IOMICA Forum

While I am opposed to this proposal in principle (such funding should be part of the regatta budget and responsibility of the host), the proposal is seriously flawed - while it uses an example of 5000 Euros, the actual amount is not specified, nor any year over year increase - just the distribution of the charge.
So as worded we a giving free reign to the IOMICA and the host to set any amount.
John

I have some experience in television and internet streaming of video content. (Thirty plus years in the US entertainment and streaming industry including selling a sports streaming start up service a few years back for $60 million). It is worthwhile to have a clear understanding of the total audience that is interested in watching an IOM World Championship event.

The best measurement to use to gauge audience is the number of actual persons watching at any one time (often referred to as "uniques" for unique viewers) Aggregated Views is probably the least accurate method. A "view" means anytime someone watches a stream. So for example, if I clicked on a thirty minute video, watched for five minutes; went away and came back ten minutes later and watched another five minutes and so on over the next two days that would count as six views even though it was one person watching for very short periods. Further if I am watching a multi day event and I click in to watch say five times a day for six days that would count as thirty views. Yet the actual user following the event would again be a single individual.

It would be useful to know the actual number of people who would watch a streamed IOM championship, I would expect that number to be in the thousands at best. The plus 100K aggregate views is I would suggest misleading.

BTW, rather than have the NCA's pay for a streaming feed, why not set it up as transactional video on demand and have the viewers pay for access to the feeds?

Finally, I would suggest that if IOMICA does want to go down the video road that it set up a subcommittee of folks with some experience to supervise the process.

John Ball wrote: 26 Sep 2026, 21:06 While I am opposed to this proposal in principle (such funding should be part of the regatta budget and responsibility of the host), the proposal is seriously flawed - while it uses an example of 5000 Euros, the actual amount is not specified, nor any year over year increase - just the distribution of the charge.
So as worded we a giving free reign to the IOMICA and the host to set any amount.
John

Hi John, I will try to explain.
The 5000 €/year is set in the proposal(read 12.1.b), it's not an example, so it would be 10 k€ to support OA in organizing streaming for World Championship. We are aware it wouldn't cover all costs of such streaming, but it's a support given to OA.

Then calculation of fee/each NCA depends on number of owners of this NCA, and calculation is shared.

[quote="John Ball" (such funding should be part of the regatta budget and responsibility of the host)
[/quote]

If the costs are in the event budget it implies that the competitors are to pay for the streaming as outside funding is very difficult.

If we are to continue to provide a consistent level of video across the events then it needs to be funded by the class.

Which raises the question of what would be the estimated costs of production? I would suggest that at minimum you would probably want three cameras and a drone for live video and ideally a third roving camera for interviews and your commentators. To operate the cameras you would also need a video switcher and probably three monitors. In terms of staff you would need three or four camera operators, a director, probably a technical director and commentators. Depending on location and the level of equipment being used and the costs of staff, this number would most likely be in excess of five thousand euros.

In terms of effective use of resources, it would seem to me that an edited daily video summary along with live issuing of results would make more sense than full time live feeds.

RoyL wrote: 01 Oct 2026, 22:16 Which raises the question of what would be the estimated costs of production?

IOMICA has the financial returns from the events so should be able to publish the cost for recent events alongside the coverage details. This would give a view of what actual costs are likely to be.

Does IOMICA have the financial reserves to supplement the budget of WCR's to support video broadcasts?

To that end, I tried to find the Treasurer's reports from the last few AGM's but cannot find them on this website.

There could reasonably be an argument that IOMICA currently has the financial capacity to provide some level of support towards video broadcasting at a WCR. However, providing financial support for even a single WCR could significantly reduce IOMICA’s current reserves and, without an ongoing source of additional income, would not be sustainable across future WCRs.

The proposal currently being discussed should therefore be considered in the broader context of how ongoing financial support for WCRs could be provided on a fair and equitable basis, rather than simply whether IOMICA has the financial capacity to support a single event from its existing reserves.

With regard to the Treasurer’s Reports, these are provided to NCAs as part of the AGM reporting process. If you would like copies of the relevant reports, please contact me directly and I would be more than happy to provide them.

Sean Wallis
IOMICA Treasurer
sean@walliswa.au

Thank you Sean

Yes, please send me (or post a link to) the last few years' Treasurer's reports.

I think the general membership should have the right to evaluate the financial health of our organization in order to make informed decisions on how funds are spent.

Does IOMICA spend money on anything other that this website? Its linkage to WS (and therefor the ability to hold World Championship Regattas) is done through IRSA which has not charged fees for many years.