Buffs following the Broncos model for local media?

[Buffnik]

Broncos have special relationships with 9news and KOA along with NFL Network, which give special access to media from these outlets. They also have a lot of content from in-house media.

Buffs have long had that with KOA (may be coming to an end and see a move to The Fan). They are building that with 9news, which actually sponsors the Buff Blast emails we get. They have that with Pac-12 Networks. And they're certainly building the in-house media to unprecedented proportions.

This new model rejects the idea of maximizing exposure for exposure's sake, believing that its audience innately exists and will gravitate to the best coverage. And the best coverage comes from those outlets who have a driving economic incentive to heavily promote the organization and to do so in a positive light because they're paying (or getting paid in the case of in-house or league media) for the privilege.

I hated this change when it started. I'm still uncomfortable with it because we get things like when the Big Ten Network didn't talk about the Sandusky scandal. But I'm starting to come around because I'm loving all the content this gets me as a fan and as a fan I find that I much prefer my team news with positive promotional spin rather than a local media that tries to present itself as unbiased, objective and even skeptical while being all too motivated to try to find angles for a story that can break a scandal, tear down the program and win a Pulitzer for the sports journalist.

Put it another way, I like my local sports news to be biased and protective. And the success of this model tells me that the vast majority of sports fans feel the same way.

 

[Bison]

Best way for someone like Mark Kiszla to be out of a job sooner than later.

 

[Darth Snow]

I like what CU is doing as far as promoting content.

I hate what they are doing as far as cutting off all access to practices to other vendors.

Why? Because that kind of insular environment is dangerous in the long run. By hiding something that is wrong, you can get to the point where a problem grows unchecked. I'm not saying this would turn into a Baylor situation, but it is a risk.

Overall, I like what they are doing as far as content. I just think they should be more open with other media. It's a balancing act. It's fine and good to promote the official line. It's bad to starve everyone else.

 

[wyomingBUFF]

Less exposure = less fans

Unless you are already following the Buffs social channels, you're not seeing any of this fluff content they are producing.

CU is missing out on a great opportunity to appeal to a broader audience. This has big time implications in terms of national and even local relevance.

 

[wyomingBUFF]

I will add that the PAC 12 as a whole is dropping the ball as well. All other P5 conferences have been all over ESPN but PAC 12 didn't do a media blitz. They are not proactive and it hurts the conference.

 

[Denver_sc]

In before FOXXXXXX NEEEWWWWS

 

[Liver]

without independent access to the practices and such, we really have no idea what we've got in terms of the program. and, all that gets reported is the sunshine pumping stuff-- "frosh working hard to replace outgoing stud" "defense learning to adjust" "player A loves children and puppies" etc.

if the team then comes out and ****s the bed in game 1 and all we've heard about up to that is how hard everyone is working and how our student-athletes help grandma across the street, the blowback is 10x what it would been if expectations were more grounded in facts.

 

[MtnBuff]

Less exposure = less fans

Unless you are already following the Buffs social channels, you're not seeing any of this fluff content they are producing.

CU is missing out on a great opportunity to appeal to a broader audience. This has big time implications in terms of national and even local relevance.

Trouble is that in this market if you aren't the Broncos you aren't going to get attention generated by the media.

The stuff CU is producing gives them a chance to get attention as the media outlets cut back on the staff that has been producing their content but they still need content to fill space or time.

The media outlets that hit the "broad audience" are diminishing in power quickly. The Denver Post used to be the primary source of news for a big block of the population. They sold over 500,000 papers a day when the Denver and Colorado population were much smaller. The network affiliate news programs were seen by well over 50% of the population on a regular basis.

Now many adults haven't read a print daily newspaper in the last year and the percentage who watch the evening news is low as well.

CU and any other sports entity not called the Broncos has to find a way to get on the channels that the sports consumers use.

The fan 104.3 thing is interesting. They certainly don't have the presence of KOA but their market is very focused to the people that CU wants as customers.

As the Broncos move more towards dominating KOA to the extend that they have now gone full in on the 760am Orange and Blue deal CU if they stay there will struggle to not get pushed further to the side. 104.3 has been almost all Broncos but if they identify as the CU station will refocus to put more emphasis on promoting that investment.

 

[tante]

The media outlets that hit the "broad audience" are diminishing in power quickly. The Denver Post used to be the primary source of news for a big block of the population. They sold over 500,000 papers a day when the Denver and Colorado population were much smaller. The network affiliate news programs were seen by well over 50% of the population on a regular basis.

So this number shocked me, but they sell 1.2 million papers per day and 6 million visitiors/13 million page views online (edit the online numbers are monthly). I think they are doing really good in terms of readership, but their revenue model (classified ads) was replaced with online entities.

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

Broncos have special relationships with 9news and KOA along with NFL Network, which give special access to media from these outlets. They also have a lot of content from in-house media.

Buffs have long had that with KOA (may be coming to an end and see a move to The Fan). They are building that with 9news, which actually sponsors the Buff Blast emails we get. They have that with Pac-12 Networks. And they're certainly building the in-house media to unprecedented proportions.

This new model rejects the idea of maximizing exposure for exposure's sake, believing that its audience innately exists and will gravitate to the best coverage. And the best coverage comes from those outlets who have a driving economic incentive to heavily promote the organization and to do so in a positive light because they're paying (or getting paid in the case of in-house or league media) for the privilege.

I hated this change when it started. I'm still uncomfortable with it because we get things like when the Big Ten Network didn't talk about the Sandusky scandal. But I'm starting to come around because I'm loving all the content this gets me as a fan and as a fan I find that I much prefer my team news with positive promotional spin rather than a local media that tries to present itself as unbiased, objective and even skeptical while being all too motivated to try to find angles for a story that can break a scandal, tear down the program and win a Pulitzer for the sports journalist.

Put it another way, I like my local sports news to be biased and protective. And the success of this model tells me that the vast majority of sports fans feel the same way.

Buffs are moving to a partnership with The Fan?? As much as people hate the guys on The Fan, that would be huge. The personalities are starting to become dominated by former Buffs and a partnership would put them in a position to talk more Buff football.

 

[MtnBuff]

So this number shocked me, but they sell 1.2 million papers per day and 6 million visitiors/13 million page views online. I think they are doing really good in terms of readership, but their revenue model (classified ads) was replaced with online entities.

That first number is shocking. The page views doesn't surprise me, I had heard that they were at or near the top in terms of views for any website based in Colorado.

They have been moving the source of their content though. They used to have a huge newsgathering organization. That has been steadily reducing over time with many of the events that used to have a staff reporter assigned being either covered by a free lancer or a part time, reported based off information provided by the involved parties, or ignored all together.

For college football they used to have beat reporters for CU, CSU, AFA and the small colleges. Those are pretty well gone. In their place I have seen them publish articles that were nothing more than a rewriting of the things CU is putting out from their own staff. That is why this is important.

 

[Buffnik]

without independent access to the practices and such, we really have no idea what we've got in terms of the program. and, all that gets reported is the sunshine pumping stuff-- "frosh working hard to replace outgoing stud" "defense learning to adjust" "player A loves children and puppies" etc.

if the team then comes out and ****s the bed in game 1 and all we've heard about up to that is how hard everyone is working and how our student-athletes help grandma across the street, the blowback is 10x what it would been if expectations were more grounded in facts.

So like the Broncos coverage.

 

[Buffnik]

That first number is shocking. The page views doesn't surprise me, I had heard that they were at or near the top in terms of views for any website based in Colorado.

They have been moving the source of their content though. They used to have a huge newsgathering organization. That has been steadily reducing over time with many of the events that used to have a staff reporter assigned being either covered by a free lancer or a part time, reported based off information provided by the involved parties, or ignored all together.

For college football they used to have beat reporters for CU, CSU, AFA and the small colleges. Those are pretty well gone. In their place I have seen them publish articles that were nothing more than a rewriting of the things CU is putting out from their own staff. That is why this is important.

Other thing is that they give a certain number of views per month now before they block the content and require a subscription to view. For anyone who doesn't know how to use the internet in incognito mode to avoid that tracking, I think it's going to result a lot more in people finding alternate sources. They should get a bump in online subscriptions, too, but their total readership will take a big hit. That's a tough pill for them on advertising rate fees.

 

[BuffaloChase]

without independent access to the practices and such, we really have no idea what we've got in terms of the program. and, all that gets reported is the sunshine pumping stuff-- "frosh working hard to replace outgoing stud" "defense learning to adjust" "player A loves children and puppies" etc.

if the team then comes out and ****s the bed in game 1 and all we've heard about up to that is how hard everyone is working and how our student-athletes help grandma across the street, the blowback is 10x what it would been if expectations were more grounded in facts.

This is a really good take and exactly what I struggle with when trying to bring you guys news. It's hard to trust anything that comes directly from the program but at the same time it's all we've got when it comes to information out of camp. I would love to tell you guys what they're doing wrong but it's just not possible when no one will tell us and we can't see it for ourselves.

 

[sackman]

It was a bigger problem under Hawkins and Embree than it is under MM. MM will never throw a kid under the bus. But he will be very careful to choose his words in such a way that gets the point across that he's unhappy with a certain player or group.
Maybe it's just a matter of learning how to read between the lines with MM, but I sense that he's a lot more honest about setting expectations than his two predecessors were, I.e. "Ten wins, no excuses" and "Bowl game!"

 

[DBT]

Buffs are moving to a partnership with The Fan?? As much as people hate the guys on The Fan, that would be huge. The personalities are starting to become dominated by former Buffs and a partnership would put them in a position to talk more Buff football.

When I first read nik's post I was a little "WTF? NO!!!" But the more I think about it the better it could be. KOA is the Bronco's station. And until the Rockies are done, conflicting games get pushed to 760. So, if it goes to 104.3, all I ask is that they dump DMac.

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

When I first read nik's post I was a little "WTF? NO!!!" But the more I think about it the better it could be. KOA is the Bronco's station. And until the Rockies are done, conflicting games get pushed to 760. So, if it goes to 104.3, all I ask is that they dump DMac.

Unfortunately, DMac brings the ratings, though, and he does lean CU when talking college football in Colorado, because he works with Al. If you want to hear more college football talk, and specifically Buffs, partnering w 1043 would definitely be the best option.