DC United brass were furious with FloSports after fans experienced streaming problems on SundayGETTY IMAGES
DC United is "weighing the option" of making some of their FloSports content "free to the general public for a short time" following issues with the stream of their first game on Sunday, according to a source cited by Pablo Maurer of THE ATHLETIC. A source said DC United was "furious with the outlet during and after the broadcast." DC United spent much of Sunday "working through the issues" with FloSports, at one point "speaking directly with high-ranking executives at the company." A source suggested the club could, "at least in theory, sever its relationship with FloSports." However, that "seems entirely unrealistic," especially this early in the arrangement. During the broadcast itself, many fans were "met with what by most accounts was an underwhelming product." The broadcast had some positives, as many fans were "relieved to see fan favorites" play-by-play announcer Dave Johnson and analyst Devon McTavish "back in the booth." The picture quality was also a "breath of fresh air to many who'd watched lackluster standard definition broadcasts on the club's previous broadcast partner." However, the broadcast "actually regressed in several areas." McTavish and Johnson "did not travel" to the game itself and called it remotely (THEATHLETIC.com, 3/12).
GO WITH THE FLO: FloSports co-Founder & COO Mark Floreani apologized and vowed to "win the fan's trust back" over the remainder of the season. In DC, Scott Allen notes FloSports is also "offering full-refunds to new subscribers not interested in giving the product a second chance." The issues with Sunday's stream "stemmed from inaccurate geofencing restrictions that prevented many subscribers from accessing the broadcast at the start of the match and caused the stream to buffer or cut out completely for others during the first half." Floreani said, "We were too restrictive, and there were people inside the region that couldn't view the stream." Allen notes FloSports has since "added a coverage map to its site" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/13). In Austin, Chris Bils writes the DC United-NYCFC match was a "poor start" to what the Austin-based streaming service "hopes will be a long-term relationship with MLS" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 3/13).
