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Freecaster to charge to watch World Cup coverage.

drkenan

drkenan

anti-dentite
Oct 1, 2006
3,441
1
west asheville
luiz carlos said:
I agree 100% too.
The things start to be interesting only in top 20.
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I disagree 100%. Even guys that I have never heard of are awesome to watch. There have been some pretty good moments outside the top 20. Although I would love to see interviews with bike mechanics, etc., that should probably be done outside of the broadcast.

Ultimately it's up to freecaster though.
 
Transcend

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
FYI freecaster wanted to start interviews during the broadcast 3 years ago. They talked to the UCI about getting a wireless cam/mic for the finish area (not microwave) and switching back and forth, but it proved to be too costly and complicated for the resources they have at hand.
 
CBJ

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,874
4,214
Copenhagen, Denmark
I love Freecaster and a little subscription fee as more than fine with me especially if it can help them make the stream more stable and in higher resolution. There is really something special about watching the races live.
 
C

Cordsport

Chimp
Feb 15, 2009
26
0
Yes, once in a blue moon something good does happen outside the top 20, but how often? What i'm getting at though is making it cheaper for freecaster, and also making a more marketable product at the same time. For the sport to grow it needs more sponsors, sponsors aren't going to be atracted until viewing figures are higher. Making a more mainstream program is surely going to help this?

30 - 45 mins of action packed footage featuring the top 20 and a few interviews or bike checks must stand a better chance of drawing in the masses than 1 1/2 hours of repetition and then a quick flurry of action towards the end? If die hard fans of the sport like myself don't have the attention span for it, then how are you ever going to capture the imagination of the weekend/occasional cyclist (you know, the middle aged ones with all the money!!)?

Without a major shake up of the format i don't think it will ever succeed beyond the kind of viewing figures it now achieves. And surely a shorter program will help keep freecasters costs down?
 
slyfink

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,316
5,070
Ottawa, Canada
I just tried to get a voucher from Scott. I'd rather pay money than allow a corporation to have access to my profile, photos, and my friends' profiles and photos... wtf is up with that?! I hate facebook. If that makes me a curmudgeon, then f-it all. It's not worth it to me.
 
Ray-Freecaster

Ray-Freecaster

Chimp
May 31, 2008
29
0
Belgium
Cordsport said:
Yes, once in a blue moon something good does happen outside the top 20, but how often? What i'm getting at though is making it cheaper for freecaster, and also making a more marketable product at the same time. For the sport to grow it needs more sponsors, sponsors aren't going to be atracted until viewing figures are higher. Making a more mainstream program is surely going to help this?

30 - 45 mins of action packed footage featuring the top 20 and a few interviews or bike checks must stand a better chance of drawing in the masses than 1 1/2 hours of repetition and then a quick flurry of action towards the end? If die hard fans of the sport like myself don't have the attention span for it, then how are you ever going to capture the imagination of the weekend/occasional cyclist (you know, the middle aged ones with all the money!!)?

Without a major shake up of the format i don't think it will ever succeed beyond the kind of viewing figures it now achieves. And surely a shorter program will help keep freecasters costs down?
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Cordsport you're right the sport needs more viewers. Now help me understand how producing a 30-45 min show is cheaper than a 90 min one. Do you think cameramen are paid by the minute? If we concentrate just on the current top guys, we would have missed Fabian's victory run in Maribor, we'd miss on riders who today might not be top 10 but will be in a few years and ultimately, if we don't show all the riders, why would anyone outside of the top 10 compete. All riders have sponsors and all need exposure. Sport is not about the current top guys but about all those who make the effort to travel and compete in a race.

As to interviews beyond what the official TV production offers, I agree with you and we do them as we have many guests in the studio. It's just not possible to show them in the picture and here is why. The TV signal is the same for us and all TV needs UCI has. That TV signal is sent over satellite. If the producer was to cut to our reporter interviewing a mechanic that would be in the "official feed" and that is not an option. Thus in technical terms, we should do a unilateral which would require us sending our own additional TV signal over a second sat feed and mix both the UCI's one + ours before streaming to the web. I've been in this industry for many years, worked on some of the largest sports events and if there was a way to give you a better product given the revenues at hand, trust me you'd have it. Just to put things in perspective, if a company was to pay say 20 EUR CPM (cost per thousand) for 80.000 LIVE viewers (a DHI race) that represents 1600 EUR revenues. Tell me what you can do for that budget in TV production terms, because in the end, to offer video coverage on the web requires the same production set-up as for TV.

Another comment I read by someone else was about TV rights. We all should stop dreaming about TV paying substantial rights for MTB world cup coverage. That has not happened since the sport was created and I don't think we'll ever see it happen. Hence the web is the way forward but then the audience is not there and the few who actually could start build the basis of a decent audience drop out as soon as their commitment is most needed.

Finally before someone does the stupid maths of Freecaster will make a fortune 80.000 viewers times 3 USD = 240.000 USD, let me be very straight. If all 80.000 of you were to actually to pay 3 USD once you'd finance the webcast, twice just about the current TV production, 3 times you'd start seeing twice as many cameras, at every race you'd have a sport with tremendous marketing power and an awesome product to look at. No sport grows without initially the fans fuelling the process, they are the ones buying the grandstand tickets, the merchandise, the cable TV access fee, etc. I've tried to do my part and invested more time and resources than is worth when I read some comments. If no one supports our effort than so be it but if we manage to actually make it a viable project, trust me the sport will see the benefit of it. I've known the days of the Grundig World Cup, have you? There is no reason why it can't be even better, but in today's world a project starts and ends with the fans, not with sponsors or the governing body. The fans.
 
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rockofullr

rockofullr

confused
Jun 11, 2009
7,342
924
East Bay, Cali
Ray-Freecaster said:
Finally before someone does the stupid maths of Freecaster will make a fortune 80.000 viewers times 3 USD = 240.000 USD, let me be very straight. If all 80.000 of you were to actually to pay 3 USD once you'd finance the webcast, twice just about the current TV production, 3 times you'd start seeing twice as many cameras, at every race you'd have a sport with tremendous marketing power and an awesome product to look at.

There is no reason why it can't be even better, but in today's world a project starts and ends with the fans, not with sponsors or the governing body. The fans.
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Werd?

I'm in. Especially if my participation will help fund some more cameras.
 
C

Cordsport

Chimp
Feb 15, 2009
26
0
Ray-Freecaster said:
Cordsport you're right the sport needs more viewers. Now help me understand how producing a 30-45 min show is cheaper than a 90 min one. Do you think cameramen are paid by the minute? If we concentrate just on the current top guys, we would have missed Fabian's victory run in Maribor, we'd miss on riders who today might not be top 10 but will be in a few years and ultimately, if we don't show all the riders, why would anyone outside of the top 10 compete. All riders have sponsors and all need exposure. Sport is not about the current top guys but about all those who make the effort to travel and compete in a race.
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Maybe i misunderstood your other comments, but i thought the UCI paid for the cameras not freecaster? I understood it that your main expense was getting it all online, surely 45 mins of streaming (or whatever it's called) would be cheaper for you than 90 minutes?

I totally agree that riders outside the top 10 will be the future of the sport, but it is not entirely un-common for up and coming riders to crack into the top 20 (even top 10), and don't forget that if you feature the last 20 riders, the current riders who hold the top 20 places will be mentioned as faster riders take their place. Also you have a capable, knowledgeable commentator who can talk about up and coming riders as the top 20 action goes down. So admittedly they won't get as much exposure, but they will still get some. And isn't a little exposure to a bigger audience worth more to a sponsor than a lot of exposure to a small audience?

To say that if you only showed the top 10 why would anyone compete is complete and utter rubbish. For years after the big time of the Grundig days and before Freecaster started the races carried on and still had full fields. Racers go racing to win, not to appear to a few thousand people on TV or the internet.

What i'm getting at is that in it's current form a large part of the footage is relatively boring to a non DH fan. Freecaster has done an amazing job of bringing world cups to many people, but it is only people who are already into DH. You are never going to massively increase your audience, as you have already captured the majority of the DH fans. To draw in bigger audiences i feel it needs spicing up, making more exciting so you can tap into the HUGE amounts of average mountain bike riders. If you can capture just a percentage of the masses of XC riders in England, America or Germany then all of a sudden there are a whole load of potential customers that sponsors will be keen to liberate of some hard earned ££££'s
 
S

Steve M

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2007
1,991
45
Whistler
Ray-Freecaster said:
Finally before someone does the stupid maths of Freecaster will make a fortune 80.000 viewers times 3 USD = 240.000 USD, let me be very straight. If all 80.000 of you were to actually to pay 3 USD once you'd finance the webcast, twice just about the current TV production, 3 times you'd start seeing twice as many cameras, at every race you'd have a sport with tremendous marketing power and an awesome product to look at. No sport grows without initially the fans fuelling the process, they are the ones buying the grandstand tickets, the merchandise, the cable TV access fee, etc. I've tried to do my part and invested more time and resources than is worth when I read some comments. If no one supports our effort than so be it but if we manage to actually make it a viable project, trust me the sport will see the benefit of it. I've known the days of the Grundig World Cup, have you? There is no reason why it can't be even better, but in today's world a project starts and ends with the fans, not with sponsors or the governing body. The fans.
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So if we could pay $10 or so each then it'd give you guys more funds for cameras and whatnot? I don't mean to be a smartarse because I don't really know whether that's realistic or whatever, but speaking for myself at least, I would definitely pay $10us per race if it meant you guys were able to significantly increase your operations (number of cameras, feed reliability/quality, bandwidth etc - not that I've personally had massive problems).

Please don't let the critics bring you down, you guys have done more for DH than pretty well anyone in the world in the past 5 years. Some people will always find something to complain about, but seriously - keep pushing forwards, you guys have shown yourselves to be dedicated and innovative in the past and while I have no doubt that it's massively difficult getting all this stuff to come together, so far you've shown that you're very capable. I'm pretty sure I can safely say that the VAST majority of people are massively appreciative of your work - keep it up!
 
drkenan

drkenan

anti-dentite
Oct 1, 2006
3,441
1
west asheville
Ray - sounds like you're getting frustrated by a few haters on here. Most of us REALLY appreciate your business. You should offer the ability to pay more per race - I'd give you at least $10 to have this be a solid business for years to come. :thumb:
 
I.van

I.van

Monkey
Apr 15, 2007
188
0
Australia
Socket said:
you guys have done more for DH than pretty well anyone in the world in the past 5 years.....
people are massively appreciative of your work - keep it up!
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As someone who has followed WC DH since the Grundig days, I think the above comment is true.

Before Freecaster, I thought that watching internet coverage of a DH race would be boring, but at least I would get a chance to find out the results asap and get to see the guys celebrate.

How wrong I was. I now find myself on the edge of my seat and sometimes cheering at my monitor when someone is coming down on a fast run. I certainly didn't think it would be so good, but now I am hooked.

I have always been amazed that the coverage was free, and now that it is not, I would be happy to pay. :thumb:
 
S

Steve M

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2007
1,991
45
Whistler
I.van said:
As someone who has followed WC DH since the Grundig days, I think the above comment is true.

Before Freecaster, I thought that watching internet coverage of a DH race would be boring, but at least I would get a chance to find out the results asap and get to see the guys celebrate.

How wrong I was. I now find myself on the edge of my seat and sometimes cheering at my monitor when someone is coming down on a fast run. I certainly didn't think it would be so good, but now I am hooked.

I have always been amazed that the coverage was free, and now that it is not, I would be happy to pay. :thumb:
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Yeah ditto. Never understood how we got that kind of coverage for free and with so little advertising, a few bucks a race does not bother me in the slightest. If you do offer some kind of package deal for the whole season that'd be even more awesome.
 
slyfink

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,316
5,070
Ottawa, Canada
Yeah, and any word if we can pay for the full replay? I'll be out biking during the event, but would still like to watch it...

I'm getting anxious for the season to start... :weee:
 
F

FarkinRyan

Monkey
Dec 15, 2003
611
192
Pemberton, BC
I've said a number of times that I'd happily pay for Freecaster if it meant I was guaranteed a good quality feed every time. At $3 a race it's a no-brainer and to be honest all I'd expect at that price would be for the quality of the feed to be sorted out.

I'm in the same boat as a few others and would happily pay more per event or even buy a seasons pass if it meant getting more cameras and better coverage.
 
I.van

I.van

Monkey
Apr 15, 2007
188
0
Australia
I just paid up for Maribor, turned out to be around $2.50 AUD.

I tried to pay by SMS, which didn't work out, and I heard a few other people on Rotorburn were having troubles with SMS, so I went ahead and payed on paypal. Hopefully I don't get charged twice.

I'd be very interested to here some feedback from Freecaster after the race as to whether they drew enough subscribers or revenue to make the feed worthwhile.

I can't wait for tonight!
 
W

Wobbler

Monkey
Jan 22, 2006
128
0
Cost me 2.50 NZ, used sms but never got the email, the "unlock content" thingy has vanished but I'm not if its going to work. I guess if the womens starts and no worky then I'll try paypal and hopefully get it sorted by the mens
 
W

Wobbler

Monkey
Jan 22, 2006
128
0
weird, does the email have the code etc in it? Once I paid any reference to paying has gone from the countdown screen and it looks like just last year.
 
R

ronan

Monkey
Dec 7, 2007
786
0
Toulouse, France
i have no problem with paying and i think its great what the freecaster crew is doing

but when i pay i expect flawless streaming.. not this buffering ****!
 
yuroshek

yuroshek

Turbo Monkey
Jun 26, 2007
2,438
0
Arizona!
i just paid for the event, but the quality is such **** its not even showing up. it is buffering the whole time. "live support" is ****, no one to help you. i must say im pretty upset with you freecaster.
 
yuroshek

yuroshek

Turbo Monkey
Jun 26, 2007
2,438
0
Arizona!
General Lee said:
Worked flawless for me. Gotta wonder if some peoples' problems are due more to their own computer/network/porn and not freecaster.
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hey hey now... the only porn on my computer is my own that ive filmed.

towards the end the last 4-5 riders the freecaster screen went black and said error #2023. so i missed a few riders, had to close out and open it up in a new window. thankfully i caught the last few buffered seconds of brendog and hill.

i think it might be my crap internet connection here in the hills of jersey.
 
tingers

tingers

Chimp
Mar 15, 2009
80
14
I never even got my access code, so I didn't get to watch sh^t. Willing to give Freecaster another chance, but not happy with them right now.
 
Capricorn

Capricorn

Monkey
Jan 9, 2010
425
0
Cape Town, ZA
my word, getting this to work from south africa turned out to be a massive mission, to the point where i only managed to watch the last 30 secs of Sam hill's run. Bummed at the problems, gutted for Hill. Gonna be tough to win the overall from 5th position in a 5 race series. Every qualifying and podium hence forth will count.
Fort William next in 3 weeks. should be totally awesome...
 
I

illflip

Monkey
Aug 20, 2007
548
0
Newark, NJ
Capricorn said:
Gonna be tough to win the overall from 5th position in a 5 race series. Every qualifying and podium hence forth will count.
Fort William next in 3 weeks. should be totally awesome...
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actually, he's in 4th. 1st in quali's helped.

he's only 70 points down. not going to be tough at all.

brendan is 5 down from gee.

its gonna be a close race all season.
 
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