Phil Steele Magazine Possibley the last year for FCS

[penguinpower]

http://www.philsteele.com/Blogs/2012/Aug12/DBAug22.html

His blog indicates that if sales do not pick up this year, it will be his last year doing a FCS magazine.



"possibly" typing too fast

[mmiller_34]

Not good. I live for that magazine :(

[DFW HOYA]

Print is a dying business. How many of who you still subscribe to a daily paper, Time, or Newsweek?

An iPad or Android app might be a better use of his effort going forward.

[Grizalltheway]

Print is a dying business. How many of who you still subscribe to a daily paper, Time, or Newsweek?

An iPad or Android app might be a better use of his effort going forward.

xnodxxnodx

[MR. CHICKEN]

Print is a dying business. How many of who you still subscribe to a daily paper, Time, or Newsweek?

An iPad or Android app might be a better use of his effort going forward.


16632.....AH STILL..GET DUH.... NEWS JOURNAL.....CAIN'T LINE DUH BIRD CAGE/WRAP FISH...WHIFF UH E-RAG......GOTTAH SIT @ DUH KITCHEN TABLE....DOWN MAH JAVA.....TALK TA DUH CATS...(DEY GET ME).....WONDERAH WHY...VICK IS ON SUICIDE WATCH......PHILS PLAYIN'...LIKE LAST YEARS...O's......WHAA...OURAH BEACHES....ARE UNDERAH-WA-WA.....BEST BUY....LOST 90% SECOND Q.....COUPLE O' LEFT WING....EDITORIALS......TWO TODDLERAHS...IN UH THRILLAH IN DOVERILLAH.....NO ONE AH KNOW...IN DUH OBITS....X MISS DELAWARE...ON "SURVIVOR"....LEARNT HOW TA MAKE...SPAGHETTI/WHIFF CHICKEN LIVERS....GNATS IN FIRST PLACE.....DID DUH *** SUDOKU...OWNLAH HAD TWO FIVES IN ONE BOX.....2 TREYS IN 'NOTHERAH....&....AH GET TA RE-CYCLE IT....SO AH...CAIN'T TEAR UP......SEASON'S PIZZAH'S.......NEXT AD-VERT-IS-MENT..............xcoffeex......BRAWK/OBAMA/BIDEN!!

[coover]

I'm still hoping that I will get it sometime this year. I ordered it early in July and I check my PO Box daily (we get no home delivery in my community), but it hasn't come yet!

[The Eagle's Cliff]

Print is a dying business, but the FCS market is too small to support national media. FCS is quality football with very little revenue potential and will continue to be obscure.

[NHwildEcat]

I still get my local Sunday paper, but print is a cost that is not worth all publications. I'd buy an online version if I felt the product was still of good quality. That really should be the way he handles it going forward.

[UNH Fanboi]

I still get my local Sunday paper, but print is a cost that is not worth all publications. I'd buy an online version if I felt the product was still of good quality. That really should be the way he handles it going forward.

I doubt making it available for sale online would be any more profitable. The fact is that most peopl just don't want to pay for media anymore, and FCS is a tiny market.

[bluehenbillk]

Phil has said the same thing for the past few years. It's a shame on two fronts, because personally I love his preview - I've got the FBS one for a few years now & have got both years of the FCS. The shame is A: how do you send a "preview" out and get it in your readers hands less than a week before the season opener? and B: He's setting up a self-fulfilling prophecy on selling his mag so late. If I was running a business like that I'd do everything I could to get the thing out BEFORE August 1st & then at least you'd have some word of mouth generating sales for you...

Agreed print is on life support....

[Hammerhead]

I receive a daily paper and Time along with a few dorky science magazines. The new tablet devices might convert me someday, but I'd rather turn the pages than read a periodical on my laptop. I can imagine that a FCS-only magazine has a limited market.


Print is a dying business. How many of who you still subscribe to a daily paper, Time, or Newsweek?

An iPad or Android app might be a better use of his effort going forward.

[AtlantaMountaineer]

It didn't help that when I tried to order my copy his online site was not working properly. I considered just skipping it entirely, but decided later to order it over the phone. While I like his magazine, he certainly doesn't do much to help sales of the FCS edition.

[mmiller_34]

The only way I got it last year was stumbling upon it at Barnes & Noble in West Des Moines. I was looking for it ferociously at the B&N in Sioux Falls but he didn't send it there! I assume he had to have sent it to Fargo, but it wouldn't surprise me if he didn't. If he sent out copies to select FCS towns (Boone, Fargo, Athens, Missoula, Sioux Falls, Cedar Falls/Waterloo.. and put a different cover featuring the local team at each place; I'm sure he would easily cover his labor/printing cost. Put the magazine right in the middle of the cities that have strong FCS support and they will sell.

Of course maybe I'm wrong and he did this last year, just not in Sioux Falls.

[cannonballgsu]

I would have bought it if it were in electronic form - iBooks, ereader, etc. I just don't want to have to lug around a magazine for when I want to look at stats, and an electronic copy would be convenient while at games.

[alvinkayak6]

I am surprised and disappointed that nobody has addressed the somewhat insulting tone of this ad. "Help support the FCS by buying my magazine...You will become an instant expert if you do....This is the last year I will be publishing this unless you lousy FCS fans get off your butt!" And then he gives the confusing rhetoric that he is "not trying to get rich off it." But you would like to sell 100,000 copies and keep all the profits, right????? There are now at least a dozen places to get FCS content for free: your favorite school or conference, Sports Network, College Football Performance Awards, College Sporting News, College Sports Journal, College Sports Madness. Phil Steele is complaining about his magazine sales; it sounds like the "consumers" may have this one right. xthumbsupx

Oh, and for the record: I've purchased his magazine every year.

[UAalum72]

.And then he gives the confusing rhetoric that he is "not trying to get rich off it." But you would like to sell 100,000 copies and keep all the profits, right?????
'Not getting rich' is not incompatible with 'Don't want to tap the kids' college fund to publish it'

[smallcollegefbfan]

Print is a dying business, but the FCS market is too small to support national media. FCS is quality football with very little revenue potential and will continue to be obscure.

And it's going to get worse and worse as App State, GSU, Liberty, etc. all move up. I know ASU and GSU fan bases are strong when it comes to buying FCS stuff like this or coming to a message board like AGS. Imagine AGS without ASU and GSU fans? That's at least 50 strong posters gone.

[smallcollegefbfan]

I am surprised and disappointed that nobody has addressed the somewhat insulting tone of this ad. "Help support the FCS by buying my magazine...You will become an instant expert if you do....This is the last year I will be publishing this unless you lousy FCS fans get off your butt!" And then he gives the confusing rhetoric that he is "not trying to get rich off it." But you would like to sell 100,000 copies and keep all the profits, right????? There are now at least a dozen places to get FCS content for free: your favorite school or conference, Sports Network, College Football Performance Awards, College Sporting News, College Sports Journal, College Sports Madness. Phil Steele is complaining about his magazine sales; it sounds like the "consumers" may have this one right. xthumbsupx

Oh, and for the record: I've purchased his magazine every year.

My buddy in the office told me he would have to sell over 100k copies just to break even. For him to make a lot of money on this thing he would have to sell over 250k copies. You and I both know that won't happen.

I know how his tone comes off but I take it as hey you guys wanted this so show you do and buy it. In the magazine business it's not really worth printing one unless you sell a lot of copies. I think they only sold a few thousand copies last year.

[smallcollegefbfan]

http://www.philsteele.com/Blogs/2012/Aug12/DBAug22.html

His blog indicates that if sales do not pick up this year, it will be his last year doing a FCS magazine.

"possibly" typing too fast

Like I said in another post, my prediction is that he does a PDF next year or does a few pages and puts it in his FBS mag (if he has room to do this).

[alvinkayak6]

'Not getting rich' is not incompatible with 'Don't want to tap the kids' college fund to publish it'

With Respect, UAalum72, you may have missed my point. We live in a capitalistic country. You, Phil Steele and I are completely free to amass as much wealth as humanly possible. Most of us are trying to do just that.

My point is that when people introduce their motives in this manner, it is spontaneous denial. Print is dead and Phil is behind the curve. So instead of blaming the economy or the shifting forms of media consumption, Phil is blaming us.

Personally, I am only willing to buy one magazine. If he can't sell more, it's just delaying the inevitable.

[danefan]

And it's going to get worse and worse as App State, GSU, Liberty, etc. all move up. I know ASU and GSU fan bases are strong when it comes to buying FCS stuff like this or coming to a message board like AGS. Imagine AGS without ASU and GSU fans? That's at least 50 strong posters gone.

Things like this are cyclical.

Strong programs are moving on and new ones are moving in and up.

Could Albany, Stony Brook, Abilene Christian, etc... become national FCS powers in a few years? Probably. They'll need to build some history of course, but I wouldn't be so sure the strong schools won't be replaced in time.

[ngineer]

A shame. Still waiting for mine, but will continue to buy if it continues. I still like the print media. I get the local paper (Morning Call) and Sports Illustrated and my wife gets the NY Times for the puzzle, she's amazing.