But this isn't a major sport. Its a startup. The USFL got sh#t for not supporting access and fancast, small sites too and its a legit argument, the same applies IMO. Clearly they don't want "The_XFL-MARKCAST" like the XFL 2.0 had no issue with.GregParks wrote: ↑Sun Sep 25, 2022 4:42 pmI don't know how XFL 2.0 handled it. Maybe Mark can speak to that. Each team had a PR person (and of course the league did as well), so I'm assuming you had to go through them to get someone from the league to talk. I don't recall a lot of in-season interviews on podcasts or in written form in 2020, at least for XFL-centric sites. Brock Huard works for Fox, not USFL, so that's an odd example. I get that Fox owns the USFL but Huard doesn't work specifically for the league. I feel like Reid on the Markcast has mentioned in the past trying to get USFL guests on his show but the USFL PR people not getting back to him/kinda giving him the run-around.4th&long wrote: ↑Sun Sep 25, 2022 4:21 pmIs this how XFL 2.0 handled it? Was Brock Huard interview on The_Markcast approved by the USFL? Or did Brock get the approval or not need it. Bottomline it will limit access as its intended to by design. That's their decision to control all aspects of the league.GregParks wrote: ↑Sun Sep 25, 2022 1:59 pm Unaffiliated media having to go through the league or teams to interview members of that league or team is not specific to the XFL - it happens in every major league and/or with every team (wrestling fans may recall that MJF got in hot water with Tony Khan for doing a podcast interview that was not approved through AEW channels). This aspect of the story is a non-story.
I do wonder if, as team staffs continue to get built, they'll have their own PR people to contact for media relations specific to players/coaches on that team. In other words, if I wanted to get a press pass to attend an Orlando game, I would go through Orlando rather than the league itself. That's how it was in 2020. I'm not sure those team-specific departments are up and running yet, though.
It doesn't necessarily limit access, what it limits is podcast hosts going into players/coaches DMs and inviting them onto a podcast without going through proper channels. It doesn't mean the league won't allow players/coaches to take part in interviews like these, just that the hosts have to go through a process to ask and schedule them. And again, this happens with every major league sport.
Do you think they will also look to have XFL branded websites change names for the same reason? Would make sense to me based on their actions.
It is what it is. They are spending a Ton of money, and want to control the PR. They seem to be way behind their original timeline, but the FB kickoff itself s/n/b impacted.