WFTDA.tv Launches!

The May 12th face-off between the West Region's #4 Denver Roller Dolls' Mile High Club and the #3 Rose City Rollers' Wheels of Justice was a showcase of West Coast skill and derby know-how that also marked the debut of WFTDA.tv, WFTDA's new online broadcast channel in collaboration with Blaze Streaming Media.

"The WFTDA saw such a tremendous response from fans during the 2011 Championships that we wanted to offer viewers even more coverage during the months leading up to this year's Playoffs," Erica 'Double H' Vanstone, Head of WFTDA Broadcast Operations, said. "In 2012, WFTDA.tv will continue to grow in scope throughout the year, but we're thrilled to have started with such an amazing bout, hosted by Rose City Rollers."

Over 2,000 logged on to watch the Denver-Rose City match on WFTDA.tv, with regular updates through WFTDA's Twitter and Facebook feeds. The launch of the channel featured game stats provided through Rinxter and announcers from WFTDA's partner for live talent, the Association of Flat Track Derby Announcers (AFTDA).

"WFTDA believes that, if we are patient and strategic, roller derby can enter the mainstream media while cultivating the values we wanted to protect when we formed the collective of the WFTDA in 2004," Juliana Gonzales, Executive Director of WFTDA, said. "We're looking to provide a model for how athletes can be the owners of their own media assets and make collective decisions about distributing, selling, or retaining those assets in the way that best benefits the sport's long-term growth."

The idea of an independent WFTDA broadcast channel took time and collaboration from many, including input from WFTDA member leagues and several trial broadcasts, especially during the 2011 Playoffs and Championships tournament season.

"WFTDA's mission and structure give us a completely outside-the-box viewpoint on sports broadcasting," Gonzales said." In WFTDA, the skaters are the owners, and the asset, and the viewers, and the fans. WFTDA skaters, teams, and member leagues represent every level of investment in a broadcast project, and because of this unique investment, the WFTDA members have been involved in every level of the decision-making. They are often asked to act and decide as skaters at the same time as they consider their point of view as fans, and attempt to make strategic decisions as owners and managers of the project.

The WFTDA.tv channel, which will broadcast bouts including the East Coast Derby Extravaganza in June, will offer the summer viewing season free of charge, a substantial change from previous seasons. The games broadcast during the 2012 WFTDA Playoffs and Championships will be offered at a low pay-per-view cost. Coupled with sponsorship funds, any profits from the project will be put toward maintaining WFTDA.tv and reinvestment in additional WFTDA projects and programming.

"Much of the feedback we received from the WFTDA marketing surveys confirmed what we were already thinking--fans loved the 2011 broadcasts, but wanted more affordable pricing," Vanstone said. "Our goal was to accommodate every budget, while still providing the best possible coverage. Therefore, the early season on WFTDA.tv is entirely free, with free post-event archives. The 2012 Playoffs and Championships will feature pay-per-view only, high quality broadcasts. We've lowered prices significantly for these tournaments and will offer all event archives for free, plus a free live audio cast, so that anyone can tune in--especially the skaters, who really look to learn from these broadcasts."

While WFTDA.tv will initially begin with bout productions from Blaze Streaming Media, the channel intends to provide a venue for league-produced content later in the year.

"We are thrilled to continue improving the quality of broadcast in women's flat track roller derby," says Blaze Streaming's Joe Christensen. "The Blaze production team seeks to support the goals of WFTDA through providing onsite production while yielding content ownership and business strategy to WFTDA. As a production team, this allows us to focus on covering the sport with a pursuit of quality that showcases the effort on the track."

For more information about the summer's schedule of free viewing and an archive of the May 12th bout between Denver and Rose City, please visit WFTDA.tv.