"Pivoting to Video"

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tennbengal
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"Pivoting to Video"

Post by tennbengal »

What. the. fuck.

A bunch of on-line sites have been jettisoning writers etc because they are going to all video for their sites. Who the fuck wants that? Who has time for that? I don't get new media. I am apparently really into the get off my lawn stage of things now.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by DaveInSeattle »

"Pivoting to...." is destined to join phrases like "Taking my talents to..." in the lexicon.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by Sabo »

tennbengal wrote:What. the. fuck.

A bunch of on-line sites have been jettisoning writers etc because they are going to all video for their sites. Who the fuck wants that?


Advertisers.

Our company is doing more and more video because advertisers are willing to sponsor video content. And since our company is willing to do just about anything for money, we're putting up more and more video.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by rass »

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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by Ryan »

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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by tennbengal »

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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by Ryan »

Maybe if our threads were all something other than text...?
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by rass »

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Rex
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by Rex »

An interesting issue for sure. Here's some more on it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGUpLIr755k
tennbengal
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by tennbengal »

Sabo wrote:
tennbengal wrote:What. the. fuck.

A bunch of on-line sites have been jettisoning writers etc because they are going to all video for their sites. Who the fuck wants that?


Advertisers.

Our company is doing more and more video because advertisers are willing to sponsor video content. And since our company is willing to do just about anything for money, we're putting up more and more video.


But who are they thinking is watching it? The kids? Are the kids watching it?
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by govmentchedda »

It seems like it's the thing they've best figured out how to measure, and then sell to advertisers. I would guess that pop up videos, that most of us would turn off immediately, allow them to inflate their numbers as well. It's a fucking mess.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by duff »

I can't stand when I go to a site that I rarely frequent because they have an article I would like to read, and the top of the page is a video. But that video has nothing to do with the article. Why the fuck would I want to watch a fucking video that has nothing to do with the content of the article. And then they just want to move it the bottom right corner like I want to watch or listen to the fucking video while I read the gawd damn article.
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govmentchedda
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by govmentchedda »

duff wrote:I can't stand when I go to a site that I rarely frequent because they have an article I would like to read, and the top of the page is a video. But that video has nothing to do with the article. Why the fuck would I want to watch a fucking video that has nothing to do with the content of the article. And then they just want to move it the bottom right corner like I want to watch or listen to the fucking video while I read the gawd damn article.

Sports Illustrated.
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mister d
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by mister d »

Its annoying, but we all get that if no one is paying for content then there's no content to be had, right? Ads suck but its either that or subscription based and subscription based has its own set of issues.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by govmentchedda »

I'm very curious about The Athletic and their go at being a subscription model.

Yes, someone has to pay for content, but it seems that whatever metric they're using is only going to drive users/viewers/readers away.
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tennbengal
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by tennbengal »

mister d wrote:Its annoying, but we all get that if no one is paying for content then there's no content to be had, right? Ads suck but its either that or subscription based and subscription based has its own set of issues.


Except that some sites, like Vice in the thread Bapo! started and FoxSports.com (not that I went there but still) are going to all video - have essentially jettisoned their entire writing staffs. What's the model for all video? Who, again, is watching that?

Here's the current foxsports.com:

http://www.foxsports.com/

All video. Everywhere.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by mister d »

Oh yeah, that's going to fail too. No doubt. Its short term ad revenue over long term sustainability.

And I'm in for The Athletic as soon as they add NY unless the writers they pick are shit.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by brian »

mister d wrote:Oh yeah, that's going to fail too. No doubt. Its short term ad revenue over long term sustainability.

And I'm in for The Athletic as soon as they add NY unless the writers they pick are shit.


Yeah, I subscribed to the Athletic though I'm a little unenthused about their Lions writer(s)/coverage to date, but $30/yr is basically nothing and worth it if there's even two or three decent pieces a month.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by govmentchedda »

mister d wrote:Oh yeah, that's going to fail too. No doubt. Its short term ad revenue over long term sustainability.

And I'm in for The Athletic as soon as they add NY unless the writers they pick are shit.


I'm in on The Athletic already (IIRC it's only $3/mo.). I like the hires elsewhere, but I agree with what I assume is your position of "Why would I pay for something to read about the Raptors, Browns, and Lions". I'm happy to see them adding NCAAFB coverage.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by Rex »

Is it interactive, with comments? A closed interactive site would be a real plus. I'm not so sure about a subscription site that just does articles and stuff, though. The only sports sites I subscribe to are B-R and Ken Pomeroy (who doesn't even put his blog behind the paywall, only the stats).
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by Steve of phpBB »

brian wrote:
mister d wrote:Oh yeah, that's going to fail too. No doubt. Its short term ad revenue over long term sustainability.

And I'm in for The Athletic as soon as they add NY unless the writers they pick are shit.


Yeah, I subscribed to the Athletic though I'm a little unenthused about their Lions writer(s)/coverage to date, but $30/yr is basically nothing and worth it if there's even two or three decent pieces a month.


I jumped right in when they started up in Chicago. The guys behind it had been Cubs reporters and bloggers, so I figured I'd either get value out of it, or consider it a donation. I'm glad to see them expanding.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by DSafetyGuy »

Has the Athletic mentioned the possibility of offering an option where you can get access to all the cities' coverage for a higher fee? I've heard a few of their guys (James Mirtle, Tim Kawakami) interviewed on Richard Deitsch's podcast, but it is yet to come up.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by govmentchedda »

DSafetyGuy wrote:Has the Athletic mentioned the possibility of offering an option where you can get access to all the cities' coverage for a higher fee? I've heard a few of their guys (James Mirtle, Tim Kawakami) interviewed on Richard Deitsch's podcast, but it is yet to come up.

Pretty sure I've got access to everything at the $3/mo cost.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by DSafetyGuy »

govmentchedda wrote:
DSafetyGuy wrote:Has the Athletic mentioned the possibility of offering an option where you can get access to all the cities' coverage for a higher fee? I've heard a few of their guys (James Mirtle, Tim Kawakami) interviewed on Richard Deitsch's podcast, but it is yet to come up.

Pretty sure I've got access to everything at the $3/mo cost.


Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Toronto, Bay Area, and the national college stuff (and any other cities I am forgetting)?

Because if the answer is "yes", they're doing a shitty job highlighting that part of the sales pitch.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by govmentchedda »

DSafetyGuy wrote:
govmentchedda wrote:
DSafetyGuy wrote:Has the Athletic mentioned the possibility of offering an option where you can get access to all the cities' coverage for a higher fee? I've heard a few of their guys (James Mirtle, Tim Kawakami) interviewed on Richard Deitsch's podcast, but it is yet to come up.

Pretty sure I've got access to everything at the $3/mo cost.


Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Toronto, Bay Area, and the national college stuff (and any other cities I am forgetting)?

Because if the answer is "yes", they're doing a shitty job highlighting that part of the sales pitch.


Yes, I've got access to it all. I don't see much National ColFB stuff yet, except Mich and Mich St. on the Detroit page, Notre Dame on the Chicago page, etc.

My subscription was $33.49 for a year.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by howard »

Subscribed to theathletic.com today, didn't realize they had launched already. The Kapernick article drew me in. $30 for a year, afaik I have access to all content, they just put my Bay Area stuff on top. Tim Kawakami is a veteran newspaper guy I've read for years, and he alone is worth $2.50 a month from me. Except he's an editor, and has a lot more work than just writing columns and reporting, but I'm sure he'll figure it out.

I like the little I know about this, I have high hopes. And while the instant video age in which we live is excellent, I also prefer to read a lot of content, and more often when a video autoplays and follows me down the page while I'm scrolling for text, I say fuck it I don't really need to read it anyway. They get their click, but I'm less likely to return, I'd rather chase those damn kids off Bengal's lawn.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by Joe K »

Danny Leroux is also writing for The Athletic's Bay Area site. That guy has a pretty encyclopedic knowledge of the Warriors and NBA salary minutiae.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by rass »

Rename this The Athletic thread?

Looks like they're hiring a couple of Pittsburgh guys, one of whom got me to pony up for a Pittsburgh-centric paywalled site even though he didn't stay too long. May need to cancel one sub and start another.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by Johnny Carwash »

I like what The Athletic is trying to do, but it's a little too narrow for me at this point with the focus on specific markets.

If someone could come up with a sports site that just looked like ESPN circa, like, 2002—top news stories up front, easy access to scores/standings/stats, and a few spotlight articles by good writers—they'd have my money.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by mister d »

I'm just waiting for them to launch NY and I'll be in.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by rass »

So @TheAthleticPIT has put together a pretty good set of writers to cover the Pens with the addition of Jesse Marshall‏ this morning, such that if I hadn't bought in earlier this week I certainly would now.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by rass »

Yeah, tech bros gonna tech bro, I guess. But yuck?

https://twitter.com/dcsportsbog/status/ ... 5362852864
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by brian »

Yeah, it also forgets the fact that the NY Times and Washington Post learned 75 years ago in that local papers are always going to exist. I like The Athletic's business model for the most part, but if you subscribe to the Detroit News or Plain Dealer you're probably not doing it solely for coverage of those cities pro sports teams and/or college teams. There's lot of other stuff those sports departments cover that people want to know about that a website-based model would never have the will or ability to cover.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by DSafetyGuy »

That quote is a very good reminder in case you ever think anything a business does is not about money.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by tennbengal »

The Athletic has added Cincinnati now and hired the best of the Reds writers - C. Trent Rosecrans so I am now in. Just paid my fee, and it was 25% offand I get a shirt, so that's okay. Looking forward to it.

ETA: First impression - really positive. Nice, clean, and not having ads or pop-ups is amazing.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by GoodKarma »

tennbengal wrote: Mon Feb 12, 2018 9:08 am The Athletic has added Cincinnati now and hired the best of the Reds writers - C. Trent Rosecrans so I am now in. Just paid my fee, and it was 25% offand I get a shirt, so that's okay. Looking forward to it.

ETA: First impression - really positive. Nice, clean, and not having ads or pop-ups is amazing.
I signed up last week as well. Rosecrans alone is worth it.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by tennbengal »

For sure.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by A_B »

Jayson Stark signs on as well.
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by brian »

The national hockey coverage is solid and national college hoops not so bad. It's absolutely worth $30/year or whatever it is I'm paying. Unless something crazy happens or they spike the prices I expect to be a subscriber forever.

(The irony is I signed up for the Detroit sports coverage, which largely sucks.)
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Re: "Pivoting to Video"

Post by BSF21 »

brian wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2018 11:59 am The national hockey coverage is solid and national college hoops not so bad. It's absolutely worth $30/year or whatever it is I'm paying. Unless something crazy happens or they spike the prices I expect to be a subscriber forever.

(The irony is I signed up for the Detroit sports coverage, which largely sucks.)
Doesn't Custance write for them? Perhaps just not as much use for the hockey coverage for an MI Expat?
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