Maybe one of these days, I’ll make it to U.S. Nationals … but until then, I have to be like the rest of the free world and use my internet access to get results, news, videos and notes from the event.
So is the story of our sport, the internet is the driving media force, like many Olympic sports which get minimal, if any, television coverage and even less coverage in the print media.
The U.S. Nationals media coverage provided timely results, comprehensive recaps, detailed notes and feature stories.
There was also live video of one mat … and this is where the issue starts to rise.
The sport of wrestling is often faced with the challenge of providing unlimited access to its core fan base or trying to expand the scope and scale of the sport by providing television coverage. However, in this battle there is often this little thing called a contract that can get in the way, especially if you’re a wrestling fan.
It seems to be a common occurrence during or following a major wrestling event, whether it be a high school event, a big college event or an international style event, people will pile on the message boards to express their displeasure about the amount, or lack, of video available.
This weekend was no exception.
While I can understand the need and want for more access, being on the other side of the issue, I know how some of the contracts are written which can prevent the demanded unlimited access of the sport.
I’m not 100 percent sure on how USA Wrestling structures its contracts, because they deal with ESPN for their U.S. National Championships and we’ve dealt with CSTV (now CBS College Sports) in our television negotiations.
I do have insight on how the NWCA contracts work and, in the past, we’ve been unfairly criticized for how much access we allow in regards to video, specifically internet video.
The NWCA has recently completed a five-year contract with CBS College Sports to televise the National Duals and All-Star Classic. There is specific language in the contract that restricts the amount of video on the web. Many contracts bundle the rights, limiting the amount of non-televised content available. At the time the initial contract was written, the NWCA was able to negotiate a clause in the contract to allow LiveSportsVideo (and only LSV) the rights to live web cast the event. At the time of our CSTV contract, LSV was the only wrestling-based web broadcast entity in the country.
People might put videos of ESPN basketball broadcasts on YouTube, for example, but it’s not legal. There are rules and laws that have to be followed, especially if you are in a position paying networks for airtime, like the NWCA has done and will continue to do.
At the end of every broadcast, you hear “without the expressed written consent of … (insert sport entity here).”
Point to Ponder: TV broadcasts are litmus tests
If people don’t watch a wrestling broadcast, whether it be live or tape-delay, and choose to rely strictly on internet-based, tape-delayed content, the networks aren’t going to get ratings and in turn, aren’t going to want to waste any more air-time on the sport. How is that helping expose the sport to new fans?
One of the major misconceptions about the “rights” argument brought up by fans is the NWCA (and similar outfits) is paid by the networks to broadcast these events.
This isn’t the case (speaking with NWCA events, NCAA championships are a different baby entirely and again I do not know how USA Wrestling contracts are structured). To ensure the NWCA events are televised to a national television audience, the organization has shelled out nearly $100,000 in its current contract for the National Duals and All-Star Classic.
It’s wrestling on television that wouldn’t be there if the NWCA wasn’t paying for it to be there.
Point to Ponder: Exposure to the non-wrestling masses
Just because one wrestling fan doesn’t get CBS College Sports or ESPNU doesn’t mean everyone’s locked out. How about the non-wrestling fans in those markets who will stumble upon the sport? Isn’t that the bottom line? Exposure for the sport to new folks? Nothing is better to validate the sport of wrestling than television. I think that’s what J Rob said.
But is that what the wrestling fan wants to hear? I doubt it. We want more coverage, but are we being greedy when we say “we?” Do we want to see more coverage or do we want the sport to have exposure on networks, that contrary to wrestling fan beliefs, do actually show up across America.
I don’t get ESPNU or Big Ten Network, but I know people who do, and they’re not all wrestling fans.
Think outside your own home; Think Big Picture
The next time you aren’t able to get live audio or video of an event such as U.S. Nationals or the National Duals, you might ask yourself what is truly in the best interest of the sport. These contracts are not in place to alienate the hard-core wrestling fan. The wrestling media is alive because of that group, and it’s that group that constantly wants more. I agree, I want more, too.
Does anyone want to go back to the time where you’d wait six weeks for your issue of Amateur Wrestling News to find out what happened? Looking over results and reading event notebooks and features just doesn’t seem to be enough, does it?
But I don’t think any wrestling fan would say that having wrestling on TV isn’t important. We, as a sporting body, a group of fans and coaches and athletes, are always concerned wrestling is a “dying sport,” and things should be done, not because of rules or bylaws or protocol, but “for the good of the sport.”
I’d rather be great than good and television exposure is great for the sport. NFHS statistics show wrestling is growing at the high school level. We know we’re not a dying sport statistically, but without television, you lose any hope of moving up that pecking order.
I’d love to see wrestling on TV every day, but think about this … if there’s no wrestling to start with on television, how would the powers-that-be at these networks like ESPN and CBS see a demand?
You can’t look at numbers on a web site to determine interest in a sport, because that interest is specialized. It’s the same with any sport-specific site out there. Numbers and demand is going to be great in your community, but go outside of it. Does ESPN take notice of traffic on a web site? Hardly.
TV vs. the web
Would I like to see the finals of every tournament live? Absolutely. But we’re still an Olympic sport and we still have to prove the marketability of wrestling on the television level … that means getting what we can and using that opportunity to give a greater volume of people the chance to see wrestling that might not already do so.
This does not mean be complacent and say “oh well.” We have to continue to fight for as much coverage as we possibly can both on television and the ‘net.
I don’t want wrestling to be viewed as a minor sport. I don’t view it as minor sport, but you have to know where something is coming from in order to have the ability to progress.
Everyone needs to realize this simple fact: When you deal with networks, it’s their call, not the organization running the event.
If it’s the NFL, they can do what they please. But if it’s USA Wrestling, the NWCA, USA Field Hockey, or any other “Olympic” sport, you’re at the mercy of the network contract. It’s sad but true, and until we get more TV time to start with, bellyaching about a web cast isn’t exposing the sport to new fans, it’s exposing the sport to its same people that are already interested.
Are we really going to “lose” fans? No way.
The NWCA is currently working with Media Sports Productions, J Robinson’s non-profit group aimed at putting wrestling on television on a regular basis. While the show didn’t air this season due to a turnover with CBS and the changeover in branding from CSTV to CBS College Sports, I had a role in the Wrestling 411 information gathering, it’s something that will be great, once it catches fire and hits the air. However, to hit the air, it needs money to be financially stable!
I wonder how many of those wrestling fans who are hollering that wrestling is a dying sport have helped contribute to this initiative. How many? I encourage you to check out the Media Sports Production website at http://www.mediasportsproductions.com/. If we do not want our sport to ‘die,’ as some cynics like to say, but want to grow to a mainstream sport, we all have to do our part.
Iowa’s a wrestling-crazed state, but how many more fans have been exposed to the sport because of what Iowa Public Television has done the last 30 years? Would there be as much desire to watch and root for wrestling if IPTV didn’t exist.
They’ve got 30 years ingrained into the society of an entire state. It won’t happen nationwide overnight, but we’re working to get there.
The NWCA, USA Wrestling and Media Sports Productions are all 501(c)3 non-profit organizations that work year round to promote, display and produce wrestling content for its fans and to try to expand beyond our normal fanbase.
But the internet, specifically our own core of wrestling fans who go to sites like InterMat, themat.com, RevWrestling, TheWrestlingMall, Flowrestling, or The Wrestling Report on a daily basis, isn’t a big enough dent to have television networks demand wrestling for their programming schedule.
It’s the same pool of people.
We’re putting wrestling for the community to the masses … in hopes it will grow.
And by masses, I mean television.
P.S. Wrestling’s on TV on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. eastern on ESPN with “The Streak.” Tune in and make a difference.
18 Comments
April 28, 2008 at 4:43 pm
The internet isn’t a bad thing in helping the sport grow-if anything, I think it’s responsible in keeping those people who are already are fans. After I graduated from school, I was a fan, but it was the chance I had to follow my teams online that really fed into my fandom. What is that adage about keeping old customers vs. winning new ones?
April 28, 2008 at 5:18 pm
The link to the mediasportproduction is to a holding web page so the link is either bad or the site’s domain name expired and was not paid for.
I added this blog to my blog roll and noticed you have a RSS feed now (or I missed it when I looked for it). I’ll be sure to mention that in my next marketing blog post.
April 28, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Is there enough space?
First, as one of those “wrestling-crazed” Iowans, thank you for mentioning IPTV and the role it has played in popularizing the sport here.
To Chitown Chick I say – I understand, marketing is what I do for a living. I could give you a whole lot of blather about consumer behavior, loyalty, advocacy, yadda, yadda, yadda – but – the bottom line is that college attendance statistics would seem to indicate that there is room for more wrestling fans. What is needed is some type of perfect balance between the broader reach of television and the targeted appeal of the internet. Because of intellectual property laws, that balance has to be well planned. Here’s an example – “Dancing with the Stars” (I’ve heard of it, but never watched) – the network added an interactive component that fueled the fire of popularity. Far more people converted from passive viewer to viewer advocates far more quickly because of the online interactivity. “Word-of-mouth” (advocacy) is still the most powerful marketing medium – regardless of product. If ESPN were thinking in a truly promotional way, there would be an online feedback element available immediately after tonight’s broadcast.
Anyway – great blog!
April 28, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Jeff,
I corrected the second link. Left an “s” out on the URL.
http://www.mediasportsproductions.com/
April 28, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Well, I think from watching the ESPN coverage this year, the announcing/commentating has to get better. Someone who explains the strategy; what might be going through the athlete’s mind in terms of tactics etc. gives people better insight to the sport, one that not a lot of people know.
I like our TV coverage, but when we have it, we’re really poor about explaining the ruling. International styles will make it further confusing to the general public.
We need TV coverage, that’s for sure. But J Robinson has been pushing for the National Duals to take a bigger role in wrestling, and honestly, I think the dual meet is the key to marketing wrestling to the general public. I’ve been to a few international style dual meets, and they’re fun to watch, the head to head competition and how it affects the team score is awesome.
In short, diehards like the individual matchups, general fans like dual meets. That’s why HS is so popular, the average person can rally around its HS and cheer on the dual team.
Great article, lots of good points of discussion.
April 28, 2008 at 6:51 pm
In my earlier comment I wrote, “tonight’s” ESPN broadcast. As everyone knows, “The Streak” will be televised tomorrow (Tuesday) night.
April 28, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Okay, first off I acknowledge that there is alot more red tape in the way of a better (Broader) broadcast. But…
LSV is HORRIBLE.
Video of one mat?
I often order and watch LSV. It’s dirt.
You can opt out of contracts, you could work with LSV to make it better, you can always do something. The people who make a living off of wrestling want to keep it that way. And its not doing our GREAT sport any favors.
Angry Avid Wrestling Fan.
April 28, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Was out in LV and was thinking about some of these issues you raise. I sat between Connor and a non fan who walked in for a look see at the finals. That short time told me one critical issue that our community needs to resolve.Most of us are well aware of it. The rules and their interpretation are way too complex for new folks to learn in an hour or two of watching.
This guy was a baseball and Fball fan and he had played some soccor and done some HS wrestling in the 70s. Even with a varied background most of what went on was strange to him. He did grasp most of the straight up rules right away but had trouble with exposure and push out /continuing action. His big beef after several matches was the coin flip. Why not wrestle it off?, he asked?”These guys have been working for months and it seems very odd that a coin flip will decide so many matches.”It was obvious even to a neophyte that the flip winner invariably wins. He also made the point that with 3 officials on the mat they needed 3 more in the pit to decide many calls and that those in the pit didn’t confir with those on the mat. He found that very strange. I had never thought about it but it does seem strange!!
I am of the same opinion as he on the coin flip.The flip was instituted to prompt scoring action due to the failure of the caution and place rules formerly in place. What many regard as caution and a lack of action is actually the result of two stellar, closely matched, athletes vying for position and advantage. It is illustrative that Henry got ripped for taking a high risk front headlock throw and Matt was pointed out to be lucky.
Wrong and wrong. Slow mo shows that Henry didn’t have the headlock tight and when Matt sensed the move he immediately got into a double leg position and stopped the move. There was plenty of action but most thought it was all a mistake to take so much risk .This type outcome and the abolishment of the slip rule has prevented a great deal of action imo.The wrestlers goal is to win not to provide the fans with excitement and action.
People seem to forget that this stuff happens in the blink of an eye and that the difference in physicality, reflexes, tactics and skill sets is miniscule.
Regarding media and tv rights, Until we ,in the sport, figure out how to attract an audience for HS and college matches, it will be easier to blame media USAW, IOC FILA and NCAA. Sadly there were only about 2000 to witness the finals on Saturday. If one were to remove all the wrestlers, coaches, workers and officials I doubt 400 people would have been left. When Universities with 20K plus students brag about attendance of 3 or 4k there is a major problem.
Of course you can’t comp tix to kids and clubs because of recruiting rules and the
Us would never go for a kegger or pretty girls in very few clothes walking around as ushers and signs proclaiming the period and the wrestlers can’t tell the officials they are awful when they are and the officials can’t tell the wrestlers they are awful or admonish out of control coaches cavorting on the mats in clear violation of the rules, so what are we to do?
Sit back and consider all the coaches you know. How many would you consider to have great people skills? How many would you consider a great promoter? It is instructive that Greg Strobel, J Rob and D Gable combine those abilities. That is why they draw “big crowds” imo.I think the individuality of the sport develops people in a way that precludes the collegial thinking required to promote,in most cases. Maybe we could ask Don King or the WWF guy to give us some ideas. Maybe Jesse Ventura, who is currently between jobs and definitely has the panache could be coerced to get involved. Maybe not
April 29, 2008 at 10:05 am
The reason wrestling is not on tv is because the market for selling wrestling related stuff (e.g. gear, camps, etc) is so small no one can afford to advertise on tv.
If you want to see wrestling on tv, you need to grow the sport to several million participarnts and create a sport where people can participate after high school.
I own one of the largest wrestling stores in the country and there is no way I can afford to advertise on the television programming that exists today.
I may have my numbers wrong, but McDonalds spends somewhere around $60 Million on marketing in a month (that might be just in the USA). That is more then twice every piece of wrestling equipment that is sold…I’ll have to figure out what that number is exactly – I used to know it off the top of my head.
April 29, 2008 at 11:23 am
Mat,
It’s that misconception that is alienating the fan. Do I make “a living” off the sport? Absolutely. Do other folks? Yes. Do we sit back and count our pennies with evil grins on our face? Hardly.
I love this sport and I’m fortunate to have a working position within it.
It’s easy to say you can re-negotiate a contract, but have you actually tried to do that with a television network when you don’t have any aces in your hand?
It’s a lot more difficult than you might think.
I tell you, no one’s getting rich in this sport and if they are, it surely isn’t us.
April 29, 2008 at 1:29 pm
This may be the best wrestling discussion that has been online in quite a while. When it comes to wrestling, I’m just a fan – when it comes to marketing – well – that’s how I make my living. I’ve been selling other people’s products and services for almost 30 years.
One of the difficulties with this issue is that many people oversimplify. Marketing wrestling for growth is far more complex than just the issues of the relative roles of broadcast coverage and internet access.
In any marketing challenge, the potential appeal of your product is your first hurdle. Anyone who is viewing or participating in this discussion obviously already “buys” the product (wrestling). However, not all “buyers” are equal. “Bargain buyers” (those that only buy a particular brand if there is a sale or a coupon) have little benefit to the growth of the brand. In our discussion, many of the people that want more internet access fall into the bargain buyer category – they want more access to wrestling, but only if it’s free (or at least very cheap) and available on demand. Those bargain buyers have their place in a marketing hierarchy. But, the “customers” we most want to encourage are those that are likely to become “advocate buyers” – those that will pay for any opportunity to watch wrestling, i.e. actually attend meets and then work to recruit other new buyers. As Mr. McDonald points out, current college dual meet attendance figures (and paltry attendance at Senior Nationals) seem to indicate that our brand (wrestling) has far too few “advocate buyers”
From where to “advocate buyers” come? Of course they come out of your total brand buying pool. Twenty-eight years of measuring consumer behavior tells me that roughly half of the people that watch, “The Streak” tonight (or any wrestling broadcast) will never partake of wrestling in any form again. However, because the total audience will be so much greater than can be obtained by posting video on the internet, the potential number of future advocates that might come out of the broadcast is significantly higher.
That still leaves 2 obstacles – the quality of the product – will the first time viewer want to be exposed to wrestling again? and follow-up. With an NFL football broadcast, a first-time viewer need only wait 1 week for another opportunity to view. With wrestling, we don’t have that luxury. This is where the internet can play a role. As I suggested in a previous comment, it would benefit the sport (i.e. help build the brand) if, after next year’s NCAA tournament broadcast, ESPN.com would make available (and encourage) immediate follow-up contact.
Perhaps there needs to be a “Wrestling Marketing Council” that pulls together many of the sport’s governing organizations and develops a comprehensive marketing strategy.
April 29, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Jason – Thank you for actually taking the time to research and explain this situation in a thoughtful, easy-to-understand way. So many fans, athletes and coaches complain about the television coverage (or lack thereof) that wrestling receives without having any clue as to how the behind-the-scenes rights/deals are structured. Hopefully this will help educate people so that actual progress can be made.
April 29, 2008 at 3:58 pm
This blog hit it right on the head!!!
April 29, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Who puts up the money for figure skating, swimming, diving, curling,track? i find it difficult to believe the audience or advocacy for those sports is much larger than wrestling. I am fairly certain that their prime time, extensive exposure is not driven by such a large audience pool
April 29, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Some good points have been made here. There is no denying that it is extremely difficult to renegotiate a tv contract, especially if the network has the upper hand.
However, I disagree with some of your points about the internet. We can’t assume that people are going to keep visiting wrestling websites b/c they are diehards and are going to follow the sport no matter what. People go to sites like Flo b/c they deliver a unique and entertaining product Websites with videos of the best matches help to create new fans as well as continuing to cater to diehards. A site like Flo create new fans and it takes the casual fan and turns him/her into a diehard fan that is more willing to get behind causes that can help wrestling.
I’ve been able to sell new wrestlers and their parents with the help of a website like flo. I’ve got parents who had never seen wrestling before this season who now come up to me and ask me if I’ve seen the latest videos. It helps new parents understand the sport b/c they can see videos of practices and matches. Parents also get to see personal stories and interviews on flo that give them confidence in the character of wrestlers in general.
Wrestling will still appear on tv now and again for the next few years for the same events as it usually covers. However, unless there are rule changes that are easy to understand for a novice viewer then we should expect wrestling to falter when it comes to making a huge splash on tv. Viewership goes down when a viewer is confused b/c with a remote in hand they will just flip the channel to something that is easy and familiar like American Idol or to an easier to understand sport.
Without rules changes then wrestling will have to really repackage the product in terms of marketing (J Robinson has made good suggestions). The sport would need a different type of program to help lead into live events. Look at how the Ultimate Fighter reality show jump started the resurgence of MMA and look at how many new fans have started to follow MMA.
Hearing the ‘personal story’ of wrestlers and their families is one of the best part of the sport. These personal stories fueled the Ultimate Fighter show and since people felt a personal connection to these fighters they continued to watch them when they fought on PPV. I envision the same thing for wrestling. Here is the biggest point in this debate.
When I watch an interview or personal segment on flo that strikes a chord with me then I am more likely to follow that particular wrestler and his program in upcoming competitions. But when this wrestlers next match is not allowed to be on the internet it causes a disconnect. You want to be able to follow up with coverage of a competition but you can’t b/c of the current contract issues with television that keep matches from being broadcast on the net.
I think that giving more access to flo, etc. will help launch more total fans and overall more informed fans. These factors are key for wrestling if it hopes to make it on TV.
April 29, 2008 at 9:40 pm
The entire point of this post was to educate the fans about television contracts and to clear up some misconceptions about how those contracts can affect non-print media outlets.
LiveSportsVideo was blocked out of the finals because of the ESPN contract with USA Wrestling. This was pointed out days before the finals and shouldn’t have come as a surprise.
This isn’t directed at any web site in particular, but how the rules of the road work. We, for example, don’t write the rules, we work within them with the best of our abilities.
The point here is to explain issues fans commonly complain about, not to put any web site against another. The internet has been the driving media force in wrestling since Joe Lareau started themat.com and Tom Owens started InterMat back in the mid-90’s. Without the internet, I know we wouldn’t be where we are as a sport.
April 29, 2008 at 9:58 pm
I’d like to commend the Big Ten Network on its wrestling coverage in just its first year on air. BTN broadcast (live) around 12-14 dual meets this season, featuring every school at least once and a number of the more popular/successful teams (i.e. Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota) twice. They aired the finals of the Big Ten Championship live, which I don’t believe had been done before. I think they fully recognize wrestling as a premiere winter sport, and the coverage is only going to improve after they get a little more experience under their belt.
I know the big gripe against BTN is that nobody gets it. Well, that should change before next season. A deal with Comcast, that will place the channel in the basic cable package, is imminent, and the popular belief that once that deal is signed the other major providers will follow suit.
Wrestling fans, especially those of Big Ten schools, have a lot to look forward to.
April 30, 2008 at 12:37 pm
I think the problem may be with Flo is that we’re finding out they aren’t necessarily being legal with how they run their site.
And if that’s the case, Flo may not be around much longer.