Editorial | Going with the Flo?

Photo Collage by Emily Paris, Photo Editor

Division III athletics are not immune to the streaming age.

This past summer, the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) entered into a five-year contract with FloSports to be the digital platform for all of their sporting events. While each college still handles the individual broadcasts, you have to be subscribed to FloSports to watch them live.

When I first heard about the deal I was taken aback. It seemed inconceivable to me that Chapman games would be behind a paywall. For the first semester of the year, I was frustrated. As a journalist it severely limited my ability to cover the Panthers effectively. For the parents of student-athletes, it added another purchase in the ever-growing cost of universities.

I wanted to learn more about how the deal has affected those closest to it. I went into the reporting without an agenda, but rather a curiosity to understand the issue further than my own preconceived notions.

While the partnership impacts everybody involved in the SCIAC, there are four important entities to analyze.

Chapman Sports Broadcast Network (CSBN)

CSBN got its start a decade ago. Initially a small group on campus, the club has provided an increasingly professional-level backdrop to Chapman sports. With the help of the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, the production is on par with world renowned outlets.

According to their president, senior broadcast journalism major Ben Sherman, CSBN has peaked at over 2,000 views for live streams on their YouTube channel. Their highest so far with FloSports has only reached 500, with most broadcasts sitting around the 200 or 300 count.

What’s most telling is the success of the lacrosse games. Chapman’s men’s lacrosse team isn’t affiliated with the SCIAC or NCAA. FloSports isn’t part of the equation. Sherman told The Panther that 1,300 people were watching the first game of the season — more than double CSBN’s best numbers when put behind a paywall.

“It sucks,” Sherman said. “You want people to view the games.”

What interested me is that Sherman is focused on giving the athletes and fans a top-level broadcast. He talked about wanting to generate a buzz around Chapman athletics, and trying to put talented teams on display. In the past, CSBN members have had parents come up to them and compliment their work. They provide a viewing experience that didn’t exist in DIII sports for a long time.

Sherman told me that he isn’t upset about the deal. Yes, there are things that irk him but ultimately, it hasn’t changed the purpose of the club. Creative license wasn’t stripped from them and FloSports hasn’t been breathing down their neck. It's been an annoyance more than anything.

Sherman said that it is hard to communicate with the digital brand, even on game days. They only communicate with FloSports through a Slack channel. It’s not ideal. And, when technical difficulties arise on FloSports’ end, CSBN can’t fix them. If the site crashes, they’re left in the dark.

Otherwise, their thoughts have to be passed through Chapman Athletics, to the SCIAC and then to FloSports. It’s inefficient.

There aren’t many positives from CSBN’s perspective. If the deal with FloSports was meant to enhance production level across the SCIAC, then they genuinely have no need for it.

“It does put Chapman at a disadvantage,” Sherman said.

California Lutheran University (CLU Sports)

I discussed the deal with Sammy Fahn, a senior student studying sports communication at California Lutheran University. He is the sports editor for their newspaper, The Echo, and also helps run their broadcasts. The difference for his school is that their production team doesn’t have an official name. It simply isn’t as professional as CSBN.

That isn’t a shot at Cal Lutheran either, but rather praise for the level that we see here at Chapman. Other schools in the SCIAC aren’t afforded the support of the fourth best film school in the nation. This deal offers them the chance to meet the standards that CSBN has produced for ten years.

I could tell that Fahn was excited to discuss FloSports. This conversation had a stark contrast to mine with Sherman. Instead of having an undertone of annoyance, it was positive.

“The graphics and the quality of the broadcast are so much better,” he said.

Fahn talked about how Cal Lutheran can show more angles of their games and it creates a better viewing experience for families of their athletes. My point is, though, that Chapman has had this. And therein lies the disadvantage.

Both Sherman and Fahn pointed out that the paywall is a deterrent for families. Even though the broadcasts are high-level, what does it matter if you can’t watch your kid play? 

There is a balance that the SCIAC is continuing to try and maintain: reaching new fans and valuing the true supporters of the conference.

The SCIAC
In the initial press release, SCIAC Commissioner Jennifer Dubow said that DIII sports are headed towards streaming platforms and that the conference is making sure it stays ahead of the curve.

I was only able to reach Dubow via email, but she still held that same belief. The first six months of the five-year deal have largely been a success for her, citing no large failures.

She also said that FloSports is improving the “quality of production and consistency” for broadcasts in the entire conference. That ties in with my point that, for the entire SCIAC, this deal made sense.

“With the growing expectations around broadcast quality our schools weren't equipped to meet these standards consistently across all sports,” Dubow wrote.

Even if CSBN has been the standard for DIII sports, they are only one of nine schools in the conference. The needs of the many will override the success of one, and that’s completely fair. Giving every school high-level productions is a no-brainer.

What the SCIAC has mostly ignored, though, is the impact on families. Neither in the press release nor in the answers to my questions did Dubow fully address this.

When asked how they are attempting to both reach a new audience, while still avoiding ostracizing parents and friends of student-athletes, Dubow gave a non-answer.

“Our first priority will remain our students, alumni and fanbase and by elevating the broadcasts across all SCIAC institutions this will position us better to expand our reach,” she wrote.

Dubow didn’t explain how they were making those groups a priority. However, in answering another question, she did write that the SCIAC worked out reduced prices for students and families. She did not say what the exact costs would have been without negotiation, but currently a student subscription costs $10 a month while non-student prices sit at $20 a month.

But why do they have to pay at all? College is already expensive enough. If your first priority is students, then I think it would be free for them and their families.

Now, I am not bashing Dubow or the SCIAC. This is just year one of the deal, and there are indications that they will work to make the experience better for everybody moving forward. Given that we had to do the interview over email, Dubow didn’t have the luxury to fully explain herself in a natural conversation.

I understand these things, and I understand why they made the deal. But the SCIAC should also be held accountable. They need better answers about the main concerns behind their partnership.

FloSports

This is where my editorial and anecdotal tilt comes in. I have watched enough broadcasts on FloSports to question the quality of the service. The technical difficulties are hard to miss.

Multiple times I have had my video buffer every 10 seconds, making it unwatchable. That hasn’t been due to poor WiFi, as other sites have worked fine on the same network at the same time. One time, a stream for Chapman swimming and diving cut out halfway through the meet and never returned. It just had a graphic on screen saying, “this event has ended.” 

When I tried to watch a water polo game on my FireStick TV, something that FloSports says should work, the video lagged and the audio was jumpy.

The broadcasts by students are great, but while the intent is good from FloSports, there are kinks to be worked out. FloSports should not be getting out viewed by CSBN’s YouTube live streams if it wants to be taken seriously.

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I understand the value of this deal. It can work, but more attention will have to be paid to the most glaring issues.

Steven Olveda, the sports information director for Chapman Athletics and an alumnus of the school, is continuing to present new ideas to the higher-ups. We discussed the possibility of each school being provided with free passes for student-athletes’ families, or allowing for account sharing so you only pay once per athlete.

He has worked closely with CSBN for years, and given that relationship, I think Chapman will be at the forefront of addressing concerns. Olveda said he sees mostly positives so far, though, especially with FloSports’ commitment to promoting the conference on social media.

A massive issue in this deal has been the communication. Olveda wasn’t even sure who at FloSports to put me in contact with for this story. You can only reach them, as an independent person, through a customer service questionnaire.

How can you hold somebody accountable or present ideas to them if the best you have is a form or Slack messages?

FloSports isn’t going anywhere. That’s been made clear. They have work to do to make the deal a success.