steelfrog 12 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 Flo was started as a somewhat romantic notion operated out of a van and funded by donations. It grew through the efforts of the Brothers Flo and others including Bader and Joe, eventually adding Willie, who was fresh off of being named wrestling media guy of the year. Willie brought to Flo the editorial chops and rankings presence it did not have before then. Will later brought in Pyles, Holmes, and others. Then the Flo brothers (understandably) wanted to monetize and allowed VC in. With VC came lawyers, one in particular by the name of Paul Hurdlow has been particularly damaging to Flo. Hurdlow insinuated himself into management and put his imprint on Flo’s culture, and that meant using the lawyer’s tools. Contracts. Non-competes for already-employed people. Lawsuits. Then Flo started suing everyone in sight. From individuals taping their kids at Flo events, to putative competitors, to corporate “partners” (Oklahoma State) to Martin Flo and Willie. No one is safe from Flo’s litigious bent. You wonder why Flo is not given access by many programs? Why they, the biggest wrestling media outlet, have an antagonistic relationship with their fans, wrestlers and coaches? Because people aren’t stupid that’s why. Flo’s sharp practices have not gone unnoticed. One of the few Flo partners remaining is USA Wrestling which (a) is desperate for money and (b) has historically terrible leadership with poor judgment. Flo is indeed a sinking ship, at least in the wrestling realm. Their business model is built on exclusive event rights, and those are dwindling. If USA Wrestling pulls the plug on Flo in favor of CBS/Track, they will be done. 3 1 cjc007, Antitroll2828, Class and 1 other reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nom 873 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 I find this a bit comical. The general wrestling fan thinks FLO is the best thing to happen to wrestling in a long time. And I’m one of them. 3 GranbyTroll, csp1991 and fadzaev2 reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1032004 893 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 Is it true FLO won't have Big Ten matches any more? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Class 70 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 6 minutes ago, 1032004 said: Is it true FLO won't have Big Ten matches any more? Wondering that myself. Seemed to have less and less of the “big” matchups last year. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hammerlockthree 2,044 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 (edited) LJB...........some people need to get told that they need to return to their juice boxes...... Edited July 16, 2020 by hammerlockthree Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
uncle bernard 451 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 (edited) 18 minutes ago, 1032004 said: Is it true FLO won't have Big Ten matches any more? I believe this is true (assuming we have a season) Given the new profile, this really reads like a whistle-blower post. What random fan would know the name of the lawyer that came in and changed the management style? Is this you nomad? I do agree that if they lose their exclusive streaming rights, they're in trouble, but that goes for any wrestling media company. Edited July 16, 2020 by uncle bernard 2 FriendlyCamper and Yellow_Medal reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MadMardigain 1,275 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 3 minutes ago, uncle bernard said: I do agree that if they lose their exclusive streaming rights, they're in trouble, but that goes for any wrestling media company. You can only extend your vertical count so far before it starts to effect your ability to out big competitors for larger events. Under the current sports climate Flo may have to start making decision on what verticals are worth keeping if they really want to continue to grow their brand in the streaming world. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1032004 893 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 18 minutes ago, uncle bernard said: Given the new profile, this really reads like a whistle-blower post. What random fan would know the name of the lawyer that came in and changed the management style? Is this you nomad? If by "new" you mean registered in 2013... OP's only other post: Also posted on March 1, 2019 on flo's site by Nomad: https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/6374677-2019-ncaa-tournament-automatic-qualifier-allocations Coincidence? 3 nom, madcat11 and Housebuye reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hammerlockthree 2,044 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 7 minutes ago, 1032004 said: If by "new" you mean registered in 2013... OP's only other post: Also posted on March 1, 2019 on flo's site by Nomad: https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/6374677-2019-ncaa-tournament-automatic-qualifier-allocations Coincidence? Are you saying steelfrog is likely nomad? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1032004 893 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 11 minutes ago, hammerlockthree said: Are you saying steelfrog is likely nomad? Uncle bernard said it first. Seems plausible Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1032004 893 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 Story about this lawyer guy seems to check out though: Quote from his Linkedin (bolding mine): "His practice at Flo emphasizes rights acquisition, strategic transactions, digital rights management and enforcement, and corporate finance and governance." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VakAttack 2,810 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 1 hour ago, uncle bernard said: I believe this is true (assuming we have a season) Is there some info or link backing this up? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wrestleknownothing 391 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 1 hour ago, VakAttack said: Is there some info or link backing this up? Spey made a comment on Flo about not having broadcast rights. When mis-quoted on this board about it he came on to say they are still covering the Big 10. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alliseeisgold 78 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 right now flo is kicking rokfins a@@ i'm sure martin and willie with their disdain for flo and ingenuity can figure out a way to overtake them just perhaps not the resources Flo is always going to draw when they can show live matches. they are the espn of wrestling. flo doesn't even need big ten rights, people will watch all the high school tournaments and whose number 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VakAttack 2,810 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 15 minutes ago, Wrestleknownothing said: Spey made a comment on Flo about not having broadcast rights. When mis-quoted on this board about it he came on to say they are still covering the Big 10. So they are going to have Big 10 matches? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Billyhoyle 1,988 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 I have never heard of this random lawyer and the post from OP seems like a disgruntled former employee trying to get personal revenge without violating a severance agreement. The three things that always irritated me about flo were: 1. Repeated crashing of streams whenever they had an important events. This has largely been solved. 2. An arrogant attitude toward the rest of the wrestling media/lack of professional behavior. This clearly has not been solved (referring to lack of professionalism with reported behavior of their recently terminated employee). 3. Trying to push their other "verticals" on me. I didn't like getting updates about BJJ matches and wrestling/BJJ cross matches-it seemed like a slap in the face that subscribers for wrestling (likely their only profitable/close to profitable veertical) were being used to grow the company's other sports (e.g. flomarching, floswimming, flobowling). They got a ton of VC money, and I think it would have been amazing if this money were used to grow wrestling rather than the 24 other verticals. I get that they're a company and they can do what they think is best, but I'm just being honest with how I took it. With that said, as a fan of college and international wrestling, I subscribed to flo when I thought I was getting value in terms of live event broadcasting. I think BTN, ESPN, and track are now the better value for my interest, so I no longer am a flo subscriber. I still think it's a great value for fans of HS wrestling or people who view the WTT as a can't miss event and worth the $120. And if at some point in the future I think flo is providing more value than cost, I will once again subscribe. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
uncle bernard 451 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 I am now convinced this was Nomad. Going to devote the next few months of my life to an in depth syntax analysis between this post and everything he wrote at flo. Stay tuned folks. This goes all the way to the top. 3 2 GranbyTroll, madcat11, Housebuye and 2 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
82bordeaux 90 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 12 hours ago, 1032004 said: If by "new" you mean registered in 2013... OP's only other post: Also posted on March 1, 2019 on flo's site by Nomad: https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/6374677-2019-ncaa-tournament-automatic-qualifier-allocations Coincidence? 1 1 1 Antitroll2828, Eagle26 and tommytechnique reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
goheels1812 509 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 (edited) Does Flo really sue parents taping their kids at events Flo broadcasts? That’s crazy if true. One of my most valuable possessions is a collection of DVDs my dad gave me when I graduated of every match he recorded while I wrestled in high school. Edited July 16, 2020 by goheels1812 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1032004 893 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 (edited) 12 hours ago, VakAttack said: Is there some info or link backing this up? Not that I've seen, mostly just twitter rumors... However, I believe the trolls have commented on it on facebook/twitter posts and as FRL questions to which they've never replied to my knowledge. If they were going to why wouldn't they say so? Edited July 16, 2020 by 1032004 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1032004 893 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 11 hours ago, Billyhoyle said: With that said, as a fan of college and international wrestling, I subscribed to flo when I thought I was getting value in ters of live event broadcasting. I think BTN, ESPN, and track are now the better value for my interest, so I no longer am a flo subscriber. I still think it's a great value for fans of HS wrestling or people who view the WTT as a can't miss event and worth the $120. And if at some point in the future I think flo is providing more value than cost, I will once again subscribe. This reminded me...I was going to make a new thread but there are probably enough Flo threads as is... Has Flo ever done a Black Friday/Cyber Monday promotion on new subscriptions? I honestly think that would be a good promotion for them. They could even probably get a bunch of grandma's to buy them as gifts and then charge their card every year when they're dead, which seems like it might be up their alley. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Husker_Du 576 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 2 hours ago, uncle bernard said: I am now convinced this was Nomad. Going to devote the next few months of my life to an in depth syntax analysis between this post and everything he wrote at flo. Stay tuned folks. This goes all the way to the top. it's not nomad. 1 GranbyTroll reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TLS62pa 48 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 They've got the women's group all fired up now. Expecting some fall out from this upcoming event and the women's perspective. Saw a lead female wrestler just complain about lack of women in the Fargo highlight that they just posted. I think Flo is going to get bombarded from the women going forward. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
uncle bernard 451 Report post Posted July 16, 2020 2 hours ago, Husker_Du said: it's not nomad. Precisely what someone who knows that it's nomad would say. 2 1 Crotalus, Mphillips and Husker_Du reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
