All-Star Cheer Channel Going On T.v????

[StarshipTrooper]

So the question is does the system setup to promote need to exist before any real good content happens or does the content need to exist and then you can have the system?

Above my pay grade. I don't understand the business at all. Who else is even sniffing at the prospect of developing programing based on the All Star theme and Cheer in general? I agree with your pov on this, I just think things take time and have to be built and I would go with B if it were my endeavor. I think content will drive success. The question becomes, will sponsors agree?

 

[King]

Above my pay grade. I don't understand the business at all. Who else is even sniffing at the prospect of developing programing based on the All Star theme and Cheer in general? I agree with your pov on this, I just think things take time and have to be built and I would go with B if it were my endeavor. I think content will drive success. The question becomes, will sponsors agree?

Pretty sure Varsity is with the purchase of American Cheerleader. Great name for a brand/lifestyle. Maybe they'll do shops at a mall? Apparel is the blood of what allows everything to happen. As for sponsors it is an interesting dynamic.

Would Allstar cheer gyms change shoes or uniforms because of a show? I doubt it. Would high school? Maybe, but they get calls and bombarded with reps from diff companies all the time. Will they I to different cheer competitions? I doubt it. Selling to cheerleaders themselves is already saturated enough and enough channels already built to talk to directly to gyms I don't see any of the actual cheer stuff selling.

But if cheer was a lifestyle type of apparel (like Hollister for surfers) and sold cheer lifestyle stuff to non cheerleaders that might work. But even that is fleeting. Think of Soffees. They were what everyone wore and now I see spandex more than Soffees.

 

[StarshipTrooper]

Pretty sure Varsity is with the purchase of American Cheerleader. Great name for a brand/lifestyle. Maybe they'll do shops at a mall? Apparel is the blood of what allows everything to happen. As for sponsors it is an interesting dynamic.

Would Allstar cheer gyms change shoes or uniforms because of a show? I doubt it. Would high school? Maybe, but they get calls and bombarded with reps from diff companies all the time. Will they I to different cheer competitions? I doubt it. Selling to cheerleaders themselves is already saturated enough and enough channels already built to talk to directly to gyms I don't see any of the actual cheer stuff selling.

But if cheer was a lifestyle type of apparel (like Hollister for surfers) and sold cheer lifestyle stuff to non cheerleaders that might work. But even that is fleeting. Think of Soffees. They were what everyone wore and now I see spandex more than Soffees.

From what I have seen the potential sponsors are much less cheer only and much more young women and men oriented. I personally think xanax sells to cheer moms and dads are a massive market and I am pushing detailing to big pharma.

 

[newcheerdad]

A few clarifications:

I can't imagine this will be a network the way most people think about a network. Carriers aren't paying anyone for clearance right now, so the idea that a niche sport like cheer could get a slot in anyone's lineup is insanity. UFC, which is a far more mainstream sports property, couldn't make the financials work for their own network - so there's no way in this or any other universe it'll work for cheer. I believe the WWE has been trying to start their own network for a year and is still a year away - and they have far more content than this group can ever dream to have. (with admittedly far weaker demographics)

If I had to guess - and it's been many years since I worked in this space - CCI is using SimplyME as the third-party to help distribute their content to mobile and digital providers. (which may include cable companies) There may be companies that want this kind of content because it reaches a desirable demographic and may be willing to pay for it, but most likely it'll be some kind of revenue sharing agreement at best, pay-to-play model at worst.

*Pay-to-play is basically paying for the right to have your content distributed by a carrier.

All I read out of this press release is saying is that they've got somebody who's going to help them sell their content, with zero guarantee anyone will be interested.

 

[StarshipTrooper]

A few clarifications:

I can't imagine this will be a network the way most people think about a network. Carriers aren't paying anyone for clearance right now, so the idea that a niche sport like cheer could get a slot in anyone's lineup is insanity. UFC, which is a far more mainstream sports property, couldn't make the financials work for their own network - so there's no way in this or any other universe it'll work for cheer. I believe the WWE has been trying to start their own network for a year and is still a year away - and they have far more content than this group can ever dream to have. (with admittedly far weaker demographics)

If I had to guess - and it's been many years since I worked in this space - CCI is using SimplyME as the third-party to help distribute their content to mobile and digital providers. (which may include cable companies) There may be companies that want this kind of content because it reaches a desirable demographic and may be willing to pay for it, but most likely it'll be some kind of revenue sharing agreement at best, pay-to-play model at worst.

*Pay-to-play is basically paying for the right to have your content distributed by a carrier.

All I read out of this press release is saying is that they've got somebody who's going to help them sell their content, with zero guarantee anyone will be interested.

That sounds close to what I was thinking.

 

[The Sixth]

I think people need to step out of their cheer bubble and see what a small niche sport this still really is. How many other sports have a dedicated tv channel? On top of that, they even declare they are targeting teens and tweens, further diminishing the market reach.

I'm not saying it's going to fail. Although if them using that silly diary show as a selling point is any indication of where they are headed, I certainly hope so. Not to mention the level of professionalism they've displayed from an executive standpoint is hardly noteworthy. I'd just forewarn people I don't think it could ever amount to anything you'd hopefully like to see as far as real cheer coverage. But then there will always be people so desperate for cheer anything, they'll eat up, even if they just turn around and bag on it afterwards.

Maybe I've just been living under a rock the last 2.5 years. Because I certainly didn't realize CC was the "premier destination for the millions of athletes and fans of the spirit industry". :rolleyes:

 

[King]

For the actual cheer stuff I think a solution will rise internally instead of externally. Either Varsity or some random independent will come up with what we want. There is a need, someone will fill it cause there is money to be made.

 

[StarshipTrooper]

I think people need to step out of their cheer bubble and see what a small niche sport this still really is. How many other sports have a dedicated tv channel? On top of that, they even declare they are targeting teens and tweens, further diminishing the market reach.

Well to me that is the question. And I am just as shocked as you that the cheer industry would involve some hyperbole.;)

 

[King]

I think people need to step out of their cheer bubble and see what a small niche sport this still really is. How many other sports have a dedicated tv channel? On top of that, they even declare they are targeting teens and tweens, further diminishing the market reach.

I'm not saying it's going to fail. Although if them using that silly diary show as a selling point is any indication of where they are headed, I certainly hope so. Not to mention the level of professionalism they've displayed from an executive standpoint is hardly noteworthy. I'd just forewarn people I don't think it could ever amount to anything you'd hopefully like to see as far as real cheer coverage. But then there will always be people so desperate for cheer anything, they'll eat up, even if they just turn around and bag on it afterwards.

Maybe I've just been living under a rock the last 2.5 years. Because I certainly didn't realize CC was the "premier destination for the millions of athletes and fans of the spirit industry". :rolleyes:

Curious who you think this show/channel is selling to? (Honest question)

 

[newcheerdad]

For the actual cheer stuff I think a solution will rise internally instead of externally. Either Varsity or some random independent will come up with what we want. There is a need, someone will fill it cause there is money to be made.

I think there's a market on a limited scale with free content, like ad-supported YouTube content and the like. Beyond that, not so much.

 

[King]

I think there's a market on a limited scale with free content, like ad-supported YouTube content and the like. Beyond that, not so much.

Completely agree. Concentrated marketing that can produce a small revenue pool. Cheer is such a unique sport that only now are we figuring out ways to capitalize on it.

To me the best potential revenue streams and advertising are:
Selling live streams (people only pay for content they can't get anyway else and love streams give people something they can't get anywhere else). Cheer live does get better(slowly but it does) and now varsity does it as well.
Advertisements before or over routine videos (people won't pay for content they can watch from someone's cell phone, so it's the prime time for advertisement)
A couple web series shows about cheer( some possible product placement and ads but the show itself would have to be good)
Social media (I've seen through just the cheer market how much potential the board itself has for ads)
News outlet sites and twitters - spirit post is the best place for official news and could have more ads. Cheerupdates provides an excellent service but it be hard to make money off of it. If he started hanging someone else could just do the same thing on twitter for free. Might be able to sell advertisement tweets.

That tumble and trickin has some potential to sponsor people and sell ads but has a bit to grow.

 

[newcheerdad]

Completely agree. Concentrated marketing that can produce a small revenue pool. Cheer is such a unique sport that only now are we figuring out ways to capitalize on it.

To me the best potential revenue streams and advertising are:
Selling live streams (people only pay for content they can't get anyway else and love streams give people something they can't get anywhere else). Cheer live does get better(slowly but it does) and now varsity does it as well.
Advertisements before or over routine videos (people won't pay for content they can watch from someone's cell phone, so it's the prime time for advertisement)
A couple web series shows about cheer( some possible product placement and ads but the show itself would have to be good)
Social media (I've seen through just the cheer market how much potential the board itself has for ads)
News outlet sites and twitters - spirit post is the best place for official news and could have more ads. Cheerupdates provides an excellent service but it be hard to make money off of it. If he started hanging someone else could just do the same thing on twitter for free. Might be able to sell advertisement tweets.

That tumble and trickin has some potential to sponsor people and sell ads but has a bit to grow.

I think the common denominator in all of those things you mention is that the revenue potential is fairly limited. The big money would be if you could aggregate a lot of these ideas into a destination site of some kind. You know, a site that already gets a lot of traffic and has name reputation in the cheer industry. Not that such a site exists. :)

 

[King]

Haha right? I will say if you can win over the fierce board you win over a LARGE portion of the market. Also while there aren't a ton of individuals the amount that can be made per individual is very high.

 

[The Sixth]

Curious who you think this show/channel is selling to? (Honest question)

The cynical side says stupid people, with a dash of optimistic people. Stupid may be a little harsh, but let's face it, in this day and age no matter how much disdain we have for reality tv, it gets viewers. Then you have the optimists that will watch and hope that they'll get what they want, cry when they don't, but keep watching. And the bottom line is ratings don't count number's opinions.

Ultimately I think the target audience doesn't matter. It's a business and they are looking to capitalize on an industry that they may very well *believe* they care about. But as with a lot of businesses, it's money first. Reminds me of that stupid Cheer Zoo site, that is nothing more than ads, with YT videos trying to sell me on the idea they really care about pseudo head to head battles.

From a business model standpoint, maybe they'll be lucky enough to cover some events similar to what Cheerlive does. If they could somehow wrest coverage of NCA and Worlds from Varsity I think that would be a huge coup. But this is Varsity we're talking about. I doubt they have the resources to provide any meaningful nationwide news coverage, which might also be interesting. So I think any real coverage would be limited real and sandwiched between a bunch of silly stuff. But I'm sure if they created a few 5 min spots of cheerlebrity's giving performance or fashion tips, that would be enough for people to fawn over, to ignore the fluff.

 

[The Sixth]

Well to me that is the question. And I am just as shocked as you that the cheer industry would involve some hyperbole.;)

I'm guessing the hyperbole comment was actually directed at the last part of my post that wasn't quoted. You've posted more supportive comments so I'm *assuming* there's a hint of sarcasm that goes with your ;). I can live with hyperbole, but statements that border on flat out made up....not so much.