Nobody watches pool?

[Bob Jewett]

A common refrain when discussing pool's future is "Nobody wants to watch pool -- it's totally boring."

Well, let's look at the views on YouTube for the current Premier League Pool event. There are 15 video streams on YouTube. The number of views of each one ranges between 50 and 120 thousand. Some of that count is certainly duplicates, but the total is over a million views. Someone, somewhere is watching pool, and those eyeballs are valuable to people. This does not count the 20 countries that have live broadcasts or paid streams. Those all bring in cash directly.

The Accu-Stats YT channel has multiple single videos over the 1 million views mark or close to it. Maybe not surprisingly, most of those very popular videos feature Efren Reyes, with the top Efren match having over 4 million views.

It is the viewers that will bring money into the game.

 

[jbart65]

These numbers aren't bad, but given that these streams are available worldwide, one would think they would be higher. Especially since they are on-demand basically.

Would love to see the TV numbers.

That said, I would not expect a pool junkie tourney like this to get the same viewership as a more traditional 9-ball championship.

 

[Colonel]

A common refrain when discussing pool's future is "Nobody wants to watch pool -- it's totally boring."

Well, let's look at the views on YouTube for the current Premier League Pool event. There are 15 video streams on YouTube. The number of views of each one ranges between 50 and 120 thousand. Some of that count is certainly duplicates, but the total is over a million views. Someone, somewhere is watching pool, and those eyeballs are valuable to people. This does not count the 20 countries that have live broadcasts or paid streams. Those all bring in cash directly.

The Accu-Stats YT channel has multiple single videos over the 1 million views mark or close to it. Maybe not surprisingly, most of those very popular videos feature Efren Reyes, with the top Efren match having over 4 million views.

It is the viewers that will bring money into the game.

Agreed. I only generally watch Accu Stats stuff though. They’re head and shoulders above Matchrooms efforts regarding Camera work, post production and commentary. Not to mention their events are on the best quality tables with proper colored cloth and balls. Not to mention no token English commentary personalities talking about pool in snooker vernacular and badly attempting to mimic Sid Waddell’s style.

 

[hurricane145]

What exactly is a "view"? How long does it take for a "view" to be counted? Someone just taking a quick look out of curiosity then moving on or someone that went there and viewed the whole thing or really watched it for a half an hour or so with real interest? A lot of views or looks may not mean much!

 

[skogstokig]

What exactly is a "view"? How long does it take for a "view" to be counted? Someone just taking a quick look out of curiosity then moving on or someone that went there an viewed the whole thing or really watched it for a half an hour or so with real interest? A lot of views or looks may not mean much!

i don't know the answers to that but i've been watching pool on youtube since youtube started and my impression is that its popularity is growing

 

[Sheldon]

What exactly is a "view"? How long does it take for a "view" to be counted? Someone just taking a quick look out of curiosity then moving on or someone that went there and viewed the whole thing or really watched it for a half an hour or so with real interest? A lot of views or looks may not mean much!

Here's what ChatGPT says about youtube views.

YouTube views are calculated based on a combination of factors, including the number of times a video is loaded and viewed by users. However, YouTube has complex algorithms in place to filter out invalid views, such as repeated views from the same user, automated views generated by bots, or views that are too short in duration to be considered legitimate.

Here are some key points about how YouTube views are calculated:

User Interaction: When a user clicks on a video and starts watching it, YouTube counts that as a view. However, the user must engage with the video for a certain amount of time (usually a few seconds) for the view to be counted.

Unique Views: YouTube filters out repeated views from the same user over a short period. If the same user watches the same video multiple times within a short timeframe, YouTube may count only one view.

View Duration: A view is typically counted if the user watches a significant portion of the video, usually around 30 seconds, though the exact criteria may vary. Watching just a few seconds may not be enough to register as a view.

Bot Detection: YouTube employs sophisticated algorithms to detect and filter out views generated by bots or automated systems. Invalid views are not counted toward the total view count.

Real-Time Updates: YouTube updates view counts in real-time or near real-time, but there may be occasional delays or discrepancies due to processing times or validation checks.

Embedded Views: Views from embedded videos on external websites are also counted, but they may have slightly different tracking mechanisms compared to views on the YouTube platform itself.

Verification and Auditing: YouTube periodically verifies view counts to ensure accuracy and may adjust counts if they detect any irregularities or violations of their policies.

Overall, YouTube's view counting system is designed to provide an accurate representation of a video's popularity while filtering out invalid or artificial views.

 

[Cameron Smith]

What exactly is a "view"? How long does it take for a "view" to be counted? Someone just taking a quick look out of curiosity then moving on or someone that went there and viewed the whole thing or really watched it for a half an hour or so with real interest? A lot of views or looks may not mean much!

I don’t know the exact amount of time but the threshold for a view is not high.

With that said, total watch time plays a large role in whether a video gets promoted or not. So while some people are certainly only clicking on for 1-3 minutes, they wouldn’t be getting those views consistently if there wasn’t a genuine audience.

 

[L.S. Dennis]

I remember years ago Billiards Digest did an article on just this. Their explanation for the reason the average couple watching tv at night on the slight chance that there might have been some pool programs showing when surfing through some channels indicated that that non pool playing couple would have simply said something like "Oh those pros they never miss'' before immediately skippy to another channel. Without a strictly enforced 30 second shot clock on All matches and a more limited number of extensions, I too find televised pool boring, and only watch the YouTube high lights of most Matchroon matches. This faster shot clock based matches not only will move the game and make it more watchable, but also force a few more misplays, and misses as well. And this according to the old BD article is what the John Q. Public would like to see a little more of!

 

[MitchAlsup]

A common refrain when discussing pool's future is "Nobody wants to watch pool -- it's totally boring."

<snip>

It is the viewers that will bring money into the game.

Most of the time the camera work is just plane bad--bad enough to stifle interest.

But you are going to need a camera operator skilled in pool teaching to understand how to film each shot such that the video <without commentation> shows the viewer just how hard <or not> each shot is, and how hard it was <or not> to get position.

Camera operators (and especially camera directors) at car racing events are either just as bad or slightly worse--just when you want the camera to hang on for 3 more second, a different PoV is chosen.......making it impossible for the viewer to see the physics transpiring in real time.

 

[Mustardeer]

A common refrain when discussing pool's future is "Nobody wants to watch pool -- it's totally boring."

Well, let's look at the views on YouTube for the current Premier League Pool event. There are 15 video streams on YouTube. The number of views of each one ranges between 50 and 120 thousand. Some of that count is certainly duplicates, but the total is over a million views. Someone, somewhere is watching pool, and those eyeballs are valuable to people. This does not count the 20 countries that have live broadcasts or paid streams. Those all bring in cash directly.

The Accu-Stats YT channel has multiple single videos over the 1 million views mark or close to it. Maybe not surprisingly, most of those very popular videos feature Efren Reyes, with the top Efren match having over 4 million views.

It is the viewers that will bring money into the game.

Not to be pessimistic, but a million views in 2024 is nothing. That’s a very niche sport. 150 mil is the beginning of something.

 

[Straightpool_99]

A common refrain when discussing pool's future is "Nobody wants to watch pool -- it's totally boring."

Well, let's look at the views on YouTube for the current Premier League Pool event. There are 15 video streams on YouTube. The number of views of each one ranges between 50 and 120 thousand. Some of that count is certainly duplicates, but the total is over a million views. Someone, somewhere is watching pool, and those eyeballs are valuable to people. This does not count the 20 countries that have live broadcasts or paid streams. Those all bring in cash directly.

The Accu-Stats YT channel has multiple single videos over the 1 million views mark or close to it. Maybe not surprisingly, most of those very popular videos feature Efren Reyes, with the top Efren match having over 4 million views.

It is the viewers that will bring money into the game.

I'm sorry but many of those views are from 3. world countries, for instance the Phillipines with regards to Efren. These peoples views aren't worth much, if anything, to Western advertisers. Once you charge even a single dollar, any stream is lucky to get to 4 digits. Most hardly break 3.

 

[Bob Jewett]

... Most of the time the camera work is just plane bad--bad enough to stifle interest.

But you are going to need a camera operator skilled in pool teaching to understand how to film each shot such that the video <without commentation> shows the viewer just how hard <or not> each shot is, and how hard it was <or not> to get position. ...

This depends on the director which I guess depends on the production company. Some of the directors for Matchroom events are much better than others. I hate it when the cue ball is rolling for a narrow position window and the director decides to cut to the audience or the opponent's reaction. It seems they know nothing about the game. Or when the replay is delayed and runs past the end of the next shot.

I have seen similar problems a few times for Matchroom's snooker productions, but usually at non-British venues.

 

[Bob Jewett]

... These peoples views aren't worth much, if anything, to Western advertisers. ...

I think YouTube shows people ads appropriate for their location. How many views to you think the direct broadcasts get?

 

[maha]

i use an ad block and see virtually no ads on you tube.

and you can also speed up the play just by making it faster a couple times. but pool is a boring game to watch cant get around that.

 

[straightline]

Yes I do.

 

[Colonel]

<snip>

Most of the time the camera work is just plane bad--bad enough to stifle interest.

But you are going to need a camera operator skilled in pool teaching to understand how to film each shot such that the video <without commentation> shows the viewer just how hard <or not> each shot is, and how hard it was <or not> to get position.

Camera operators (and especially camera directors) at car racing events are either just as bad or slightly worse--just when you want the camera to hang on for 3 more second, a different PoV is chosen.......making it impossible for the viewer to see the physics transpiring in real time.

This is why I can’t watch Matchroom stuff, horrifying camera work. Emily talks about “pool school” for players when she really should send the camera guys that do their stuff to Accustats for school on to how to properly film a match.

 

[Badpenguin]

Matchroom has got to get their shit together as far a a time clock and how players are alerted. Having the refs call out "10" and "5" for 2 different matches happening at the same time right next to each other is just inexcusable. I saw the Ko brothers get sharked out of several shots during PLP, it was obvious if you were listening to table 2 with some volume. And the commentators were just ignoring it, like these world champions were just missing easy shots for no reason. What assholes. SVB, smartly, was waiting for 10 to be called out before doing his final stroke most of the time. It is really hard to tune out a human voice, too hard, it shouldn't be used to indicate a countdown unless it is something blasting off to space.

Accustats figured it out decades ago. Add freaking time clocks all round the arena where the players and the audience can see them. Stop the counting of the time when the player gets down over the shot and don't time foul them unless they get back up. Auto-apply the extension if they have one. It isn't freaking rocket science man.

 

[skogstokig]

Stop the counting of the time when the player gets down over the shot and don't time foul them unless they get back up. Auto-apply the extension if they have one. It isn't freaking rocket science man.

i agree with most of your post, but the auto application of the extension means another 20 seconds for kaci, morra, styer and the like

 

[Badpenguin]

i agree with most of your post, but the auto application of the extension means another 20 seconds for kaci, morra, styer and the like

They are going to use their one extension per rack either way.

 

[straightline]

Black shirts, black slacks, black sticks, colored balls that do what they like - what's to watch?