Thread by @JockCartier, I see the CFL on PPV loons have decided to start whipping [...]

I see the CFL on PPV loons have decided to start whipping themselves into a frenzy again. They seem to be convinced that PPV is the ticket to riches for 3-down ball, but really don't seem to have given it any real thought to the mechanics of it.

So let me...

Before we get into the awesome and boring math, lets just look at the behavioral economics factors that we know to be true and examine the logic...

TSN owns the rights. And as Bell has exhibited in spades of late, even when highly profitably they will do anything to increase profits. So if PPV was really the ticket to riches, one could reasonably deduce that they'd have been doing it all along.

They haven't

Several Canadian NHL teams did experiment with PPV in the not too distant past. And they'd push an old lady down a flight of stairs for a dollar. They abandoned it. Why, more money in cable. Significantly in fact.

In fact, no major league relies on a PPV model. NFL, NBA, MLB. And those owners are greedy as fuck. And have resources the CFL couldn't even dream of. If anyone would do it, they would, and they don't.

Only boxing and MMA do, and those are one off events. Very different animal.

Now why would those with a vested interest in maximizing revenues off CFL games, and every over comparable league, eschew PPV?

Simple, it's not as profitable as regular tv.

Don't believe me, lets do the awesome and boring math!

Lets start by breaking down the CFL deal with TSN. 81 regular season games plus playoffs for ~$50M. Regular season games average about 500K each, playoffs about double and GC way more... basically works out to about 50M viewers per year.

So, $1 for every viewer. Almost elegant!

So, during the regular teams would need to generate about 500K on PPV to offset their regular tv money. That's just to break even on the deal.

I see the number $10/game, it's nice and round, lets us that. At $10, you'd need 50K buys (lofty, but maybe doable). Easy peasy!

WRONG!

Firstly, half the PPV money goes to your local cable company (cause capitalism loves a middle man!)... so now you need 50K buys at $20 to break even. That's not so realistic.

But wait, there is more!

You see, when you cut your audience by 90%, your sponsors and advertisers lost 90% of their audience, and will pay you accordingly!

That hit is even worse than the 500K/game from TSN. But to keep it simple, we'll just use 500K to be generous to the loons

So now, you need to charge $40/game (a little steep) and get 50K buys (that ain't happening)... and even then, you're only breaking even with where you were before.

And that is why PPV doesn't work for the CFL...

I mean, you might get the odd game you might get to those levels with (I mean, Rider fan loyalty is right up with the meth addicts)... but in October when the 4-10 Lions play the 3-11 RedBlacks, ain't no one paying to watch that shit. Not even Matt Nichols momma.

I can hear some streaming, "but what about streaming!"... so lets address that while I'm at it.

First, you're cutting your audience down by 70-80% right off the top before we even talk about how many are willing to pay...

You could go OTT and avoid paying the 50% to providers... but then you need to front MILLIONS to build your own backend. And support it on a million devices.

You could charge $25/game, but all your advertisers are gone now, so you need to charge $50 for a f'n stream. Good luck!

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