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Remember the gentlemen with the wonderful voice who did a series of television commercials for “The UnCola” back in the 1980’s? His name was Geoffrey Holder. Sadly, he passed away in 2014.
Using a rich voice with a unique Trinidad accent, his tag line of “Crisp and clean and no caffeine” boosted sales for a famous lemon-lime soft drink maker.
This week, the term “no Caffeine” has taken a new meaning in the sports world.
Caffeine withdrawal
A relatively new online sports programming network called “Caffeine” just bit the dust yesterday on June 26. They pulled the plug so fast that you cannot even access any information from their website today (www.caffeine.tv). All that remains is a “Good bye” note.
Caffeine TV just vanished like the buzz from your morning coffee by 10AM. They claimed to have attracted 60 million fans to their now deceased website.
Though the owner of SwampSwamiSports.com cannot boast of such a vast audience, the proprietor (me) is still financially solvent and still keeps his product online today!
On the Caffeine TV You Tube channel (which was still available this morning), the banner said, “Caffeine is the home for live sports + community. Watch action sports, basketball, combat, golf, football, and more for free.”
After watching a well-produced one-minute promo on their You Tube channel, Caffeine TV had been targeting a young demographic of sports fans. Apparently, not enough of them bothered to show up to watch it.
The Caffeine TV You Tube channel had a preview of their offerings. The one minute promo featured snowboarding, surfing, basketball, MMA events, boxing, rugby, and even poker tournaments. A significant portion of this promo was devoted to something called “Battle Rap”.
What is Battle Rap, you ask?
According to one source, “Battle rap is like verbal warfare, where competitors trade insults, wordplay, and clever rhymes in a competitive setting. It’s a blend of poetry, wit, and bravado, often performed in front of an audience or judged panel.”
For those of us raised in the 1960’s and 1970’s, Battle Rap appears to be a modern version of the popular “Rate-A-Record” segment on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand.
The host would play a song like The 1910 Fruit Gum Company’s 1967 hit record, “Simple Simon” as the Philadelphia studio audience danced to it.
After the song ended, two audience members would the rate the record. Wendy might say, “I can really dance to that one. I’ll give it an 89!” Howard, though, felt otherwise. “Too much bubble gum for me to chew on! I’m giving it a 55” as the audience booed loudly at Howard.
It’s a safe guess that 2024’s Battle Rap competitors were using a few more colorful words to describe their feelings than my generation uttered on American Bandstand decades ago.
Who was willing to make a risky investment into a sports-oriented venture like Caffeine TV?
You might be surprised!
In 2018, Caffeine TV was injected with a cash buzz of $100 million by none other than 20th Century Fox. The initial concept received funding of $46 million from a couple of private investors.
At the time, Fox had glorious plans for Caffeine TV. Prior to the retirement of former Chairman Rupert Murdoch, one of his sons and future successors, Lachlan (who now runs Fox News), was gung-ho on the idea.
As part of this partnership, Fox provided a facility called “Caffeine Studios” which Caffeine TV and Fox Sports would jointly utilize.
“The combination of the Caffeine platform with a content studio that benefits from Fox Sports’ expertise in live events and programming will help position Caffeine to deliver compelling experiences in e-sports, video gaming and entertainment,” said the younger Murdoch.
The double-caffeinated CEO of Caffeine TV enthusiastically waved the promoter’s pom-poms and added his comments after making the deal with Fox:
“We want to bring the world together around friends and live broadcasts,” said Ben Keighran. “It’s an ambitious goal, but one we believe is attainable with the support of our amazing new partners, our awesome and ever-growing community, and the content that together, we can bring onto the platform.”
Enter LIV Golf in 2024
The free-spending LIV Golf league signed a multi-year television deal with the CW Network beginning in 2023. CW would nationally televise the Saturday and Sunday rounds.
However, LIV Golf (which features a three-day 54-hole format) was still looking for a television partner to broadcast its opening round on Fridays.
Prior to 2024, golf fans could watch the Friday rounds via LIV’s You Tube channel and, beginning in 2023, utilize the CW App. However, LIV Golf President Greg Norman desperately wanted another television partner willing to carry the league’s Friday afternoon rounds every week in 2024.
How desperate? Hello, Caffeine TV!
Earlier this year, LIV Golf announced a partnership which added Caffeine (TV, that is) to bring additional TV eyeballs to the league’s opening round of play on Friday.
In the press release, LIV Golf said, “Boasting a younger, more diverse audience than many traditional broadcast platforms, Caffeine is uniquely suited as a streaming partner of LIV Golf.”
Not anymore, though. Caffeine TV vanished without prior notice on Wednesday, June 26.
With six tournaments left in the its 2024 season, LIV Golf will be suffering from Caffeine (TV) withdrawals. Golf fans wanting to watch opening round coverage on Fridays will return to using the CW App or the LIV Golf You Tube channel for the remainder of this season.
As circus promoter P.T. Barnum once boasted, “There’s a sucker born every minute”!
The long-time CEO of Caffeine TV has done a fine job at promoting his product since the beginning. Ben Keighran issued this statement as part of their new agreement with LIV Golf:
“We’re excited to partner with LIV Golf to expand distribution of its tournament content and help it reach new viewers as the tour continues to grow. This collaboration marks an exciting moment as Caffeine continues to redefine live sports streaming, helping leagues and brands discover, connect and interact with passionate fans at scale through our platform.“
At the bottom of the LIV Golf press release, Caffeine TV added some eyebrow-raising boastful claims:
“Caffeine is the go-to destination for more than 150+ niche sports leagues, competitive event organizers, content creators, and sports media publishers looking to reach and engage passionate fan bases at scale. Currently, the platform boasts over 60 million monthly active users, a massive 1,200% increase from 5 million a year prior, with 1.4 billion total views in 2023. 91% of Caffeine’s users are on mobile, with 82% of its audience under the age of 35.
Was Caffeine TV good to the last drop?
On Wednesday, June 26, Caffeine TV pulled the plug on its own percolator of propaganda with one final and very unusual announcement on its website:
“All good things come to an end. We’re at the point where we are still not quite profitable, so we’ve made the decision to end the service as of June 26th as we figure out our next steps.
The statement concluded with, “We’ve had a huge impact on the industry and will again soon, in a different way. Many, many thanks to all involved. We’ll remember this for life.”
Nothing says professionalism like pulling the plug on your customers and business associates during the middle of the last week of the month. The final comment “We’ll remember this for life” could be one of most bizarre exit statements I’ve ever seen.
One report indicated that nearly $300 million had been invested into Caffeine TV prior to its abrupt ending on Wednesday.
The investors in Caffeine TV apparently realized that the sports market’s demand for their specialized offerings was significantly lower than projected. Insufficient revenues eventually spell doom for most new ventures.
Given the speed which Caffeine TV was yanked off the market, the investors had seen enough. Mr. Market has a way of speaking the truth no matter how much hype is pushed by promoters.
Shame on you, Caffeine TV! You left former viewers with the shakes today after forcing them to go cold turkey as they search for an alternate decaf brand.