It was June 2017 that I wrote my first article for this site, a piece comparing the back three defensive systems of the All Blacks and the Wallabies and why one system encouraged counterattack and the other made it almost impossible.
While it wasn’t intended to be anything more than a one-off observation piece, it was great fun to put together, and some 25 or so articles later I am still here, admittedly as a permanent guest, as I share the Groucho Marx view of club membership.
The rugby discussion community that had been established by the then Allanthus, Diggercane and Harry J, professional writers Brett McKay, Spiro Zavos and Nicholas Bishop, and the likes of Chook, Rugby Tragic and PeterK among many others made The Roar an interesting and largely civil place exchange rugby ideas.
I found that using video clips from the games aided in the explanation of whatever points I was trying to make as well as removing any conjecture about what had actually happened on the field. Find the game somewhere on the net, buy some download and video editing software, an hour’s practice and you are banging out video clips like a good ‘un.
(Jono Searle/Getty Images)
Until of course YouTube start sending emails saying the owner of the rugby copyright is demanding the said video clips be taken down as they don’t want anyone else monetising their copyright ownership.
This last sentence really annoyed.
I don’t care of the videos have to come down, as it’s just a place to store them while the article is up, but the monetising bit, especially from an organisation that has shown such little imagination with our great code, is just laughable.
It would have taken all of two seconds to figure out this had nothing to do with monetising. No followers (four, I think – you need to get out more guys); closed to comments, so there was no attempt at interaction on the site; no advertising (obviously, but probably worth noting as some are proving a bit slow in this space); and never once has a link to this YouTube channel ever been tweeted, instagrammed, emailed or whatever else one does in the ‘look at me, I’m over here’ era.
In short, the only outlet for these clips was The Roar’s rugby pages.
That channel, now gone, was never anything more than a storage box.
Actually, instead of monetising SANZAAR’s content for my own benefit, I pay a subscription for the rugby service in two countries despite knowing apps and a VPN could save me one of these in full. Kayo also gets a run out of my dependants. I choose to support rugby to the full.
Surely one of the roles of the sport’s content owner is to encourage the spread of our game by any means, to try to think of it as an investment in the future rather than an exercise in trying to hit your numbers this quarter. Or is that asking too much?
Any medium that gets our game talked about, looked at or promoted in wider circles must surely be a good thing, or is it simply easier to run around slamming the door on potential game growth like a petulant child wanting its ball back?
Rugby content is gold, but not in the lineal way SANZAAR think about it. Try to think about how we get the game talked about or, even better still, how this content can be used for coaching examples at junior levels. Last season in a pub before a Highlanders game I overheard a conversation a couple of tables away in which one guy, a junior rugby coach, had found a clip online of Sam Cane knocking over a whole bunch of Welsh inside backs for fun and had sent it to his junior players. Later I checked the channel. Most of its clips would be around the 200-view mark, but the Sam Cane tackling video was up near 1000 – and, yes, I have had to take that down too. God forbid someone gets to see it without permission years after the Test was played.
So here’s an idea to consider.
Have a website owned by SANZAAR on which, say, two weeks after a match all rugby content can be posted and then downloaded by the general public forever.
If you want to have a little vertical integration of revenue streams – look it up, it’s really cool – get a hold of some video editing software and a downloader and host them on your site for purchase. You could even provide a service where amateur writers and rugby coaches could save their clips on the same site.
Guess what? I would even pay you to use this service despite paying you three times for the same content already.
Have a look out the window, guys. It’s time to get a little lateral with how we think!
Highlander
Guest
Down off you tube, so the links no longer work to the articles https://www.theroar.com.au/2017/06/02/one-structural-flaw-wallabies-need-fix-right-now/ Article is still but the supporting video evidence is not And yeah - they seem to have their outcomes goals skewed. Lets hope they take some thinking time during the enforced break.
cookie
Roar Guru
Thanks for writing this up Highlander. I must have missed the original article.. Are you saying it was SANZAR that wanted youtube plays taken off the Roar? I just can't work it out.. are they trying to kill rugby? They make no effort whatsoever to promote the game and as you say they should be thanking the roar for promoting the game not the opposite. Especially when they offer nothing.
stillmissit
Roar Guru
Cad: If they had any sense of making good use of old games. Greatest games AB v Aust would do the trick. Dumb and dumber? info and series desc.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
As well the series was titled Australia's Greatest Rugby Wins and another was Australia's Greatest Bledisloe Wins. So you knew the result if not the score beforehand.
Highlander
Guest
thanks paul
Highlander
Guest
Squidge rugby is an excellent example - I reckon he should be paying for his content, even if that is simply via a tv subscription that then allows him access to the content to play with. But to build a brand that big off someone elses property for free is probaby asking too much. Keep us up to date on Swedens current social experiment You guys are going to be studied in Ethics, Philosophy, Politics and Economics classes for years to come.
Digby
Roar Guru
NBA is a perfect example Chook, take Twitter for example, I don’t even follow it but end up with plenty of great action and stats in my timeline to view, it is impressive. Great piece Lander :thumbup:
The Neutral View From Sweden
Roar Guru
Nice work Highlander. Hairy Jones mentions Squidge Rugby above (I am a big fan of his work). And Squidge has been on the record several times about SANZAAR's zero-tolerance regarding usage of video content from SR (it's mind-boggling). That the best (and one of the most serious) rugby commentators on YouTube does not get a helping hand from SANZAAR - at all - is a pretty bad look.
stillmissit
Roar Guru
Highlander: that's half your teams colours...
charels edwards
Roar Rookie
Excellent thinking!
Highlander
Guest
70000 is an awesome outcome
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
In the absence of live content SAs Supersport have dug deep into the archives and pulled some really fantastic sport doccies out the bag.. I would have gone crazy otherwise.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
The ABC had a programme called Late Night Legends and had old sporting events from rugby, league, AFL, tennis and motor sports. Some good rugby England v Australia at the old SSG in the early 60s, Lions tests in '67, rugby tests against France. Pity it isn't on anymore but maybe?
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Myopic seems apt.. SANZAAR seem to have left the marketing of its tournaments to individual teams and countries.. So much more can be done as a controlling body.. Pre Superugby season a double header tournament was held in Johannesburg between the 4 Superugbyteams.. Actually it was promoted by Marvel... The whole Super hero theme was brought to bear and was seriously successful.. Think about 70000 attended... Just a taste of what can be achieved with a little creative outsourcing.
Armchair Halfback
Roar Rookie
Sounds goof HL! It's a pity that so much content is simply locked up with the key thrown away..
Paul
Roar Rookie
It was on all the photocopiers at uni back in the day. 10% or one chapter was considered fair use for academic purposes. This is from Copyright.com.au, you'll need to scroll a bit. https://www.copyright.com.au/about-copyright/copyright-myths/
Machooka
Roar Guru
Haha... and if I was any good I would’ve provided actual factually correct info :unhappy: It was David Stern... not Silver. Adam Silver is his very able successor. Apologies.
soapit
Roar Guru
i find it ridiculous that the owners of this old content havent just uploaded quality copies to youtube at least with ads to let people watch the classics.
soapit
Roar Guru
bit of a lack of imagination from sport in general on this stuff. old world thinking and not understanding the internet and other things. surely the free advertising created by you posting your clips in an analysis creates more interest and benefits the game as a whole, including those that pay to own content. i just think its old guys in suits not thinking laterally about best value instead of most dollars. the same thinking that has kept super rugby off fta all these years. i think when covids gone this will hopefully change for a bunch of sports. broadcasters will be offering reduced deals after renegotiation and comps will be looking much more at the nfl (i think?) model where they produce the streams themselves and sell straight to the user. this opens lots of possibilities such as having all camera angles available for download (actually cant think of others of the top of my head but there must be more) . costs of this will surely have gone down with everything else and compared with lower offers from outside surely must make it pretty attractive.mind you the money hungry thinking might not change regardless
Highlander
Guest
Thanks for that Our providers simply don't seem to think do they I guess Fox sports were looking for great wallaby wins - was it in black and white? :)