Isn’t it fun to play the what-if game sometimes? What if I would have made that section? What if Kelly had hair? What if they made a wave pool that broke like Pipeline? With the start of the 2023 CT season less than 2 weeks away from a possible opening day, let’s have a walk down Imagination Lane.
It’s rumored, reported, well-known, old news, that the Woz is losing anywhere from 10-50 million dollars a year. It has been described as “a tax write-off for the Ziffs”. On the contrary, for the last 12 months ending September 30, 2022, Netflix, the original streaming giant, reported a revenue of $31.47 billion. With a B. Let that sink in for a second.
Looking at other figures, ELO said the viewership for Finals Days was up a whopping 22% this year, all the way to 8.3 million viewers. (This number is a bit confusing as it’s been described as ‘livestreams’ as well as ‘viewers’). Netflix’s subscriber count as of last year was 223 million. Concluding, the Woz’s most watched event ever eclipses only 3.7% of Netflix’s subscribers.
Now, it was noted by The Wall Street Journal in November of last year that Netflix was trying to reach a deal to acquire the WSL. The agreement fell through due to the two parties not agreeing on a price. Here’s where the what if’s start.
What if the Wizzle thinks it is going to become profitable? What if said profit plan includes charging a fee to watch the live contest feed? What if Apple is already an interested buyer, with AppleTV being the preferred landing site due to roots already sprouted in ‘Make Or Break’?
What if Netflix had offered an absurd amount to buy the WSL, and ELO held the vital rejection? What if the Ziff’s have no intention of ever selling the Woz; projections of a beneficial future? What if Netflix actually had bought the Whistle?
Last one..
What if Netflix goes and starts their own different Surf Tour? What if the WSL lost its viewers, in turn losing their sponsors (revenue), losing the prize money, losing the employees (surfers), losing their platform? What if Netflix pays up for 2024 Olympic coverage, and the waves at Teahupoo go absolutely nuclear, and the National Team from Canada is out there pushing their limits? What if this global juggernaut of a company making an offer for “The Global Home Of Surfing” is a sign that our little niche act of riding waves is about to crack the mainstream?
So many questions. So little answers.
The show goes on.
Back soon with some prep for the start of the year.
Cheers,
-hwilsin