ISU's Ice Skating Channel on Recast is streaming 2023 World Junior Synchro, March 10-11

[Sylvia]

I'm putting this thread here, rather than in Kiss & Cry, in case there are fans interested in this week's 2023 World Junior Synchro Championships, March 10-11 in Angers, France, and are not aware that the ISU's Ice Skating Channel on the Recast streaming platform (announced in November 2022 for the livestreaming of speed skating events), is livestreaming this competition rather than the Skating ISU YouTube channel - from the World Junior Synchro preview article: https://isu.org/synchronized-skatin...onized-skating-championships?templateParam=15

About the Ice Skating Channel
By simply signing up, watching adverts, sharing videos, inviting friends or topping up your wallet directly, the Ice Skating Channel [link to RecastTV] users will be able to turn their interactions and viewership into Cast Credits. These can then be used to access live streams of various ISU events, as well as other content from a diverse range of sports on the Recast platform."

"The ISU is delighted to launch our Recast Channel, joining a rapidly growing list of rights holders on the pioneering Over-The-Top (OTT) sports platform, enabling fans to watch content." More info: https://isu.org/media-centre/libraries/iceskatingchannel

 

[Karen-W]

That's not a way to grow the sport, but that's on the ISU. Idiots.

 

[tony]

Well luckily for now, it's just World junior synchro as far as figure skating is concerned.

But talk about being completely unaware of the current environment. NO ONE wants to sit through ads or invite friends to earn 'credits'. That's so tacky and already outdated in practice; pioneering it is surely not.

Hopefully this trial run ends up with the ISU sacking the idea and going for a streaming channel all of their own, but I'm wondering if they are getting hit with additional fees now from music usage and this is their attempt at trying to get some of the money back. I'm fairly certain they can't get any money from YouTube if their videos keep getting hit with copyright claims, but I don't know how Recast would be any different if the rights holders still went after them here.

 

[Frau Muller]

Oh Gawwd…I just saw that on my Facebook. Just so the ISU keeps RECAST for only Synchro and Speed Skating. Please keep figure skating on plain-old ISU YouTube channel! This past Junior Worlds viewing and reviewing experience was a winner…better than the Senior Peacock experience in the US.

 

[Sylvia]

Meagan Duhamel tweeted this yesterday in response to the ISU's tweet: https://twitter.com/mhjd_85/status/1633995766866890753

"Being able to watch skating on YouTube has been amazing and it’s great that it’s accessible to so many people. Using a platform that people need to pay for is going to bring down viewership of skating even more. Why do we want that?"

 

[honey]

This truly seems like the stupidest thing they could have done. You don’t grow the sport by putting it on some random site that you need to jump through hoops on in order to watch things.

I also hate how hard this makes it for older fans. My mom has no problem going through YouTube to get a stream up because she’s is familiar with it. There’s also a built in app on her chrome cast. As far as I know this site doesn’t even have an app for a phone let alone for a chrome cast or apple tv. She’s not going to easily be able to navigate this.

 

[Wyliefan]

God bless Meagan, she always speaks up!

 

[BlueRidge]

God bless Meagan, she always speaks!

fixed that

 

[Seerek]

Those of us who are already familiar with Recast (World Curling Championships) have been through this song and dance before...

ISU may be on paper a great "get" for Recast, but there's virtually no overlap in segmentation between ISU events and anything else Recast currently offers, so crossover potential is effectively zero.

In hindsight, we're pretty fortunate that World Juniors was available live on YouTube, since all the other disciplines of ISU had their World Jr's on Recast.

 

[overedge]

If anyone who was my online friend decided to use this service and then "invited" me to join in....they wouldn't be my online friend any more. This company's business model relies on people basically giving it free publicity by exploiting their personal social networks.

Every time I think the ISU can't surprise me by making yet another stupid strategic decision, I end up being surprised.

 

[Sylvia]

Let the ISU know your feelings about Recast, among other topics, in their annual fan survey (if you haven't already done so... or want to again!):

ISU Fan Survey 2023

The ISU is doing a fan survey. It's a chance to make your voice heard!! You can find it here: https://survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90524447/ISU-Fan-Survey-2023-Newsletter?dm_i=731E,DWZW,KEPUB,1PGBQ,1

www.fsuniverse.net

(I missed reading this discussion thread -- that's most about streaming rights -- when it happened last month.)

 

[Karen-W]

If anyone who was my online friend decided to use this service and then "invited" me to join in....they wouldn't be my online friend any more. This company's business model relies on people basically giving it free publicity by exploiting their personal social networks.

Every time I think the ISU can't surprise me by making yet another stupid strategic decision, I end up being surprised.

Yes, that's a fairly outdated business advertising model, as @tony already noted. The ISU really missed the boat on this platform.

 

[overedge]

I filled out the survey before the announcement was made. Not at all suspicious that Recast is mentioned in the survey and suddenly Recast is the "provider of choice" for ISU streaming....not suspicious at all, nope

 

[On My Own]

Would have been better if they had looked into a membership fee on YouTube, although I don't know if an organization like the ISU is allowed to establish it I guess.

 

[MacMadame]

Would have been better if they had looked into a membership fee on YouTube, although I don't know if an organization like the ISU is allowed to establish it I guess.

There is a mechanism to "join" a channel which is different from subscribing. You decide how much to charge and what the customer gets for it. YouTube collects the money and pass it on to you.

ETA and of course they can charge. Why wouldn't they be able to?

 

[tony]

There is a mechanism to "join" a channel which is different from subscribing. You decide how much to charge and what the customer gets for it. YouTube collects the money and pass it on to you.

ETA and of course they can charge. Why wouldn't they be able to?

Not going to happen when ISU's channel keeps getting hit with copyright infringements and videos being blocked in certain regions.

 

[MacMadame]

Not going to happen when ISU's channel keeps getting hit with copyright infringements and videos being blocked in certain regions.

How is Recast or Peacock different then?

Also, have they been hit with copyright infringements other than the House of the Rising Sun case?

What videos were blocked in certain regions though I'm not sure how that would stop them from having people join to see certain videos. I mean movie companies make different versions of movies for different markets so having some videos not available in certain markets shouldn't stop them. They just need a disclaimer.

(not that I am advocating for them to have a membership fee for YouTube videos. I was just answering the question of whether or not it is possible. It is.)

 

[On My Own]

ETA and of course they can charge. Why wouldn't they be able to?

I know what the membership fee is. I am not sure about whether or not the ISU satisfies all these eligibility requirements and/or membership policies and guidelines: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/7636690?hl=en#zippy=,minimum-eligibility-requirements

Anyway, I don't think I'll use Recast.

 

[skatingguy]

How is Recast or Peacock different then?

Also, have they been hit with copyright infringements other than the House of the Rising Sun case?

What videos were blocked in certain regions though I'm not sure how that would stop them from having people join to see certain videos. I mean movie companies make different versions of movies for different markets so having some videos not available in certain markets shouldn't stop them. They just need a disclaimer.

(not that I am advocating for them to have a membership fee for YouTube videos. I was just answering the question of whether or not it is possible. It is.)

The men's free skate from Four Continents, and one of the free skates from Junior Worlds were blocked for music rights.

 

[MacMadame]

The men's free skate from Four Continents, and one of the free skates from Junior Worlds were blocked for music rights.

Thanks. I'd only heard of the HotRS case.

It's clear that the current ISU procedures for vetting music rights are broken IMO. The way to fix it is not to kill replays but to do more due diligence and to train skaters and choreographers in acquiring music rights (or not using music that requires more than the standard licenses all arenas and rinks have).

 

[skatingguy]

Thanks. I'd only heard of the HotRS case.

It's clear that the current ISU procedures for vetting music rights are broken IMO. The way to fix it is not to kill replays but to do more due diligence and to train skaters and choreographers in acquiring music rights (or not using music that requires more than the standard licenses all arenas and rinks have).

My sense is that the issue here is that the videos are posted to YouTube with the music, and that the bots that monitor YouTube content automatically flagged the video as a violation. The ISU could appeal the block to YouTube, but I don't think their videos are monetized so it's probably not worth their time.

 

[Alilou]

The men's free skate from Four Continents, and one of the free skates from Junior Worlds were blocked for music rights.

Maybe only in the US? It's not blocked in Canada on the ISU YouTube chanel.

 

[tony]

Maybe only in the US? It's not blocked in Canada on the ISU YouTube chanel.

Yes, we discussed that in another thread. But regardless, if ISU is getting hit with copyright stuff that is pulling their content from entire countries, it would be very very difficult to try and monetize with YouTube. After all, the majority of their 'content' actually belongs to musical artists, and we've seen this become much more of an issue (seemingly in more than just figure skating) in the last year.

I've put up around 1,100 historical videos on YouTube in the last week, and plenty of them are getting automatic notices that they are either not visible in certain countries (lots of Russia), or simply just not allowed to be published at all.

 

[On My Own]

On second thoughts, if they offer a no commentary version, I'll cough up. Or better, put the no commentary version on youtube, and ask people to "share with friends or pay" to access the commentators.

 

[Sylvia]

On second thoughts, if they offer a no commentary version, I'll cough up.

You can always subscribe to Peacock Premium and use a VPN.

 

[On My Own]

You can always subscribe to Peacock Premium and use a VPN.

Actually wouldn't mind tbh, but from what I gather the replays don't always stay up?

 

[Skate Talker]

So apparently Recast entered into "administration" Sept 22nd. I just got this email saying their assets have been bought by CTP (Content Technology Partners LTD).

Hi there, As some of you may be aware, unfortunately Recast entered into administration on Friday 22nd of September 2023. Alistair McAlinden and Chris Pole of Interpath Advisory were appointed as Joint Administrators. Information on the administration appointment can be found here. A statement from the company and the Joint Administrators, confirmed that despite recently securing a further funding commitment from a major investor, delays and failure to provide the required funds suddenly left Recast facing significant cash flow challenges, which resulted in the administration appointment. Recast administrators confirm asset sale The good news for you and your favourite channels is that Content Technology Partners Ltd (CTP) have now acquired Recast’s assets from the administrators. As we start the process of reengaging with Publishers, the platform is now available again, albeit with a limited offering for the time being. What does this mean for your data? As a result of the sale, your data has been transferred to CTP who now act as data controller. Details of how your data is used can be found in our Privacy Policy. The platform Terms and Conditions can be found here. If you have any queries check out our FAQ’s. What does this mean for your wallet? Your wallet balance has been cleared due to the administration process, which took into consideration your history of top ups, free/earned credits and credits spent. As your wallet balance only consisted of free Casts provided and that you had never topped up your wallet, those free Casts were removed. However you will still be able to earn free Casts on the platform.

Thanks, The Recast Team

Hopefully this will put ISU off the idea of using this type of service.

 

[love skating]

Yeah, I got the email too. I had watched the synchro skating and later I used recast again to watch some artistic swimming. I always used the watch ads option to build up my credits. Obviously this wasn't a great money making model.