Is outdoor hunting tv dead?

[Outdoor Junkie]

The sportsman’s channel and outdoor channel are dying on the vine! The only content on there ( that I can’t get on Netflix, YouTube or amazon prime) is WEstern Hunter. Randy, you need to tell Chris and Ryan to get with the times! The live hunt experiences, Full hunts and lack of commercial breaks make it great.
With that said, I think that more in program marketing would be welcome if it’s genuine. I don’t want to see you talking about some product you don’t believe in, but you could easily take a few minutes in each show to talk about why you like the pack from xxxxxxxx or why you use xxxxx boots and your experiences with them, etc. I’ve seen some of this on your shows, but I think people respect your opinion and would be open to more of that from companies you really believe in. It could potalentially add more marketing dollars for you, which is what makes this kind of programming possible. I’d much rather hear you talk about Your Leupold scope and the reason why you like them so much than hearing a commercial that’s been rerun 100 times before.

Just my take,
Chuck

 

[TLowell02]

For a show like The Western Hunter, I am willing to pony up a few bucks and purchase the episodes through their VHX platform. It supports one of my favorite shows and I can stream them when ever I want. I have some of Randy's and Rinella's episodes as well.

 

[prhunter]

Since getting a ROKU and ditching satellite, I've been amazed at the amount of good hunting content on YouTube. Watch what you want when you want, no commercials.

Same here. Only watch Fresh Tracks and MeatEater for the most part.

 

[Outdoor Junkie]

If you haven't watched Born and Raised Outdoor's Land of the Free project, you are definitely missing out. Just an amazing series.

Same here. Only watch Fresh Tracks and MeatEater for the most part.

 

[Sytes]

Wow, that is amazing! I would not have imagined such stats.
I really enjoy how you have much more control over the editing aspects, aside from the Sponsors' input and upholding interests.

I find myself wondering why I spend some $120 a month for DirecTV when most my time is on Amazon / Netflix. One aspect I would miss is the Forged in Fire type new release shows... Wondering what price I want to place on new shows...$120 worth?

 

[fwagner]

Im quite sure a strong, strong majority of the guys/gals on this forum have no idea what "Twitch" is but I see hunting and outdoor programs going that way once the technology for live streaming in remote places continues to grow. Live hunts streamed in real time will someday be a reality. Just about all content is moving towards on demand platforms of youtube, hulu, facebook live, etc. Randy was smart to get ahead of the curve and provides great content but it's a fast moving target for sure!!!

 

[Keeptrying]

Another sad day of no new Amazon content.

 

[SandyCreek]

the only thing that really sucks...being out here in the boonies with no high speed.. we can stream one tv only if we disconnect everything else from wifi.. thats the only reason we have a basic dish package

 

[Big Fin]

Another sad day of no new Amazon content.

That's in the hands of Amazon. They have episodes for approval. We're waiting on them.

 

[Keeptrying]

I know. I check every day thinking they care about my feelings.

Still watch the other issues pretty regular, and the YouTube Live stuff. Elk Talk Live. The podcast. Probably not your #1 fan, but I really enjoy your content.

 

[prhunter]

If you haven't watched Born and Raised Outdoor's Land of the Free project, you are definitely missing out. Just an amazing series.

I will look for it. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[shootbrownelk]

The sportsman’s channel and outdoor channel are dying on the vine! The only content on there ( that I can’t get on Netflix, YouTube or amazon prime) is WEstern Hunter. Randy, you need to tell Chris and Ryan to get with the times! The live hunt experiences, Full hunts and lack of commercial breaks make it great.
With that said, I think that more in program marketing would be welcome if it’s genuine. I don’t want to see you talking about some product you don’t believe in, but you could easily take a few minutes in each show to talk about why you like the pack from xxxxxxxx or why you use xxxxx boots and your experiences with them, etc. I’ve seen some of this on your shows, but I think people respect your opinion and would be open to more of that from companies you really believe in. It could potalentially add more marketing dollars for you, which is what makes this kind of programming possible. I’d much rather hear you talk about Your Leupold scope and the reason why you like them so much than hearing a commercial that’s been rerun 100 times before.

Just my take,
Chuck

I quit watching the outdoor channel when they started playing old western movies instead of hunting/fishing shows. Most of the programs on the Outdoor and the Sportsman's channels sucked anyway.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

+1 on Land of the Free on YouTube - Absolutely awesome

 

[dhoshour]

I watch two hunting shows - Randy's on YouTube and Eastmans' Hunting TV on cable. I've tried a lot more, but nothing I care for.

Lots of the shows have about 2 minutes of worthwhile footage and the other 20 minutes is just filler that ought to be on the cutting room floor. I don't care to watch people shop or drive or unpack, nor do I tune in to watch women draw back their bow with perfect makeup, curled lashes and tight T-shirt, or guys bowhunting tons of deer over a food plot on private land, slick hour-long travelogues (though I appreciate the high-quality videography) or guys way over-reacting about their 90th buck. And please spare me the ultra-slow motion walking.

Show me game, show me stalks, above all - teach me something.

As far as platforms go, Guy told me the other day how many views the show got on cable last year and it was impressive. And, there are several shows with more viewers. So, there is still a lot of cable viewership. I agree that the trend is toward online but I think the transition will take awhile yet before viewership of the top ten shows online draws more than the top ten on cable.

My wife and I cut the cable a couple years ago but went back because the cable company raised our high-speed internet cost significantly and then agreed to cut our cable/internet combined rate so much that it really ended up being about the same cost as internet plus what were paying a la carte for streaming services. Since cable is more convenient and I can still catch YouTube for free on my Roku, we reconnected the cable for now.

 

[joelhunter]

Some of the reasons that I've shifted mostly to Podcasts (or digital radio) include the ability to listen while doing some work, which also means I might listen to the same episode repeatedly to catch all the stuff I missed while distracted with the tasks that pays the bills, and also the opportunity to dig deeper into science/ideas/and issues. I love it when Podcasts have meaningful discussions with scientists, wilderness and land advocates, or specialists in certain species or a certain method of take. I also appreciate the round table type discussions where different perspectives are exchanged or challenged. Not much of that fits well in the TV format. And more importantly to any marketing folks reading this thread, the more that I find I trust the judgement and integrity of the show's host, the more likely I am to trust their recommendations for products and gear.

 

[Keeptrying]

Yup. Podcasts when I run, work, or do chores around the house. That level of information and discussion is really interesting to me.

Listened to the Gohunt mule deer one again last night.

 

[tim629]

i just don't have cable.

only thing I miss about cable is my PSU football games & Penguins Hockey.

found Fresh Tracks for some of my hunting viewing. I think a lot of the cable chanels (outdoor or no) could do better by letting us purchase economical plans to run through youtube/netflix/amazon ect...

 

[1976]

I have no problem watching programs on tv or dvr the programs I watch for another day, but for some reason I have a miserable time watching on the computer or the smart TV, I don't know if I'm just wired for the programed day or what but I might get to youtube once a month, but I will throw on of Randys or another DVD 4 to 6 times a month especially sitting in the reloading room, so I sure hope its not dead for at least another 30 lol years but if goes to the wayside I suppose I will have to adapt.

 

[scubohuntr]

Way back when, I used to watch American Sportsman religiously, when Curt Gowdy was the host. Before it went to all gymnastics and X-Games. It and Marlin Perkins' Wild Kingdom were the only things that would get me in the house before dark. I watched Fred Bear every chance I got too. The old videos have not aged gracefully; they were done in another time according to 1960's standards. The travelogue narration is rather grating by current standards, and there are obviously different conservation values in play today. The production is honest, though. You can see the guy with the .458 when Fred is hunting polar bears. You know the backup guy is still there with a Chuck Adams video, but you never see him. Fred quite often went home empty handed. There were other things on the video- nongame wildlife, scenery, the difficulties of the hunt. You won't see any of that on a Team Realtree video, unless there's a sponsor paying for it. I sometimes end up watching outdoor TV when I'm on the road, because hotel broadband is rarely up to the challenge of streaming. If River Monsters is on, I'll watch. Sometimes one of the game warden "Cops" type shows. But all the "whack em and stack em" programming? Nope. Their sponsor placement makes NASCAR look nonprofit. The emphasis is all on getting as many killshots as possible, and as many huge racks as they can, in the six minutes or so that isn't commercials. Good thing I have a few Top Gear specials downloaded on my tablet.

I have been watching the youtube episodes lately. There is little or no consideration from youtube for people who don't watch from a computer, but that's on the platform. "For a complete list of products used, check the video description". Guess what? If you're watching from a smart TV you don't get that. I still have no idea what that white stuff is in the bucket on the euro mount episodes. There are lots of links where you can go to different categories, but if you're not on a computer they aren't links. There are playlists that I have to search for all over again ever time I turn it on, and they play in reverse order. I've watched all the Fresh Tracks on Amazon, and all the Meat Eater on Netflix, several times. I guess all I can do is wait and see if anything new ever comes out. It's better than nothing, but it is still rather hard to relate to someone who has more money in coolers than my entire annual hunting budget. But that's the way the industry works. I get that. And I'd certainly be all over the $2,000 spotting scopes, the $700 boots, the $1,000 coolers, and the rest if I had a chance.

The thing that really frosts me is nobody reads anymore. I have some available time during lunch at work, but I can't download videos or podcasts. I can read, but I've read everything on half a dozen forums, Outdoor Life online, the Art of Manliness blog, and the Smoking Meat forums. I'd love to be able to find actual articles online. I don't find any utility at all in video how-tos. Write it down, and I'll read it. Video is for entertainment, not information. Random ramblings from an old Luddite, I guess.

 

[plumber1969]

I know for me and my family and the style of hunting that we do, the outdoor channels just produce polished turds with nothing more than a continuous advertisement. We deer hunt here in the southeast and there are no 130" monsters behind ever tree or standing corn row. We like real people, doing real things and this includes the failures that happen to us all in hunting. We went on our first ever elk trip last year, in part because of your show Randy. The other part was something that I told myself I was going to do before I turned 50. We could have afforded a guided hunt in Colorado but we opted to do it the hard way. I don't care if I ever kill another living thing, I hunt for the challenges and friendships, also Randy's show and Nate Simmons come across as real genuine people to us.

I don't know how much longer the current format will last, but like anything, people want more choices. I find myself watching more YouTube content now than ever before and since Randy's platform moved to Amazon as well, I'm over there too.