Jun 22, 2008

That Was Kinda Weak

Fantastic skiing this weekend in Michigan at the third leg of the Mastercraft Pro Tour. We at the CRB headquarters were entranced by what unfolded on our computer screens.

Note: Computer Screens at the CRB HQ = B&W Rabbit Ear TV

The image above is what we got when we logged onto the series of tubes to check out the action. Hmm...you have to pay to watch? I dunno about that. Maybe we hooked up our dial-up prodigy service wrong logged on to the wrong internet.
The organizers of this event have requested our 'Pay2view' service for the first time. Saturday will still be a 'Free2view' webcast but Sunday will only be available to viewers who pay $ 3.99 to watch for the event. Please visit the event website on WebCast-TV for more infomation and to Pre Purchase access for the event. 'Click Here'
Far be it from us to say how things should be or shouldn't be, but, this seems to strike us as a bit silly. In that, if you aren't an avid waterskier, why would you spend money, any money, to watch something you aren't even sure you care about in the first place?

Maybe if someone was there or watched it on the webcast you could comment and give us a run-down.

11 comments:

  1. agreed! I'm poor and don't like to spend money unless the CRB wants to pay me more...by more i mean a PBR.

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  2. I think they may be jumping the gun by charging for the webcast. For now I would think the funding should come from advertising and sponsers. I think they should work on building a larger following first, of course I understand we all need to get paid.

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  3. I watched the webcast from my buddy's house and it was great. We got to watch Cale go up against Will in the final four. Well worth 4 bucks to keep webcasts like this going.

    I watched the free webcast of the first event and the darn thing kept going out and I had to refresh and all that. I don't know if the pay2view was better techonology or what, but it was great.

    This one was perfect. Streaming like I was there watching it, and the announcers did a nice job as well. I have done my fair share of announcing, but I get to transition from different skill sets, age brackets and all three events. To JUST announce zigzag the whole time, you need to be creative to come up with new things to say.

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  4. hey cris, maybe you WERE there. It was just in your mind you thought you were looking at a computer screen.

    zig zag = weed

    pothead!

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  5. You are so deep and profound, I can barely keep up.

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  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  7. charging for the webcast was bologna. If money is an issue, instincts should tell them to turn to the sponsors(maybe cut into the insanely large bonus check the winner of the tour is to recieve). The last thing we need at this point is to charge is the end user. ex. You dont charge people for brochures, even if the chicken suit rental was expensive. Webcasting is the one new thing skiing has going for it right now. I wonder how many less viewers they had. I know my broke ski loving self had to rely on the live result feed.

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  8. that was my point. it seems counter-intuitive to charge someone who may or may not be interested in the product. I get cris's point in that it was better quality, etc, but, at the same time, dang, its four bucks sure, but, i am not going to, and i dont think alot of other people are going to pony up the dough either.

    But, maybe they are thinking more of appeasing a harder core audience. Which I dont like either as we would all love to see this sport reach a bigger audience.

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  9. I will probably pay for it the "pay2view" webcast for the up coming event, but the Rowboat and Jonya have a very good point. This is not the best way to grow the sport. At least the whole weekend is not pay per view that would totally defeat the purpose and only bring in a small hard core crowd.

    I think the oppurtunity to grow the sport is hugh here and the webcasts are one of the best things to hit our sport in quite awhile. Im just afraid they have gone for the money to quick and have not built up a loyal enough audiance yet.

    It would be interesting to see the numbers that watched the LA Night Jam finals compared to the Fenton MI finals. I heard that there were about 6,000 unique hits at the LA night jam.

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  10. Anonymous4:50 PM

    I have to say, I can see where you all are coming from.
    I will try to answer you guys as much as I can to everything that has been posted.
    Please excuse my long post ahead of time.

    First: LA Night Jam. not sure about the hits, but I know there were 6000 people on site, do not know about the unique hits on the webcast.

    2. Going to the sponsors to get more money. Way easier said than done. Myself, Dana Reed, every other event organizer has busted their ass for the last year to pick up as much sponsorship as possible. Especially outside the industry. We even had professional promoters work for us and try to get sponsorships, as well as use MC connections, and more. It is not the easiest thing in the world. As for the Industry sponsors, they gave quite a pretty penny, but this is not a cheap endeavor. Webcast-tv is basically doing this for free. We have tried to help them cover their costs, but this is a way to help them grow with each stop as well.

    To Jonya: The big checks are not a real expense as they are most likely donated by one of the local sponsors, or at least they were at my event, The Pro Swerve.

    Believe me, we are cutting costs as much as we can, but at the same time, we do not want this to look like a rag tag piece of crap tour. It needs to look professional, and that is what we are trying to do.

    Growth of the Tour: I understand that charging for the webcast does not necessarily help grow the possibility of people who are not "in the know" of water skiing watch it, but, at the same time, we are in a growing stage with this thing, and it will be a process. This is the first year of the Tour, and we are doing everything in our power to keep this going. At some point we need the support of the water skiing public to help this grow so that people not "in the know" will be able to see it.

    We do not want to do "pay2view" in the future. But at this point, it is the only way to make it work.

    At the same time, $4 for last weekend is really not going to hurt you that much is it? It is going to help grow the sport that we all know and love, shouldn't that alone be worth something to you?

    The more we can help grow this, then hopefully, the more people will buy skis, vests, boats, etc. and hopefully help bring the costs of those products down in the future.

    You have to admit, the skiing was phenomenal last weekend, the webcast was top notch, and it was worth it in my opinion.
    If not, this coming weekend, I will have TONS of give aways. Tees, hats, ski bags, from all the mfg'ers. And to top that off, MC is giving away free trailer hitch covers (est value $25) to the first 1000 viewers on Sunday. So right there, you should get your money back and more.

    I have a whole lot more to say, but I have already gone too long anyway.
    I would love to discuss this with anyone interested much much more, as I am passionate about this and believe in what we are trying to accomplish.
    email me, call me, anytime.
    Off to Tuscaloosa tomorrow.
    Tune in Sat. It is free then. If you like what you see, then go ahead and pay on Sunday. If you do not, so be it, but know that we appreciate each and every viewer and in the long run, it will help water skiing come back to the forefront of Action Water Sports. At least that is my goal.
    Thanks for the time to read my long diatribe. Again, apologies for the length.
    Tadd Schreiber
    tadd at h2osmosis dot com

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  11. Tadd,

    I love seeing what you have done with waterskiing so far this year, you are putting us back on the map. I am not questioning your goals, I think you have been fantastic for the sport that we all love. Obvioulsy we do not know what anything about the fiscal issues you and the tour are facing. If the pay2view is the only way to keep it rolling then do it up. It is what it is.

    I love to see watersking any way I can. I made the very long trip out to Michigan to see the event this last weekend and it was great (would have like all three events but again it is what it is).

    Keep up the good work, Ill enjoy watching all I can this weekend and that does inclued the pay2view on sunday. Ill have a cheap beer or two in celebration.

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Speak now. Give us your tired your hungry your weak. We will make them into CRB Staff

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