In every industry there is a perceived leader. A company who's impressive client list reflects the leadership position. On the surface all appears well - but sometimes underneath there is a house of cards. All it takes is for a small gust to appear and the entire foundation is at risk. In the business of sports webcasting (live Internet Broadcasting) this very scenario is taking place and the unraveling is not pretty.
In 1998, a group of us founded a company called INSINC. I encouraged the company that we could make money and serve customers in the live sports vein of webcasting. I invested my own money to build a prototype and presented it to INSINC, where I was given the opportunity to "experiment". Within three short years the book of business that was derived from this test, was sustaining the company and ultimately was the jewel in the acquisition of INSINC by New York based
Neulion.
NHL, NBA, NFL, CFL Major Junior Hockey and most if not all Jr A hockey across Canada, were some of the "trophies" Neulion could boast. Through the INSINC acquisition there certainly appeared to be a leader emerging. With a public stock then trading at just under $1 per share (
NLN.TO) Neulion was impressive. But perception is not always the reality.
At the core of every business is a belief, an attitude of what the business and it's principals stand for. In my new company Playfullscreen our lifeblood and reason for existence is our clients. They, the clients are what drives us, makes us compete, at times gives us panic attacks and most often provides us with the greatest sense of accomplishment. As a result, each relationship is like a family. The relationship must be nurtured. We can never do enough for our client and we never take them for granted.
Our commitment to the client is what substantiates our Number 1 Customer Service rating. We maintain our client's trust through our commitment to always be on the look out for new ways to make our clients better with respect to their Internet Broadcasts. We ardently maintain that our clients keep control of the content rights and advise each and every one of them, why their content rights are so valuable. We invest in new technology rather than trying to stretch legacy systems beyond their viable years. We sometimes let a family member (client) leave us to pursue another relationship. Only to welcome them back soon there after with a "no hard feelings" embrace. This is Playfullscreen's DNA and we could not be more proud of it.
Always with an ear to the ground, I began hearing that all was not well in some Jr A hockey leagues as it pertained to their webcast initiatives. The common thread in this case was Neulion. Word on the street was, the clubs were feeling uneasy as their service provider basked in the glow of Major League attention (NHL, NBA, NFL) while ignoring some of the concerns which had been brought to Neulion's attention. Initially these were minor issues that could have easily been corrected but left unattended the sore's began to fester.
I left INSINC prior to Neulion's acquisition of them in 2009 and began to hear soon after my departure that the personal care and attention that I had showered on the clients was sorely missed and many encouraged me to step back in and manage the business. I did not realize at the time that this was where the ultimate undoing hard started.
When you are the client you want to feel important, regardless of how much you spend. When you feel that your provider is only focusing on customers that generate large profits for them, and that your account doesn't match up, you begin to question your choice of service provider. It is at that time when the service provider needs to recognize that the relationship needs some nurturing. Something needs to be done to reassure the client, maybe just delivering an update ahead of schedule or a sneak peak at the latest technology you are adopting. It doesn't need to be much but ignoring them will have grave consequences.
These consequences have now caught up with the market leader Neulion. Interestingly it began with the very first client I had fostered while at INSINC, The BCHL. This should not have been a surprise to Neulion, the executive at BCHL had all but said, "we're outta here". Feeling under-appreciated after recommending INSINC/Neulion to many other leagues across the country, the BCHL began to explore other options. Hearing word of this the AJHL followed and the ultimate mutiny was brought to fruition in Halifax this past May, at the Hockey Canada AGM. A well timed presentation by
FastHockey got the collective leagues' attention.
While still only rumour at this point (but from a most reliable source) the scuttlebutt is that the remaining leagues, some still under contract with Neulion, are seeking an exit and flocking to the FastHockey initiative. If there is truth to this rumour and if this ultimately becomes the case, it will be a significant black eye to Neulion. It will defiantly expose weakness in their leadership position and as it goes, where there is smoke there is fire.
This might be a fine place to conclude this blog entry but there is one more item worth noting:
Recognizing a market leader is wounded and initiating a well timed flanking move to secure some coveted business is a good strategy. On the other hand, presenting a slick presentation of salvation to a shipwrecked bunch looking for anyway to get back on track could be suspect, as it provides for one key thing... You now must deliver on the promises. Has FastHockey written the proverbial cheque with their mouth and underestimated what it takes to put this into action? What has been promised is significant. Then there is the matter of content ownership. Did FastHockey raid the vault while appearing as a savior? If Fasthockey has negotiated away the rights to the online content ownership, from the collective leagues, then this new relationship is itself built on a poor foundation. The reason being; As the leagues begin to recognize that the real value is the audience and the link to those viewers, these leagues will see that FastHockey has absconded with the jewels and that does not formulate trust and longevity in the relationship. So long as the principals that we at Playfullscreen set as our modus operandi are adhered to by FastHockey, then they have a shot at that long term relationship. If on the other hand, the lust for business at any cost has caused FastHockey to ignore these critical principals, then we will be seeing another shift in relatively short order. Only time will tell.
