News Article: Colorado Avalanche Media Coverage Part II

[Balthazar]

 

[The Merchant]

Dater has felt weirdly distant the last couple months...wonder what happened. No mention of AJ or Jesse in his farewell is disappointing

 

[BoxOfChocolates]

Dater has felt weirdly distant the last couple months...wonder what happened. No mention of AJ or Jesse in his farewell is disappointing

Yep. He was appearing less and less on the podcasts (or doing them solo)

 

[Balthazar]

He sure busted his ass to sell subscriptions and he's responsible for selling a ton of them.

 

[Ararana]

Honestly between AJ and Ryan Clark I'm good with Avs coverage. But it is going to be nice to never have to listen to AD verbally stumble through another podcast.

 

[Avs_19]

Yep. He was appearing less and less on the podcasts (or doing them solo)

A while back AJ said those changes were made based on listener feedback and personal preferences. AJ and Jesse did Mon-Thu and Dater got Fri to do this own show. Take that whatever way you want to.

I know for me personally, I listened less often when Dater became a bigger part of the podcast and then picked it back up when he was no longer on there.

 

[Balthazar]

Dater just isnt a podcast guy (and even less a video guy). He's a good writer though a considering the state of the lack of Avs coverage in Denver that'll be a big loss if he's no longer covering the team.

 

[Foppa2118]

He sure busted his ass to sell subscriptions and he's responsible for selling a ton of them.

My guess is the reason for that, is related to the reason he left. I always got the feeling BSN didn't have much money floating around. If Dater has other opportunities, BSN probably had a hard time matching anyones offer. Just speculation on my part though.

 

[S3rkie]

Yeah I'd imagine most likely scenario is he asked for more money and Spano said no and so he's going else where. The fact that he was having to suppliment with freelance writing gigs still means he probably wasn't making enough.

 

[Balthazar]

Yeah I'd imagine most likely scenario is he asked for more money and Spano said no and so he's going else where. The fact that he was having to suppliment with freelance writing gigs still means he probably wasn't making enough.

Either he asked for more money or he asked for the money he was promised that never came. Dater believed in BSN and really jumped in from the start.

Thing is, they aren't making money. It's incredibly hard to make money with that concept, especially with such a niche market (Colorado sports only). Last year BSN was sending Dater or AJ with the team on the road...but they no longer did that this year.

When I listen the podcast, they always have the same 3 ads (and they are just referring people to buy stuff with their affiliate code)...you know they aren't making any money. These people must have a side job and I bet Dater feels like they used him.

 

[S3rkie]

Either he asked for more money or he asked for the money he was promised that never came. Dater believed in BSN and really jumped in from the start.

Thing is, they aren't making money. It's incredibly hard to make money with that concept, especially with such a niche market (Colorado sports only). Last year BSN was sending Dater or AJ with the team on the road...but they no longer did that this year.

When I listen the podcast, they always have the same 3 ads (and they are just referring people to buy stuff with their affiliate code)...you know they aren't making any money. These people must have a side job and I bet Dater feels like they used him.

It's a shame I hope they can adjust their business model for something more sustainable. I think AJ is a really solid writer and getting better every day. I just really hope they have some angel investors who are willing to float them for a while and work out the kinks. Dater did wonders for their credibility so that's going to hurt their access/scoops for sure. The competition with the athletic is a nice change of pace from the graveyard that has been the local media.

 

[AvsCOL]

Hope it all works out for the BSN Avalanche guys. Their coverage has been a godsend.

 

[shadow1]

Really disappointing to hear, I love Dater’s articles.

When all three were on the podcast, things were a bit too congested. But I did enjoy his solo podcasts as a change of pace.

 

[S3rkie]

Yeesh, this is going to end up getting nasty isn't it. Personal feelings aside, I'd probably pay for BSN,Athletic and another service if it meant continued AVS coverage from different viewpoints.

 

[Foppa Frossa]

AJ is way more knowledgeable about hockey than AD, imo. If I had to pick between the two of them, it'd be AJ. Of course, AD has tons more sources in the league.

 

[S3rkie]

AJ is way more knowledgeable about hockey than AD, imo. If I had to pick between the two of them, it'd be AJ. Of course, AD has tons more sources in the league.

Yeah for sure, I see them as totally different resources. Hopefully in a few years AJ will have made those solid league sources that trust him with info. I like the pieces Ryan Clark writes as well it's nice that they all have completely different styles/strengths.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

The only way Dater can succeed with a subscription based website is if he offers some type of exclusive content that we haven’t been exposed to before. Like behind the scenes interviews with players at their houses or something. Something personal life related.

A big flaw of Dater’s is that he’s slow. Like really really slow. You can’t have a subscription based website for “breaking news” when you’re not even close to being first to breaking it. So many times a trade, signing, injury, etc happens and I’ll see Dater tweet like an hour later with a clickbait title to lure you into the BSN website to read about what happened behind a paywall. The big issue with this is that the news had already been written about, tweeted about and probably even discussed via video by everyone else in the media. Why in God’s name would somebody pay money to read about something that was completely broken down an hour earlier by somebody else for free?

 

[henchman21]

BSN has a couple big problems... one they can fix and one they can't. The one they can't is The Athletic. It is simply the best sport site around and they have the cash to wipe the floor with anybody outside of ESPN. As they expand it is only going to put more and more pressure on all the local outlets. The one BSN can fix is their reliability. They are too emotional with ties to the org and certain players and too quick to run places with any news without verification. Be as impartial as possible and verify . That would go a hell of a long way to improving their product.

Now Dater's site... not chance I'd subscribe to anything for Avs news.

 

[Ararana]

Yeesh, this is going to end up getting nasty isn't it. Personal feelings aside, I'd probably pay for BSN,Athletic and another service if it meant continued AVS coverage from different viewpoints.

Can we pay him to not do this?

BSN has a couple big problems... one they can fix and one they can't. The one they can't is The Athletic. It is simply the best sport site around and they have the cash to wipe the floor with anybody outside of ESPN. As they expand it is only going to put more and more pressure on all the local outlets. The one BSN can fix is their reliability. They are too emotional with ties to the org and certain players and too quick to run places with any news without verification. Be as impartial as possible and verify . That would go a hell of a long way to improving their product.

Now Dater's site... not chance I'd subscribe to anything for Avs news.

I know everyone won't feel this way but I care more about consistent podcasts than written articles, that's why BSN > Athletic for me. I think AJ >= Clark, I give AJ the edge because he's more willing to talk about rumors and insider information and I think he's gotten better with not just spewing everything he hears because he's been burned in the past. I like that they get emotional and tied to the org, I see them as fans with inside access. I can relate to that more than the Athletic.

 

[Foppa Frossa]

If Dater went off on his own would he even have a press-pass to get into the locker room anymore? I would think the press passes are attached to the organization, not individual, correct?

 

[The Kingslayer]

Honestly between AJ and Ryan Clark I'm good with Avs coverage. But it is going to be nice to never have to listen to AD verbally stumble through another podcast.

I like Ryan Clark.

 

[Pokecheque]

If Dater went off on his own would he even have a press-pass to get into the locker room anymore? I would think the press passes are attached to the organization, not individual, correct?

I'd be fairly surprised if the Avs organization did not credential him given his history with the club.

 

[Foppberg]

Wow. Did not expect that. Can't see AD going to The Athletic with Clark there, whos hands down the best writer we've had in a long time.

Hopefully he finds a new gig soon.

 

[Balthazar]

I hope he doesn't make that website thing because it's going to be a failure and could be the last nail in the coffin of his Avs covering career.

 

[UncleRisto]

I hope he doesn't make that website thing because it's going to be a failure and could be the last nail in the coffin of his Avs covering career.

The what now?