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FloRugby implements altcasts
There's a lot of interesting history with "alternate broadcasts," which date back well beyond the 2021 launch of Peyton and Eli Manning's Monday Night Football Manningcast. A few examples there, largely from ESPN, include a 1994 CART race, a 2006 UNC-Duke game (the debut of the "ESPN Full Circle" brand, an early megacast), and the 2014 BCS National Championship.
But altcasts have expanded wildly in the past few years in particular, and they've embraced some new concepts in the process. Streaming service FloSports has tried some of that, especially with the "Athlete's Lounge" they debuted for track earlier this year, and they're now bringing that idea to rugby, starting with a free stream at 2:30 p.m. ET today with the kickoff of the 2025 Gallagher Premiership Rugby season:
Back in May, I spoke to prominent decathlete-turned-broadcaster Trey Hardee about the plan for FloSports' Athlete's Lounge broadcasts (based on an idea he'd had more than a decade ago) and why they mattered. Here are his key quotes about how he thought this would stand out from typical track coverage:
“The challenge for this product, and I think people have a hard time separating the sport from the product, is that when it’s on TV, it’s a product and it’s consumed and it is a very difficult sport to convert into this TV audience.
“When you’re at a track meet, it is so much fun because there’s always something going on. Your eyes can go just jump from thing to thing to thing. And really about every four to five minutes, you get this rush of adrenaline because there’s like quiet for a race or an event or something of great consequence.
...“I had retired, and was just thinking ‘It would be fantastic to do Mystery Science Theater 3000 with a track meet.’ You could have sports personalities and track and field stars.
“We know what’s going on, we’re watching it on TV, we’re watching the screen, we can see the race unfolding. But keep telling that story that we want to hear about from 2016 in Rio when the cab driver drove you down into the favela. Keep us in with that, and we can all just watch this track meet together.”
That approach paid some dividends for FloSports, and they're now bringing a similar approach to their rugby coverage. Here's more on that from a release:
Friday will mark a new day for rugby coverage in the U.S. with the debut of FloSports Athlete’s Lounge on FloRugby – a free, livestream experience intended to bring in the brightest minds and voices in the sport to add their spin on the action. Award-winning rugby broadcaster and analyst Dallen Stanford will host the show alongside special guest USA Rugby’s general manager and head coach Scott Lawrence for its debut.
...FloRugby’s Athlete’s Lounge is patterned after the successful Athlete’s Lounge alternative stream on FloTrack. It’s a casual, engaging format that features renowned ex-international and professional players in conversation with other luminaries from the sport and surprise guests that spark engaging conversations throughout live game coverage. Other guests to join the show this weekend include rugby global star Todd Clever, record-setting USA powerhouse Joe Taufete’e, Tonga’s all-time points scorer Kurt Morath, and versatile USA Eagles player Craig Hunt.
...“We want rugby fans in the U.S. to not just watch the games, but to feel part of the conversation and learn a little along the way. Viewers will hear a breakdown of what’s happening on the pitch from those who know the game deeply, and get live perspective in real time,” said Stanford.
There are a few things particularly of note with this. One is that there seems to be some overlap between rugby and track as sports that aren't necessarily naturally huge TV draws in the U.S., where even the rules aren't necessarily known by everyone. That adds to the appeal of an altcast that can help viewers "learn a little." There's a balance to be found there between appealing to new fans and existing fans, but a mix of broadcasters and athletes can be useful for that, with some of these prominent guests perhaps able to chip in insights that will be appealing even to hardcore fans.
Another interesting element of this is that this Athlete's Lounge altcast will be free, viewable on FloRugby's YouTube channel and Facebook page in addition to the FloSports app. FloRugby overall, like most of FloSports' offerings, is a subscription product, so it's notable to see them offer a new initiative like this outside their paywall. And that perhaps adds to the focus here on drawing in new fans, who might then be interested in subscribing to watch more rugby content.
There's been some prominent skepticism out there about altcasts overall, and some of that's understandable. Even the highest-profile ones, such as the Manningcast, aren't even close to the viewership of traditional broadcasts of those sports. But dramatically-different altcasts, whether they're the Manningcast or this Athlete's Lounge or a statistics-focused or animated broadcast, seem to have potential to bring in some of those who might not watch the event otherwise. And it's notable to see that the track rollout of the Athlete's Lounge idea worked well enough for FloSports that they're now bringing it to rugby.
Notes and quotes of interest:
- Analyst Nick Faldo on NBC's Day 1 Ryder Cup coverage on USA this morning: "There’s nothing like this. It just takes every single emotion you’ve got, just turn the volume knob up to 11." Is Sir Nick a Spinal Tap fan? (For the record, I recently saw and very much enjoyed Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.)
- ESPN debuts their three-part Believers: Boston Red Sox series today on their app, for subscribers to the "ESPN Unlimited" (full) level. It's an interesting combination of people and companies, produced by Religion of Sports and Artists' Equity, directed by Lauren Fisher and ROS' Gotham Chopra (a figure I've talked to quite a bit over the years, and someone who seems like the perfect fit for this particular fandom/faith/"stories that transcend sports" project), and executive produced by noted Red Sox fan Ben Affleck. Also, what else can give you a list of guests including "Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Katie Nolan, Bill Burr, Donnie Wahlberg, Uzo Aduba, Sam Jay, Maria Menounos, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and Neil deGrasse Tyson"? A debate between Kearns Goodwin and deGrasse Tyson over the Red Sox might be the only sports debate I would watch.
- Need a football-shaped flask? To promote the NFL's first game in Dublin Sunday, Jameson is offering just that...
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