FloSports + Loud and Live

A multi-year deal between FloSports and Loud And Live Sports was announced on Thursday, January 23 giving five Sanctionals an exclusive live streaming and on-demand service for the 2020 season and beyond. The five Loud And Live Sanctional events include the Wodapalooza CrossFit Festival, West Coast CrossFit Classic, Madrid CrossFit Championship, the Granite Games and the final Sanctional of the season, the Mayan CrossFit Classic.

One big thing: This multi-year deal with Loud And Live makes FloSports the single largest broadcasting company in CrossFit. It also makes FloSports the exclusive provider of content for those five events.

• After partnering last season with both Wodapalooza and the Granite Games, FloSports will extend their reach on two more continents. The international market for the Austin, Texas-based company will now include two Spanish-speaking countries in Mexico and Spain.
• This is the largest CrossFit live streaming partnership deal since the CrossFit Games and Facebook signed an exclusive broadcast deal in 2017. That deal involved the 2018 Games season and included the broadcast of five Open announcements, eight Regionals, the 2018 CrossFit Games and the 2018 CrossFit Invitational.
• One-fifth of all Sanctioned events are behind a paywall for the 2019-2020 season. This means that viewers will have to pay to view the broadcast.

Why the paywall: Broadcasting a livestream comes at a huge cost for Sanctional organizers with the price tag ranging anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000. Though some events are breaking even in the long run, it’s not directly tied to revenue through the livestream. This leaves many Sanctionals in the hole financially before the event is held.

The big picture: With a multi-year deal like the one between FloSports and Loud And Live, it could signal a shift in how organizers plan livestreams and broadcast their events in future seasons.