"WSL has enough critics for a free-to-air sport that’s doing the best it can on a shoestring."
Hate to beat a dead horse here but… who am I kidding? Dead horses are what I was made to beat! Stab admitting, just thing morning, bald-faced, to being a World Surf League shill has been a story of a day. The fact that it was just doubled upon, Kelly Slater level bald-head, is something special.
The word “dickhead” being used in the title while that word is verboten in their comment section also something special.
The World Surf League, anyhow, seeking to quash an early uneven reception to its 2024 Championship Tour schedule with the cancellation of J-Bay and the continued abortion of Finals Day at Lower Trestles, turned to its media partner in order to interview employees dependent on billionaire Dirk Ziff’s continued funding and have them prop it up.
While praise was seasoned with the perfect admixture of “WSL has enough critics for a free-to-air sport that’s doing the best it can on a shoestring. Don’t want to be too much of a critic as there’s more that goes into their decisions than most people realise,” the whole business stinks of a perfect collaborationist marriage.
Again, billionaire.
The World Surf League has found its mouthpiece all for the low low cost of providing free licensed footage.
Dave Prodan, suddenly, on the ropes.
More as the story develops.
Commented on Disqus? Log out, tap the Disqus button, and your old name and comments come back. The box is ours.
Your comments are still here. Every one of them.
Twelve years of BeachGrit comments came across from Disqus. Connect and we will show you how many are yours. We get your username, nothing else.
Connect Disqus to reveal.
Who would pay for a STAB subscription?
Chas would pay for a STAB subscription.
No fan of Stab here Mr “Journalist” but may I politely point out that the term is “…FLOGGING a dead horse”! And “collaborative marriage” would be considered a pleonasm.
Thanks Jen! Just watched and liked it. Reminds me of a lot of the surfers and the time of the late seventies in Bolinas when I started surfing there. Kick back creative lifestyle. Love those NSW point breaks too
What exactly, does the WSL sell?
I mean other than rashies and hydro flasks?
How does it generate income?
Why would I pay to read it?
What does it offer that I can’t find for free elsewhere?
I’m not that excited to spend $ just so I can know next years tour schedule two hours before everyone else
Yep, and incidentally the internet killed publishing. Which is kind of funny given that the zombie surfer mag page has about 10x the comments this site does.
But the main takeaway is that competitive sports can only work as a live experience because everything is real time these days.
Thats why the wsl is doomed because you can’t schedule waves according to prime time TV. Obviously the pool was supposed to change that but it’s boring to watch, like slalom on a green run.
30M X. we have quality, not quantity. and we’re chlorine free.
¿20 fingernails?
Nobody pays to read Stab, they pay to watch their content! I do enjoy the occasional Paul Evans article too!
Never
Replacing Moderators with AI shame on them
we’re sponsoring enviro days corp’s events…beach clean-up manana…don’t be late~
Thanks I’ll have to watch.
Give the wsl budget to Taylor Steele. He knows how to make surfing entertaining.
Whatever happened to good surf videos anyway?
Cuz there’s no DVD players anymore!
25 year netflx addict..the last three movies shipped this forever to keep: Brown’s Hollow Days,; Hunter’s Take The Ticket Take The Ride, Endless Summer: Revisted. PUMP tonight, but only on beta.
Wanna wheel out Peter Townsend to run the Tour too?
*Townend
Exactly, who’d remember.
Lol
Pete Who?
He knows how to make surfing entertaining? All he did was point his autofocus camera at good surfers. Never considered him as a real filmmaker. Mediocre talent.