I really hope Victory+ works out, the RSN model is terrible for consumers right now. I moved from DFW to Colorado last year and one the jokes I told people was it became so much easier to watch Stars games once I got out of Dallas. There's no reason that should be the case.
@Sean, did he share anything about getting bars/restaurants to install the Victory+ app? I have tried at a couple of places I frequent in Austin/Cedar Park area and have yet to get one to bite.
I find the "Two year" window to be interesting. It's not surprising that they have a long term date in mind to get a full picture of the platform's success, but it's interesting that they're not talking more about the initial uptake.
It would be naive to think the executive team didn't have ballpark figures that they wanted to see by Game 1, Game 5, Game 10, etc. But I suppose whether they made those targets or not is akin to reading the weather instead of the climate, so it's not going to be shared publicly.
Still, I'd be fascinated to know if the out-the-gate numbers are what were expected. If they'd by far exceeded the forecast, we probably would have heard something about it.
Good follow up. It’s a very interesting and historic time for local/regional tv sports. And the NHL has more challenges. My feeling is they have to embrace and promote other revenue streams, especially the business of sports betting. You and I disagree on some of that but if you’re looking to replace the money and grow that has to be a big part of it.
I agree on the various streams, and I get sports betting is a big part of that... the thing I'd like to see is teams give more a viewer "choose your experience" option that can be monetized. Hypothetically speaking, I would love to go into Victory+ and be able to pick how I see the game, give me a "bettors feed" option, give me a raw feed option with just crowd sounds etc... obviously have to figure out the cost logistics to do that
What other choices? Not trying to be a smartass but where do you propose the money will come from? How do you propose they handle the regional rights shortfall - it's tens of millions? What about consumption patterns of young demos? How do they stay competitive? The NFL built an empire with it. I posted a piece on my substack this week about this. It's especially important for the NHL who lags behind and is falling behind other major sports leagues. Cap growth rate, high salaries, ave salaries - all well below the others who do more of this. This is our model AD based - revenue driving - we sell beer to an audience we know isn't old enough to legally consume it so soul selling is something all sports are familiar with. This is the business. That's why.
I am out of market (Caps territory) so I watch via ESPN+. I would honestly pay $10-15/month to just have Victory+ available if they didn't black out games. I wonder if that is an option under consideration?
The Victory+ broadcast content game to game is very good! The interview links are excellent.
I’ve always wondered why the NHL doesn’t have weekly coaches shows for rans, like the NFL does, where you get more game to game reviews and in depth analysis from team coaches?
part of that is the schedule, while NFL coaches have one game a week, NHL coaches typically have 3 games/week and make it difficult to make that a common commitment. There's also a very hockey problem about this where coaches don't like to share that stuff as much as they should
We are Stars fans in St. Louis. We already pay for ESPN+ and with my previous job I would pay $7 to watch the Stars play the Blues, but not with our current financial situation. I will miss a game here and there. Sorry (not sorry at all), Diamond.
I know we are the exact fan it's targeted toward. It also made me a bit annoyed that Diamond's bankruptcy restructuring plan was approved by the court. We get more of this double charging of fans garbage. Long live Victory+!
From a purely selfish point of view, Victory+ has been a godsend. It has enabled me to drop DIRECTV as my streaming provider and allowed me to go with a much less expensive streaming provider. That is proven to be close to a $40 a month swing, which is a significant amount of money to me. Everything about the product is superior to watching games on other platforms, especially ESPN. ESPN is bad enough that I regularly don’t bother to watch if that’s my only option. FWIW, I am annoyed that I have to have a separate streaming device to access Victory+, but that is a fairly minor concern. My initial fears that it would be a clunky and poorly designed app have not proven to be true, which is a big relief. Victory+ is the least of my worries about watching the Dallas Stars. Getting Otter to match his Vezina level talent to Vezina level play, now that’s a big worry/concern.
I really hope Victory+ works out, the RSN model is terrible for consumers right now. I moved from DFW to Colorado last year and one the jokes I told people was it became so much easier to watch Stars games once I got out of Dallas. There's no reason that should be the case.
@Sean, did he share anything about getting bars/restaurants to install the Victory+ app? I have tried at a couple of places I frequent in Austin/Cedar Park area and have yet to get one to bite.
that's part of the next push for the rollout from my understanding, I'll make sure to check in on that as the season goes a long.
That seems really important.
I find the "Two year" window to be interesting. It's not surprising that they have a long term date in mind to get a full picture of the platform's success, but it's interesting that they're not talking more about the initial uptake.
It would be naive to think the executive team didn't have ballpark figures that they wanted to see by Game 1, Game 5, Game 10, etc. But I suppose whether they made those targets or not is akin to reading the weather instead of the climate, so it's not going to be shared publicly.
Still, I'd be fascinated to know if the out-the-gate numbers are what were expected. If they'd by far exceeded the forecast, we probably would have heard something about it.
Good follow up. It’s a very interesting and historic time for local/regional tv sports. And the NHL has more challenges. My feeling is they have to embrace and promote other revenue streams, especially the business of sports betting. You and I disagree on some of that but if you’re looking to replace the money and grow that has to be a big part of it.
I agree on the various streams, and I get sports betting is a big part of that... the thing I'd like to see is teams give more a viewer "choose your experience" option that can be monetized. Hypothetically speaking, I would love to go into Victory+ and be able to pick how I see the game, give me a "bettors feed" option, give me a raw feed option with just crowd sounds etc... obviously have to figure out the cost logistics to do that
Yep. Exactly. I believe that will be the way things will be done. Toggles. BetCast - StraightCast - StatCast - KidCast - etc.
Why does gambling have to be the only option? I don't understand why the NHL (and other leagues) has to sell its soul when there are other choices.
What other choices? Not trying to be a smartass but where do you propose the money will come from? How do you propose they handle the regional rights shortfall - it's tens of millions? What about consumption patterns of young demos? How do they stay competitive? The NFL built an empire with it. I posted a piece on my substack this week about this. It's especially important for the NHL who lags behind and is falling behind other major sports leagues. Cap growth rate, high salaries, ave salaries - all well below the others who do more of this. This is our model AD based - revenue driving - we sell beer to an audience we know isn't old enough to legally consume it so soul selling is something all sports are familiar with. This is the business. That's why.
I am out of market (Caps territory) so I watch via ESPN+. I would honestly pay $10-15/month to just have Victory+ available if they didn't black out games. I wonder if that is an option under consideration?
not possible, the out of market rights are owned by ESPN as part of the national TV deal, so Stars can only show games on V+ in their tv rights area
The Victory+ broadcast content game to game is very good! The interview links are excellent.
I’ve always wondered why the NHL doesn’t have weekly coaches shows for rans, like the NFL does, where you get more game to game reviews and in depth analysis from team coaches?
part of that is the schedule, while NFL coaches have one game a week, NHL coaches typically have 3 games/week and make it difficult to make that a common commitment. There's also a very hockey problem about this where coaches don't like to share that stuff as much as they should
We are Stars fans in St. Louis. We already pay for ESPN+ and with my previous job I would pay $7 to watch the Stars play the Blues, but not with our current financial situation. I will miss a game here and there. Sorry (not sorry at all), Diamond.
the fan out of market who is blacked out on ESPN+ for 2/3 games a year is actually one of the potential customers the TV people pointed out to me
I know we are the exact fan it's targeted toward. It also made me a bit annoyed that Diamond's bankruptcy restructuring plan was approved by the court. We get more of this double charging of fans garbage. Long live Victory+!
From a purely selfish point of view, Victory+ has been a godsend. It has enabled me to drop DIRECTV as my streaming provider and allowed me to go with a much less expensive streaming provider. That is proven to be close to a $40 a month swing, which is a significant amount of money to me. Everything about the product is superior to watching games on other platforms, especially ESPN. ESPN is bad enough that I regularly don’t bother to watch if that’s my only option. FWIW, I am annoyed that I have to have a separate streaming device to access Victory+, but that is a fairly minor concern. My initial fears that it would be a clunky and poorly designed app have not proven to be true, which is a big relief. Victory+ is the least of my worries about watching the Dallas Stars. Getting Otter to match his Vezina level talent to Vezina level play, now that’s a big worry/concern.
My LG Smart TV is still on the outside!
apparently the update with that is right now they are still working on adding that to fold through APMC