Will FloSports Revolutionize Coverage of the Sport?

**Musclepapa John** · 08-20-2015, 06:00 AM

Martin Floreani owner of FloMuscle talks about streaming sports on the Internet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGLOQfrAwg0

His company is now producing coverage of bodybuilding events such as the WSO Rising Phoenix World Championships featured on the mainpage of this site. This at a time when bb.com reps noted publicly that they were not renewing Olympia coverage due to increased charges to do so. I'd bet FloMuscle will likely cover the Olympia at this point.

Many have speculated that streaming was a great alternative to the expensive standard practices of covering contests on vbulletin forum threads with photos and static video. At a time when the number of participants has dramatically increased coverage of the diversity of divisions now offered has plummeted AND the total number of audience members to those sites has likely suffered with the prominence of social media at the same time.

Floreani's FlowSports.TV business model of providing streaming coverage of growing niche sports pairs perfectly with the needs of the federations, athletes and fans at this time on a subscription platform that may very well afford the opportunity to cover more IFBB events that have gone under reported as the big magazine sites focus strictly on open bodybuilding sactioned events.

As a small market based photographer and videographer I welcome the advancement and further professionalization of our industry and the new opportunities this brings us all.

**Curt James** · 08-20-2015, 06:37 AM

**bigmikecox** · 08-20-2015, 08:56 AM

Thank GOD for Flomuscle!!!! Play by Play is great, but seeing it for yourself is the way to go!

**Musclepapa John** · 08-20-2015, 09:06 AM

Originally Posted by bigmikecox

Thank GOD for Flomuscle!!!! Play by Play is great, but seeing it for yourself is the way to go!

I expect big things from them in cooperation with the federations. In time I hope they are able to cover all the IFBB pro shows, national level NPC and many of the qualifiers. I see it coming.

**Musclepapa John** · 08-20-2015, 11:50 AM

FloSports debuts bodybuilding and Jiu-Jitsu verticals

OTT service FloSports has delved deeper into the world of specialty sports with the introduction of FloMuscle and FloGrappling.

The two new speciality channels will feature content focusing on bodybuilding and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, respectively. They will appear as new dedicated verticals on FloSports, which also features FloTrack, FloWrestling, FloElite, MileSplit, FloSoftball (which formed after FloSports’s acquisition of Full Count Softball) and Gymnastike.

FloGrappling went live Aug. 18, while FloMuscle made its debut Aug. 15.

Like its other channels, FloMuscle and FloGrappling feature live-event streaming as well as original content ranging from news and commentary to technique videos for amateur athletes at home. FloGrappling’s first major live stream event will be the Polaris Professional Jiu-Jitsu Invitational Sept. 12 in Cardiff, Wales.

FloSports co-founder and CEO Martin Floreani said in a statement that fans of bodybuilding and Jiu-Jitsu tend to look for authentic coverage presented by people with in-depth knowledge of the sports, which is why a specialty service is more appropriate for these kinds of niche interest.

“Bodybuilding and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fans crave authentic content, in-depth storytelling and live streams of top events in their respective sports, and we look forward to delivering it,” said Floreani.

While some SVOD and OTT services such as Netflix and Hulu serve a more general audience, an increase of niche SVOD and OTT services have been rolling out in recent months. The new company TableRock Media is planning on launching an OTT service filled with dedicated channels for niche interests including guitar and aviation, and Muvi Studio has launched a global OTT service with spiritual content for followers of the Hare Krishna movement.

Jiu-Jitsu and bodybuilding fit the bill for their own services, according to the FloSports team.

“There’s a groundswell of popularity for bodybuilding, particularly as it relates to physique, bikini, fitness and figure competitions,” said FloMuscle GM Jami Debernard.

FloSports memberships cost $12.99 per month for access to all of FloSports’s channels. Content is available through desktop browsers and mobile viewing devices.
http://streamdaily.tv/2015/08/19/flo...tsu-verticals/

**bigmikecox** · 08-20-2015, 01:15 PM

RX...THANK YOU for having the balls to leave this link up to the live stream. Not only do I appreciate it, but im sure the bodybuilding fans do to

**Maniacal** · 08-20-2015, 03:42 PM

Originally Posted by bigmikecox

RX...THANK YOU for having the balls to leave this link up to the live stream. Not only do I appreciate it, but im sure the bodybuilding fans do to

Pretty sure it's because no one of 'importance' has seen it yet.

**bigmikecox** · 08-20-2015, 04:17 PM

^^^lmao

**Musclepapa John** · 08-20-2015, 06:23 PM

Dave has seen this coming not just coverage of this series of shows, but this business model that will likely include coverage of all the shows deemed worth adding to the mix where a profit can be made. Denying the inevitable won't make it go away. This service is a monthy subscription that entitles you to all their offerings for the entire month. So if they want to grow this they will have to cover more than one or two shows a month I'll bet.
This streaming service is certainly done in cooperation with the federation's leadership and they want it to succeed and be profitable to cover not merely bodybuilding, but all the other divisions that the fragmented muscle media fails to fully monetize on. There is still much work that can be done in terms of bodybuilding sports coverage after a successful streaming service such as this dries the swamp of funding for some of the legacy approaches to coverage.
I posted this thread in part so those wanting to continue to do contest coverage would know where to send their resumes as I do believe we are on the brink of revolutionary change in media coverage and promotion of the sport not just with this, but other major initiatives that are underway.

FlowSports.tv
2922 E Cesar Chavez St,
Austin, TX 78702

Originally Posted by bigmikecox

RX...THANK YOU for having the balls to leave this link up to the live stream. Not only do I appreciate it, but im sure the bodybuilding fans do to

**Mac** · 08-20-2015, 06:25 PM

Originally Posted by Maniacal

Pretty sure it's because no one of 'importance' has seen it yet.

Indeed.

**Joe Pietaro** · 08-20-2015, 06:41 PM

Of course this has to be viewed as an extremely positive thing for bodybuilding and a possible avenue for it to finally receive some mainstream coverage outside of the industry. And it will be very interesting to see how the Rising Phoenix show goes on this platform.

As much as I don't want to throw cold water on this, it's hard not to play devil's advocate knowing the landscape of things.

Many of us - myself included - were thrilled to hear about the NBC SN 2014 Olympia programming. Perhaps the only guy that I am aware of that saw it for what it was was Dave Palumbo and him being honest about it got him punished in the form of not receiving press passes. But he was right all along and we know how that turned out.

So I just have a strange feeling that I honestly hope I'm wrong about that once this company gets to see what really goes on that they bail out, much like NBC did.

**Sandwich** · 08-20-2015, 07:19 PM

I'd pay to see the Olympia and the Arnold. The rest of the shows on the circuit suck these days.

**Musclepapa John** · 08-20-2015, 08:16 PM

How would you know?

Originally Posted by Sandwich

The rest of the shows on the circuit suck these days.

**Musclepapa John** · 08-20-2015, 08:20 PM

This company produces numerous streaming channels that from what I gather are strictly focused on the event coverage. The NPC & IFBB have grown by leaps and bounds in terms of numbers to the chagrin of many an old sage. The participants, their friends and family may very well pay to see them on stage. That's really all this takes to be successful in my view. You can love one division and hate the other, but pay for all of it and watch what you want from the comfort of your computer screen or cell phone. Again, the feds appear to support the concept. It would have been done in Tampa, but not all the T's and I's were crossed.

Originally Posted by Joe Pietaro

Of course this has to be viewed as an extremely positive thing for bodybuilding and a possible avenue for it to finally receive some mainstream coverage outside of the industry. And it will be very interesting to see how the Rising Phoenix show goes on this platform.

As much as I don't want to throw cold water on this, it's hard not to play devil's advocate knowing the landscape of things.

Many of us - myself included - were thrilled to hear about the NBC SN 2014 Olympia programming. Perhaps the only guy that I am aware of that saw it for what it was was Dave Palumbo and him being honest about it got him punished in the form of not receiving press passes. But he was right all along and we know how that turned out.

So I just have a strange feeling that I honestly hope I'm wrong about that once this company gets to see what really goes on that they bail out, much like NBC did.

**Joe Pietaro** · 08-20-2015, 08:43 PM

Originally Posted by Musclepapa John

This company produces numerous streaming channels that from what I gather are strictly focused on the event coverage. The NPC & IFBB have grown by leaps and bounds in terms of numbers to the chagrin of many an old sage. The participants, their friends and family may very well pay to see them on stage. That's really all this takes to be successful in my view. You can love one division and hate the other, but pay for all of it and watch what you want from the comfort of your computer screen or cell phone. Again, the feds appear to support the concept. It would have been done in Tampa, but not all the T's and I's were crossed.

You know more about this thing that I do by a long shot so I'll pose this question, even if you don't know the answer. In that case, take an educated guess at it:

Is FlowSports paying for the rights to broadcast these shows and, if so, is that money going to the IFBB/NPC, promoters or both?

I would think that an outside company coming to the table and offering to do a professional broadcast would be a welcome addition. But the Pariso statement makes it appear that they want to be the 'broadcaster' with their own company and only allowing any media of any sort in if they are either in the good ol' boys network or "sponsoring" said show. And we know what that really means.

I know that show is not the same as what this company is planning on doing, but one idea seems to clash with the other.