Sellout Crowd

[Rover]

Yeah of all that got cut....Mayes stays?

My guess is that he was the lowest compensated member of the group and cheap enough to keep for the time being.

[ditm4567]

She done!

[okatty]

Per TLO:

According to the Ogle Mole Network, the overly ambitious and financially impractical Oklahoma sports website –
@selloutcrowd_
– is shutting down this week.

I'm hearing current and former employees are owed a lot of money, investors feel like they were ripped off, and lawsuits will likely be filed.

[Pete]

^

It was backed by Toby Keith and that investment has dried up due to his death.

The way they are set up, each writer has their own brand and media channels. So, people like Berry Tramel and Jenni Carlson will likely just continue on that path, just not have the Sellout aggregator. And since they have been the main draw, things probably won't change much for them.

It was an interesting idea. Not sure why anyone would sue as there can't be many/any assets.

[okatty]

Yes, that was part of the TLO post, not my words, so not sure on basis for a claim unless there was some claimed misrepresentation made by someone personally or something.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Berry increased his time on the Sports Animal too. (Wish he would take over for Al).

[whatitis]

Yes, that was part of the TLO post, not my words, so not sure on basis for a claim unless there was some claimed misrepresentation made by someone personally or something.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Berry increased his time on the Sports Animal too. (Wish he would take over for Al).

on a side note about the local sports radio. I like the franchise but absolutely can't stand jerry ramsey. He's the absolute worst. I have completely stopped listening to it because he seems to always be on when I turn it over so I've stopped turning over to it.

[okatty]

^I would not argue with you!

[Bill Robertson]

Me too. I have no clue how Ramsey stays on the air. His only claim to fame is being funny. Which he isn't. I'm also not a fan of Phil Inzinga for the same reason.

[okatty]

Good comparison Bill. Like they have to have a guy with a schtick to inject humor. Kelly Gregg is the funniest guy on local radio.

[Zuplar]

Good comparison Bill. Like they have to have a guy with a schtick to inject humor. Kelly Gregg is the funniest guy on local radio.

Yes, Kelly Gregg is amazing, love that guys stories. I wish he was on more.

[Jeremy Martin]

Can't stand Jerry either, my guess is that he gets so much air time because he is cheap. Big fan of Kelly Gregg. KREF is my go to when I want local sports radio.

[okatty]

Interesting comments on Sports Animal last night by Al and Traber going after the organizer of the deal - they called him a “scam artist.” Saw posts from Berry and Jenny C on X about the shut down in general. Called if flawed from the inception.

[Rover]

Interesting comments on Sports Animal last night by Al and Traber going after the organizer of the deal - they called him a “scam artist.” Saw posts from Berry and Jenny C on X about the shut down in general. Called if flawed from the inception.

If the organizer was a scam artist, surely there was evidence or knowledge of that before they all jumped on the train and became a part.

[Pete]

The founder and main man was Mike Koehler, formerly of OPUBCO.

I talked to him when Sellout Crowd first launched. The general idea was that SC would allow various sportswriters to create their own social media channels, then also benefit from the SC aggregator. At the same time, SC provided resources to help with podcasts, video production, etc.

I suspect they all receive revenue from their social media channels, then some share of the revenue generated by SC overall.

It was an interesting idea that drew a bunch of well-known sports journalists in the state. However, the aggregator never seemed to get much traction and I think many of the contributors vastly overestimated the value of their coverage and opinions. There are just so many sources for all that already and I never understood how they expected to grow a substantial market share.

Also, I don't think anyone in this state truly understands how to really grow social media. It takes two things: 1) original content that interests a sizeable audience and draws an ever-growing number of followers; and 2) years and years of work. You can't just do what others are already doing; you need to have a unique niche and then work the hell out of it.

[SoonerDave]

Todd Lisenbee has been very frank about his experience with Sellout. His explanation strongly suggests talent was drawn in by, shall we say, "allegedly" bogus claims about investment into the company that was really a loan, and most of their financing came from Toby Keith. Sounds like a serious shell game, and when Keith passed, they were running on fumes. Sounds like all arrows of blame are being pointed at Koehler, but even if all kinds of threats to sue are launched, it's going to be tough sledding to find any assets to attach from which to peg any recovery. Sounds like a lot of people got dragged in. I know opinions of Tramel run the gamut, but whether you agree with his sports takes, I surely don't take him to be dumb, and how he didn't see this poor financial footing from the outset is a little mystifying.

[Pete]

It seems all the writers had either been recently laid off from the Tulsa World or Oklahoman, or opted to take a buyout in order to pursue Sellout Crowd. It's hard to imagine that Tramel couldn't have stayed at the Oklahoman if that's what he wanted to do.

But everyone else had almost nothing going on and thus little to lose. Maybe they had to buy in? Otherwise, just go back to what you were doing; all of them still have their own social media channels.

[PhiAlpha]

It seems all the writers had either been recently laid off from the Tulsa World or Oklahoman, or opted to take a buyout in order to pursue Sellout Crowd. It's hard to imagine that Tramel couldn't have stayed at the Oklahoman if that's what he wanted to do.

But everyone else had almost nothing going on and thus little to lose. Maybe they had to buy in? Otherwise, just go back to what you were doing; all of them still have their own social media channels.

Yeah I don't really understand all the scam comments. They had what seemed like a decent idea if done properly. They just probably didn't execute it all that well and didn't have enough of a runway from a financing standpoint for it gain the necessary traction to take off. It sounds like that combined with their limited funding drying up when Toby passed just put the the nail in the coffin.

Overall it's just disappointing that it failed. Similar to Prairie Surf (which is obviously starting to struggle as well), it's somewhat rare in Oklahoma for people to take big, outside the box (or outside of traditional OK industry) ideas and attempt to execute them. Really disappointing when they don't work out.

[Pete]

^

The main complaint seems to be that they were given false information and assurances and then decided to leave other paying gigs to sign up with SC. They thought there was enough funding for a 3-year run but that proved incorrect and they feel misled.

I'm sure there is another side to this story, just don't know if we'll ever hear it.

[PhiAlpha]

^

The main complaint seems to be that they were given false information and assurances and then decided to leave other paying gigs to sign up with SC. They thought there was enough funding for a 3-year run but that proved incorrect and they feel misled.

I'm sure there is another side to this story, just don't know if we'll ever hear it.

That seems like a reasonable complaint. Just wonder how much Toby Keith passing away had to do with the abrupt funding cut.

[Pete]

That seems like a reasonable complaint. Just wonder how much Toby Keith passing away had to do with the abrupt funding cut.

Todd Lisinbee -- one of the biggest critics of SC -- has said repeatedly that Toby's death had nothing to do with the failure.

He also said he and others were told there were 3 years of funding (likely a big chunk of it coming from Toby) but that it was always a loan, not a direct investment.

[Will Dearborn]

I don't listen to local sports radio so no idea who most of the personalities or journalists are but...

...Sellout Crowd concept had a scammy vibe as soon as it was announced.

[warreng88]

OK, I am going to sound like an idiot, so feel free to blast me if you want...

Is there enough sports in Oklahoma to have a fully run sports website? The website has listed the Thunder, OU and OSU as things covered. I don't see anything on the website on high school sports, but maybe it wasn't viable because most of the content was already being covered by ESPN affiliates?

Again, I might sound a bit obtuse, but am asking to better understand...

[jedicurt]

OK, I am going to sound like an idiot, so feel free to blast me if you want...

Is there enough sports in Oklahoma to have a fully run sports website? The website has listed the Thunder, OU and OSU as things covered. I don't see anything on the website on high school sports, but maybe it wasn't viable because most of the content was already being covered by ESPN affiliates?

Again, I might sound a bit obtuse, but am asking to better understand...

exactly this. i remember just a few years ago, had a friends kid playing at UCO, and could never get details on their sports. why only cover OU and OSU. i mean atleast put up box scores for the smaller universities and high schools. then you generate some regular traffic and hopefully they stay around for the content that truly makes them money.

[mugofbeer]

OK, I am going to sound like an idiot, so feel free to blast me if you want...

Is there enough sports in Oklahoma to have a fully run sports website? The website has listed the Thunder, OU and OSU as things covered. I don't see anything on the website on high school sports, but maybe it wasn't viable because most of the content was already being covered by ESPN affiliates?

Again, I might sound a bit obtuse, but am asking to better understand...

There are plenty of sports but is there a large enough population to support it financially?

[traxx]

Also, I don't think anyone in this state truly understands how to really grow social media. It takes two things: 1) original content that interests a sizeable audience and draws an ever-growing number of followers; and 2) years and years of work. You can't just do what others are already doing; you need to have a unique niche and then work the hell out of it.

I think it's a generational issue as much as anything.

At a former job I worked with a task force group that was trying to do anti vaping and anti smoking targeted at youth. One of their ideas was to use Facebook. They thought they were being progressive. It had to be explained to them that their target audience would never see it because no one under 30 uses Facebook.

But it also takes understanding your audience and what you're providing.

Brett McKay who runs The Art of Manliness is from Edmond but lives now in Tulsa. He understands his product, his brand, and his audience. He knows how they consume his media so he doesn't waste time and effort on media channels where his audience isn't. He's built a successful business for himself but has kept it a small, cottage industry instead of trying to make it something it isn't.