The ship sinks faster.....
The ship sinks faster.....
Can someone copy and share it here I can not open the twitter feed?
September 20, 2018
It’s an exciting time to be a professional angler. Major League Fishing has brought new energy into the sport, and B.A.S.S. has responded with a significant contribution to its Elite Series payouts. It’s unlike anything the sport has experienced since the introduction of the FLW Tour in 1996, and we applaud both organizations’ commitment to top-tier professionals.
As a result of these changes, we’ve been asked how FLW is going to respond, and the answer is: We aren’t. We are committed to a sustainable model that serves our 50,000+ tournament anglers, from the FLW Tour through the Bass Pro Shops FLW High School Fishing Opens, in addition to our millions of fans who visit FLWFishing.com and FLW social media channels each year.
We’ve already announced significant changes for the 2019 FLW Tour that put pros in complete control of their own destiny while providing a new Marshal experience for our avid fans. We’ve committed to a strict qualifying process that limits the 2020 FLW Tour field to 150 pros, and we continue to invest in enhanced FLW Live on-the-water coverage, which has been wildly popular. We will not participate in a bidding war and risk sacrificing the many for the few. It’s not in the sport’s best interest. FLW is the foundation upon which the sport is built. We provide opportunities for all anglers, and we develop talent. In fact, nobody does it better. Just look at the sport’s top pros at MLF, the Elite Series and the FLW Tour, and ask where they got their start. Overwhelmingly the answer is FLW, regardless of where they fish today.
Looking at the sport as a whole, FLW awards more money to more anglers, year after year, than anyone. And we’ve done so since the first $100,000 All-American award in 1984. This year alone FLW awards top $21 million over 300 tournaments in nine countries, including $3.7 million paid out to U.S. anglers in no-entry-fee tournaments and Angler of the Year bonuses. In 2019 FLW will run 27 U.S. tournaments with no entry fees. One for FLW Tour pros. One for Costa FLW Series pros and co-anglers. Eight for T-H Marine BFL boaters and co-anglers. One for YETI FLW College Fishing teams. And 16 for Bass Pro Shops FLW High School Fishing teams. We are committed to growing the sport through participation, and our investment in the future proves it. Fishing, after all, is a participation sport at its core.
We are committed to running fiscally responsible, sustainable tournaments that deliver significant value to anglers at every level. Tournaments that help sponsors develop deep and meaningful connections with consumers. Tournaments that provide more than $100 million in economic benefits for host communities from coast to coast.
FLW took tournament fishing mainstream with the sport’s first live network broadcast in 1999. The Ranger M1 on FOX aired immediately following NFL football and scored a Nielsen rating of 2.5, which means roughly 2.5 million people watched. FLW landed fishing on the front page of The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and The New York Times. We put bass tournaments in Time Magazine and Reader’s Digest. FLW Tour pros appeared on CNN, the “Late Show with David Letterman” and NBC’s “Today.” They’ve even been on the Wheaties box and the Kellogg’s Corn Flakes box. We introduced High School Fishing along with our partners at The Bass Federation and helped establish it as a state-sanctioned sport, just like football, basketball and soccer, in four states. Is tournament fishing about to become more mainstream? Hopefully so. If it does, everyone in the sport will benefit, just like they did from FLW’s efforts.
We appreciate our loyal pros, boaters and co-anglers. We appreciate our loyal high school and college anglers. We appreciate our international anglers and our millions of fans around the world. You are all part of the FLW family, and we look forward to providing you with the best events and the best media coverage available anywhere. We also look forward to sustainable growth, including payouts at every level, as sponsorship permits.
Will be interesting to see if BASS keeps that 20k cookie to entice the bass guys for a yearly commitment. Seems that would be a big sticking point if you were weighing the 3 tours.
They are saying these new trails might look nice but they wont last with their business model. I partly agree with them.
I think all 3 are overestimating their value in this world.
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I bet the 20k will be reduced to a fewer number each year. They need to keep big names from hopping to mlf, but that will be less next year and year after.Originally Posted by Axkiker
Everybody forgets FLW has a strong base with it's weekend warrior stuff in BFL and Costas. That's something that neither BASS or BPT have. They will be fine through this. And be able to keep helping tournament anglers grow into the Tour and eventually feed the Elites or BPT. Neither of those can get the pipeline established like FLW does right now.
I think the Pros are over valuing themselves!
These leagues made these Pros from Joes. Let them leave and cry about not having enough money. Some other Joe will take their place and the league will make them a Pro.
Seriously, anyone going to stop watching BASS because some top pro or pros leave? Same with FLW. And are people who don't watch MLF currently going to suddenly tune in because of who is fishing there?
Personally, I followed bass fishing before KVD/Skeet/IKE and will follow bass fishing long after they are gone.
The participants make the league. If the nfl goes on strike I would love to be a quarterback, but it wouldnt be much to watch. Same thin with fishing, scrubs arent going to bring in 25lb bags a few days in a row.
Really and Honestly the new MFL deal and the Elite change will not affect anybody on here. No one on here will get any money from it so what does it matter. I have been a long supporter of FLW and always will be because it is the only trail I can really fish out of the 3 anyway since they run the BFL's. My concern with the FLW is they continue to go up on entry fee's and memberships for the BFL's and the payouts are dropping because of the increase.
Completely agree with this^^^
Spot on! With advances in social media the organizations aren't as important as they used to be! Palinuks YouTube videos are better than almost any bassmaster episode I've watched in the past 15 years!
I would disagree, I watch because of the game, not who is in it.
and if the players suck would you still watch?
I keep looking, but I haven't seen an armada of boats following me around the lake yet.
KVD won one event in the last two years? Skeet hasn't won in 5 years?
Someone is still winning, and you're still watching is my point.
Do you watch more than the NFL? Personally I think a High School live game is a 1000 times more exciting then watching the NFL even if I don't have a dog in the fight, but that's just me. I specifically don't watch the NFL (or CFL for that matter) because of the Players and because of the Game. The game itself is awesome if it were left to just the game. But the Players, Coaches, Officials etc AKA the People of the game in part make the game whatever it is. I can't stand the politics and drama of the NFL so I will catch a local live game now and then instead if I feel the need to watch Football. Sure some of that exists in HS ball too, but not like in the Pro's. At least not where I am.
Point is whether or not one likes to admit it, the Players and who they are very much are a core ingredient to the game. Whether it's fishing, hockey, football whatever. You watch Pro Games to see the best in the world. The game alone doesn't provide that, the players do. I'll probably watch all 3, but I will most likely watch whichever has the most intense competition more intently. The game provides the format, the people make the competition. It's as simple as that.
Still watching studs, not duds.
Well he a better sign up for them Opens because they're not gonna just let him in...
I totally agree, but MLF has major money behind it and can afford it maybe amost indefinitely, BASS can't. FLW is in a good spot strategically for sure.
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