Georgia just beat Tennessee State by sixty points, and somehow that wasn’t the most lopsided thing to happen this week. Georgia fans logged on Monday evening, September 7, expecting the usual highlight reel from the win, which the program has handed out for free for years. But they found a teaser clip and a paywall that required signing up for a monthly subscription.
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Awful Announcing called out the move on X, noting that a community note was added to Georgia’s post after it failed to mention that fans would need to pay for the full highlights.
“A new low in the ens***ification of being a sports fan?” Awful Announcing’s X post read on September 8. “Georgia Football’s X account received a community note for not disclosing that watching highlights of their 63-3 win over Tennessee State now requires a $ 20-a-month subscription.”
The $20 subscription is just an entry-level recurring subscription. Georgia has partnered with Glory Glory Georgia, a third-party platform the school launched earlier this year. While it operates separately from the athletic department’s website, the platform directs fans to an application where subscription revenue goes to the program’s NIL collective.
It all comes down to the rising cost of competing in college football. Programs need more NIL money to retain and pay players. The initiative for Glory Glory Georgia was created as another way to bring in that necessary revenue. The site describes itself as “a fan-first ecosystem designed to capture and share exclusive content, deliver unparalleled access to UGA athletics, and inspire deeper levels of engagement.”
It was launched on February 4, 2024, with AD Josh Brooks calling it a new way for the passionate Georgia fans “to participate in building a sustainable, impactful future across all 21 of our programs.” There are three membership levels at the moment: Red, Black, and Silver.
The Red Tier will cost the fans $20/month. The Black Tier is priced at $75/month, and to access the Silver Tier, the fans will have to pay $150/month. Along with highlights, each tier has exclusive content and access to open practice viewings, among other things.
However, fans weren’t pleased with the sudden price situation, as the game highlights that were once free now came with a monthly price tag.
Several programs in the SEC now have subscription-based streaming platforms. LSU+ costs $8.99 month for exclusive behind-the-scenes docuseries and player podcasts. Arkansas and South Carolina have also switched to subscription-based content models.
Auburn has also used a similar subscription model, and some reports suggest Georgia is following a similar approach. But fans seem especially frustrated because the same footage was available for free on ESPN’s YouTube channel, where an 18-minute cut has already surpassed 500,000 views, as well as on the SEC’s own YouTube channel shortly after the game ended.
At the moment, the Bulldogs have taken the most aggressive approach in deciding what stays behind the paywall. The backlash is more about the highlights, as fans are expected to pay again for their favorite program, besides paying for tickets, parking, and concessions.
Kirby Smart praises Georgia’s effort amid the tiring weather
Smart felt Georgia handled the season opener well against the Tigers, especially in the heat, as the Bulldogs were in control for most of the night and finished with 63-3. But he wasn’t satisfied with the second quarter, calling it sloppy.
“I thought, for three quarters there, first, third, and fourth, we did what we needed to,” Smart said after the game, according to DawgPost. “Second, we had some sloppiness, didn’t do some things well, but I thought the guys played really hard. I thought they beat the heat. I didn’t feel like the heat impacted us. A lot of credit and respect for Tennessee State. He’s trying to turn his program around, and that’s tough to do. They played a really tough battle last week and then came in today and fought.”
With Georgia currently ranked at No. 2 in the AP Poll behind Ohio State after Week 1 performance, Smart pointed to the 85 penalty yards and a fumbled field goal snap as part of the mistakes he wanted to clean up before Week 2 against Western Kentucky on September 12.