Accu-Stats Signs 2-Year TV Deal for U.S. Open w/ESPN Star Sports

[JAM]

Spider1, this may provide a little light on the "why," in this post written by Jay Helfert in June 2007 entitled: Earl Strickland/John Schmidt Altercation at BCA.

The pertinent part is this: You see the main problem here is that Pool is treated like a second rate (or third rate) sport in the good ole USA by ESPN. No one ever knows when shows will air, unless you read about it in a billiard publication. And, even if you know when it will air, you also know who won the match, which was played weeks before. So it's like, who cares.

And the coverage by the ESPN crews is mediocre at best. Poor commentary, poor direction, poor editing and little in the way of anything to create interest in the match. The recent UPA Tour Championships on ESPN was a step in the right direction, thanks to the efforts of Dave Thomson in getting pre match interviews and other additions to the shows.

 

[Island Drive]

I realize that I am out of the loop, but I am not familiar with David Thomson of Medium Pool. Does anybody have any info on this entity? :smile:

Punctuation in the press release is a little off kilter, but the news itself is great!

Here's what I know and before I hooked up with Ether in the original Costa Mesa days, Only Once. I met and know Dave pretty well, broke dick bar banging but ok, bar table player, he had a good work ethic. I met him 76-77....he moved to Belmot Shores CA and had this old beat up grey Fiat. He liked pool, and it's where we 1st met at the Acapulco Inn in So. Ca./Belmot Shores (Jay used to own Yankee Doodles in Belmot Shores), also Dave lived near Horney Corner (Kieth knows the place, Jay too), during summers they closed the road along the inland sandy beach as the gals were distracting the drivers too much and causing problems. I would like to think, after Dave played me, he got a different taste of bar pool and real pool and I'm glad seeing him work with Fleming in this new venture. Because of Pat and his enthusiasm, I went to school for two semesters in Radio/TV production. Dave gave me one of his business cards yrs ago, and was very excited about his logo.....MediumPool....in Venice CA, he has a daughter that I've know of during her growing yrs. I'll try and load a pic of Daves Old Business Card.
He's a hard workin' man and ''times are a changin''.

 

[sfleinen]

I can hear the Boycott collapsing as i type.

ABP says, "'Boycott' -- we're not familiar with that term. Is that a fruit related to the Apricot?"

 

[cookie man]

I can hear the Boycott collapsing as i type.

They should be put on a waiting list.

 

[12squared]

This is great news for all. Thanks for the post, JAM.

Dave

 

[C.Milian]

I can hear the Boycott collapsing as i type.

So how does this contract help the players? If they were to play this years event, who benefits? The way I see it, another stepping stone the players have to leap over just to get all this in the public eye...you guys!! This should have been known way back before all the drama. Why is it brought to the table in the midst of catastrophe?

So lets say everything gets worked out. Accustats, Barry, Sponsors signed a deal. This is not a small cake here. What are the numbers? Who will be getting the six figures? and who will be getting the crumbs?

 

[JAM]

Here's what I know and before I hooked up with Ether in the original Costa Mesa days, Only Once. I met and know Dave pretty well, broke dick bar banging but ok, bar table player, he had a good work ethic. I met him 76-77....he moved to Belmot Shores CA and had this old beat up grey Fiat. He liked pool, and it's where we 1st met at the Acapulco Inn in So. Ca./Belmot Shores (Jay used to own Yankee Doodles in Belmot Shores), also Dave lived near Horney Corner (Kieth knows the place, Jay too), during summers they closed the road along the inland sandy beach as the gals were distracting the drivers too much and causing problems. I would like to think, after Dave played me, he got a different taste of bar pool and real pool and I'm glad seeing him work with Fleming in this new venture. Because of Pat and his enthusiasm, I went to school for two semesters in Radio/TV production. Dave gave me one of his business cards yrs ago, and was very excited about his logo.....MediumPool....in Venice CA, he has a daughter that I've know of during her growing yrs. I'll try and load a pic of Daves Old Business Card.
He's a hard workin' man and ''times are a changin''.

"Horny corner"? It figures Keith would know where that was located.

Thanks for sharing a little background about Dave Thompson. I have a feeling that this just might be a change agent for pool in the States down the road. I'm excited! :smile:

 

[mudball]

They should be put on a waiting list.

For wanting the money posted and guaranteed? I don't understand you people. I'm sure you'd be the first to cry and make a thread about a guy stiffing you 20 bucks after a long session. The ABP (just my opinion) isn't making a single outrageous demand. Simply post the money guaranteed. End of discussion. It has been clearly stated that they love the US Open and want to play in it forever (who wouldn't?), but this is their livelihood and dammit the money should be posted like any other respectable sporting event.

This is great news for everyone and hopefully this will be a great US Open.

 

[JAM]

So how does this contract help the players? If they were to play this years event, who benefits? The way I see it, another stepping stone the players have to leap over just to get all this in the public eye...you guys!! This should have been known way back before all the drama. Why is it brought to the table in the midst of catastrophe?

So lets say everything gets worked out. Accustats, Barry, Sponsors signed a deal. This is not a small cake here. What are the numbers? Who will be getting the six figures? and who will be getting the crumbs?

It may be a win-win for all involved. Pool industry members will want to showcase their products on TV in the Asian viewership, where pool seems to be taking off like a rocket in popularity.

The players who compete if they wear a patch advertising a product, they just might receive a little bone, probably with not much meat on it, but, hey, every little bit helps.

If the media frenzy in pool takes off, then the U.S. ESPN folks might take notice.

I just saw an interesting show starring Anthony Bourdain in Macau, China, which is really an eye-opener as it pertains to how fast the country is moving with modern technology. From what we are all reading, pool seems to be an accepted sport in China and not looked down upon as it is here in the States by a portion of the American pool culture.

 

[bboxgrinder]

Will this be shown live or is this another we have to wait 6 months to see on ESPN?

 

[macguy]

For wanting the money posted and guaranteed? I don't understand you people. I'm sure you'd be the first to cry and make a thread about a guy stiffing you 20 bucks after a long session. The ABP (just my opinion) isn't making a single outrageous demand. Simply post the money guaranteed. End of discussion. It has been clearly stated that they love the US Open and want to play in it forever (who wouldn't?), but this is their livelihood and dammit the money should be posted like any other respectable sporting event.

This is great news for everyone and hopefully this will be a great US Open.

They may end up on a waiting list probably because they have not paid entry fees. If the tournament fills up that's the way it goes. They will have to wait for next year.

 

[watchez]

I wonder if Accu Stats & Barry Behrman got paid up front for their new TV deal.

 

[mudball]

They may end up on a waiting list probably because they have not paid entry fees. If the tournament fills up that's the way it goes. They will have to wait for next year.

I don't see any issue with that, like you said that's the way it goes. The original quote I made had the tone of putting them on a waiting list just to spite them, that's a different story. I hope every year the US Open is booked full, it's the friggin US Open for crying out loud!

 

[JAM]

Will this be shown live or is this another we have to wait 6 months to see on ESPN?

That's a good question, and it's not clear in the press release how this will work, whether it's live or whether there will be an edited version after the event.

With the traditional problems occurring at Chesapeake Conference Center with connecting to the Internet for streaming live, I'm thinking it may be shown after the tournament.

Either way, it's good for pool, and it's going to provide a lot more than what Americans have on American TV for pool.

If there's a PPV at the Open this year, then Americans will be able to enjoy it live.

 

[C.Milian]

I wonder if Accu Stats & Barry Behrman got paid up front for their new TV deal.

That will be a good bit of information. And of the sponsorships, who is most in demand, and how much are the sponsors willing to put up. And lastly if the popular players aren't playing. Who are the hacks representing our sport in such a crucial time?

Sorry, I'm a skeptic. Been sucker punched too many times.

 

[justadub]

There's no guarantee that it'll be on US tv at all. This agreement, to me, seems to be designed for overseas viewing.

Perhaps ESPN in the US can use this programming at some point, but I wouldn't count on it. I'm hoping that if the stream is stable enough, perhaps ESPN will put some of it on their ESPN3 internet service. That would be a start, at least.

 

[Spider1]

Spider1, this may provide a little light on the "why," in this post written by Jay Helfert in June 2007 entitled: Earl Strickland/John Schmidt Altercation at BCA.

The pertinent part is this: You see the main problem here is that Pool is treated like a second rate (or third rate) sport in the good ole USA by ESPN. No one ever knows when shows will air, unless you read about it in a billiard publication. And, even if you know when it will air, you also know who won the match, which was played weeks before. So it's like, who cares.

And the coverage by the ESPN crews is mediocre at best. Poor commentary, poor direction, poor editing and little in the way of anything to create interest in the match. The recent UPA Tour Championships on ESPN was a step in the right direction, thanks to the efforts of Dave Thomson in getting pre match interviews and other additions to the shows.

Thank you for the info. That is pretty depressing to read. I swear espn 2 has like 10 hours a day of World's Strongest Man programming, and while they have tons of product sponsors for the bodybuilding industry, what they don't have is viewers. Current pool events/tournaments would get way more viewers I bet. Hell I have even seen curling on espn 2. Nothing against curling, but come on...half of America plays pool at sometime during the year and I bet people clicking through would stop to watch it if they saw it on, and maybe get some enthusiasm or learn something. Like many businesses, it will probably take someone with a pre-existing pool hobby to elbow it onto the schedule. I would bet that is what happened with the strongest man snoozefests.

 

[JAM]

Thank you for the info. That is pretty depressing to read. I swear espn 2 has like 10 hours a day of World's Strongest Man programming, and while they have tons of product sponsors for the bodybuilding industry, what they don't have is viewers. Current pool events/tournaments would get way more viewers I bet. Hell I have even seen curling on espn 2. Nothing against curling, but come on...half of America plays pool at sometime during the year and I bet people clicking through would stop to watch it if they saw it on, and maybe get some enthusiasm or learn something. Like many businesses, it will probably take someone with a pre-existing pool hobby to elbow it onto the schedule. I would bet that is what happened with the strongest man snoozefests.

And let's not forget the regularity of American ESPN broadcasting lawn mower races and hot dog eating contests, as they must believe these are sports more so than pool. :angry:

 

[C.Milian]

It may be a win-win for all involved. Pool industry members will want to showcase their products on TV in the Asian viewership, where pool seems to be taking off like a rocket in popularity.

The players who compete if they wear a patch advertising a product, they just might receive a little bone, probably with not much meat on it, but, hey, every little bit helps.

If the media frenzy in pool takes off, then the U.S. ESPN folks might take notice.

I just saw an interesting show starring Anthony Bourdain in Macau, China, which is really an eye-opener as it pertains to how fast the country is moving with modern technology. From what we are all reading, pool seems to be an accepted sport in China and not looked down upon as it is here in the States by a portion of the American pool culture.

I wouldn't trade it. I mean I can see guys replacing the pros doing a sub par job, getting a small piece, ruin things even more for everyone. Those guys are still the missing link. I hope I'm wrong and pool blows up ----I would love to eat my words.

 

[12ozCurl]

You see.....

October is a difficult time for sports channels. They have to balance the NFL, NCAA football, MLB playoffs, NHL, NBA preseason.

I would love it to be on live TV (just not the table I'm on) but odds are its not gonna happen. 9ball isnt a very exciting spectator sport.