sunday is the only time I could reliably watch. With Sundays free right now, there isn’t enough incentive for me to subscribe. I say by 2022 at the latest, DGPT needs to move in this direction. And they could even do it next year. I’d give them the sub. They’re still giving too much away for free.
– Bailey M.
Q: Innova is completely justified in charging for the USDGC and WNC coverage, but I think it’s a mistake. As the saying goes, “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.”
I get they need to make money and without fans in attendance they are losing a major income source. However, after losing the number one player in the world to Discraft and both Paul and Paige winning world championships under their banner, I think the smarter move would have been to leverage USDGC for the PR aspects.
In some regards, it could appear Innova is holding the only 2020 major as hostage. Again, this gives you leverage, but there can be a cost to using that leverage if enough people feel they are being taken advantage of.
It might have been better to come out and tell everyone Innova was eating the costs to provide the disc golf fans with free coverage in this terrible year. It seems tough to ask maximum dollars when most likely a portion of your fan base is struggling financially or at least worried they might be at some point.
Even if your base could afford the event giving people a reason to feel good about your brand in these times might be worth more than any short-term income you would make.
– Frank G.
A: I have to say that I think it will be fascinating to see what kind of sales the USDGC coverage — which fully paywalls all coverage of the tournament (both live and post) for two weeks — manages. This is the first time that I know of that we’re seeing this kind of restriction on free media availability for a tournament, especially one as big as USDGC.
The early returns are good: they sold out all 500 of the Gold Passes for a gross payday of $20K. But the real proof will be in the sales at the other price points. You have to imagine that most people who’ve already bought a ticket opted for the Gold Pass. Why wouldn’t you? The value of the disc outweighs the additional cost of the Pass. Even if you don’t want the disc yourself, you could turn around and sell it on eBay and probably make all your money back.
So what will the demand look like after that? There’s been plenty of grousing about the cost of the coverage, but how many will just suck it up and pay the money when the tournament rolls around? Remember: you straight up can’t watch for two weeks if you don’t pay.
We’re going to learn a lot about the demand for coverage this weekend, given the price point. If it was $5, you figure everyone would just gladly pay. But $20 (and $30 if you want the post-produced stuff) is a much bigger hurdle.
Let’s say it’s successful. Could we see the DGPT follow suit and lock down more of their coverage? I doubt it. One of the benefits the DGPT model has going for it is that it makes it far easier to engage a wider audience. All that free Jomez coverage is advertising for their events and the Tour. More people get invested. More people want to watch live. DGN sales go up.
Could they squeeze out a little more revenue with a full paywall — no free live coverage? Sure. But if you’re thinking long-term, you want to have the ability to go to a sponsor and say, ‘Look, our YouTube coverage had 50,000 concurrent viewers.’ (That number is still a ways off, but it’s not outlandish). Saying that you have 20,000 subscribers is good, too, but the free stuff is always going to draw bigger numbers, and that matters for an organization that is thinking about long-term growth.
Also, let’s be honest: it’s not like they’re lacking in subscribers. They beat their first year estimate by 10x despite giving away the live final round and all the post-production coverage completely free!
As to whether or not Innova should be charging money, I think it’s a risk. They’re investing a ton of money in the production, so they don’t just want to give it away for free, nor should they be expected to. But, given the price and the aggressive paywalling, they may alienate some people who might have been willing to pay $10 but now will just spitefully wait for the coverage to come out in two weeks.
There is big risk/reward here, and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens.
Q: I’ve heard a lot of takes on the Cloud Breaker 2 release. A really common gripe is that the people who don’t get one get mad and leave a one-star review on the Discmania website. I’ve been wondering, do those one-star reviews matter at all? I mean, they’re already out of stock but on the site (duh), and if they sold out in minutes, people aren’t making up their minds by reading those ratings and reviews. Am I missing something or can we just forget about that part of the CB2 controversy?
– Sawyer B.
A: I don’t think it matters a lick to the people looking to buy one, no. But given the general praise for Discmania’s handling of Wednesday’s Night Strike 3 release, I do think those negative reviews helped push Discmania to make some real changes to their approach to the limited run drops.
Customers were limited to buying one disc, and they still sold out in about an hour. But an hour is a lot different than less than five minutes, and it means a lot more happy customers (and still a happy Discmania, who moved all the discs in a day).
Can you credit the one-star reviews directly? No — there was plenty of other angry discussion about it online — but they got the message and worked to improve their process this time around.