No you couldn't, that's why I used "" around "athletic union strike" because in tri there is no union whereas in the major money sports there are, and when you break union lines you honestly would have hell to pay (you are essentially black marked).
Sports with unions only have unions because both sides are needed. NFL and their media partners needs the players or there is no product. Same for MLB same for hockey, etc etc....and there is huge incentive for an union- media money. That's the only reason why any sport makes money- media rights.
So in that aspect, especially in LC racing- the pros have "no hand". They are needed to a small degree but they are also only needed to a small degree, so they are dispensable in terms of giving them "shit" pay.
Now I think there can be a market for ITU/DL style media broadcasts. I think there could be a French Grand Prix style in the U.S. if the sport continues to grow. The only drawback I see is that ITU triathlon is far too international and thus traveling back and forth from the U.S. to Europe 4 times or 5 times in a summer is going to be hell on the athlete and create bad product (But if the product really did get media backing, they would likely have more incentive to stay in U.S. and race the U.S. series even more than the WTS events....could do just enough to keep strong points standings). I sat there and watched MLT this past weekend and I spoke with 2 very highly international elite coaches who think MLT is good for atleast 5 years to showcase their product. In just the 1 year from May of 2017 to Oct 2018, I've seen a tremendous growth in the racing and the caliber of athlete. So that's the *only* avenue I ever see in making it in triathlon. And with sports being 24/7 these days, content is always on the docket, so new channels like ESPN + could be a great media partner for something like that.
Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II
Sports with unions only have unions because both sides are needed. NFL and their media partners needs the players or there is no product. Same for MLB same for hockey, etc etc....and there is huge incentive for an union- media money. That's the only reason why any sport makes money- media rights.
So in that aspect, especially in LC racing- the pros have "no hand". They are needed to a small degree but they are also only needed to a small degree, so they are dispensable in terms of giving them "shit" pay.
Now I think there can be a market for ITU/DL style media broadcasts. I think there could be a French Grand Prix style in the U.S. if the sport continues to grow. The only drawback I see is that ITU triathlon is far too international and thus traveling back and forth from the U.S. to Europe 4 times or 5 times in a summer is going to be hell on the athlete and create bad product (But if the product really did get media backing, they would likely have more incentive to stay in U.S. and race the U.S. series even more than the WTS events....could do just enough to keep strong points standings). I sat there and watched MLT this past weekend and I spoke with 2 very highly international elite coaches who think MLT is good for atleast 5 years to showcase their product. In just the 1 year from May of 2017 to Oct 2018, I've seen a tremendous growth in the racing and the caliber of athlete. So that's the *only* avenue I ever see in making it in triathlon. And with sports being 24/7 these days, content is always on the docket, so new channels like ESPN + could be a great media partner for something like that.
Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II
Last edited by:
B_Doughtie: Oct 11, 18 8:26