Mainstream Media and Matchroom's WNT WPC

JAM

JAM

I am the storm
Silver Member
Of course, the entire pool world is aware that Fedor Gorst is our new 2024 World Pool Champion defeating Eklent Kaci in a decider finals for $250,000. The scratch in the last frame—yes, I know "frame" is snooker speak—was shocking and thrilling at the same time. Those of us who were fortunate enough to watch the finals live were treated to a rollercoaster of thrills, spills, and brilliance, all wrapped up in one. "The most expensive scratch in pool history" in that last frame.

I don't know the name of the man on the left, but he was working with the juniors at this event. The man on the right is Snooker Federation president, Dr. Nasser Saab Al-Shammari.

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One of the finest tournaments in the history of pool, yet not one peep in mainstream media. Why?
 
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JAM said:
Of course, the entire pool world is aware that Fedor Gorst is our new 2024 World Pool Champion defeating Eklent Kaci in a decider finals for $250,000. The scratch in the last frame—yes, I know "frame" is snooker speak—was shocking and thrilling at the same time. Those of us who were fortunate enough to watch the finals live were treated to a rollercoaster of thrills, spills, and brilliance, all wrapped up in one. "The most expensive scratch in pool history" in that last frame.

This morning I went to read the news, as I am wont to doing each day with my coffee, and there is not one mention of this event in mainstream media. Whoever is in charge of public affairs at Matchroom is dropping the ball. If there was ever a time to send out press briefings and publicize pool at its finest to mainstream media outlets, this is the time to do so, yet there's nothing but crickets.

The entire finals from beginning to end was beautiful. As a pool fan and railbird, it did not disappoint. One of my favorite openings ever was that saxophone player, Alain Otayek

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Efren Reyes in the house! Cool as can be.

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Kaci's game face throughout the event.

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Kaci finally cracked a smile at the end. He'll be representing Team Europe in the upcoming Reyes Cup.

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The Ghost lets out a victory roar!

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Nice to see Fedor bring his coach and friend, Johan, to the winner's circle celebration.

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I don't know the name of the man on the left, but he was working with the juniors at this event. The man on the right is Snooker Federation president, Dr. Nasser Saab Al-Shammari.

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One of the finest tournaments in the history of pool, yet not one peep in mainstream media. Why?
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Great post JAM. Gonna copy/paste this to FB. It's the least I can do.
 
Well not to be argumentative, but my FB feed was endless with highlights and notifications of the finals. Guess it depends on what's considered "main stream media" these days.

Wait for the evening news or fire out that instant gratification to social media.
 
JAM said:
One of the finest tournaments in the history of pool, yet not one peep in mainstream media. Why?
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To answer this one directly. Because main stream media only cares about conflict and drama that will entice views by the largest group of consumers possible.

Now if gorst had won that final by pulling a gun on Kaci and forcing him to sewer on the 3. That would be all over CNN
 
The_JV said:
To answer this one directly. Because main stream media only cares about conflict and drama that will entice views by the largest group of consumers possible.

Now if gorst had won that final by pulling a gun on Kaci and forcing him to sewer on the 3. That would be all over CNN
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Don henley: Dirty laundry
 
JAM said:
Thanks for the reply. I'm definitely not referring to "social media." I'm talking about news media such as CNN or ESPN or Washington Post or New York Times or—well, you get my point. :)

I definitely do not consider social media a credible news source. Some of the stuff I read on there, I just shake my head and do my best to not reply. ;)
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I don't consider any "news source" credible, but I would hope a sports only network like ESPN could broadcast something without bias.

My point is what "source" would a company like MR prefer to have their content broadcast on. ESPN is a NA outlet. The internet is international. Despite your personal thoughts on the matter. I'll guarantee the MR results hit those who matter faster via social media then they would a television network.

Could vary well be MR is indifferent to network coverage...?
 
JAM said:
Not all sports news is pulling a gun on somebody. Good grief, man
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again, I think you missed the point of my comment. "Regular" news isn't going to care about the world 9b unless it contains an element that grabs the attention of viewers well beyond the "sport" itself.

Note the Taylor Swift crap about attending her bf's games and the attention she got
 
Matchroom can send out all the press briefings it wants but that won’t get pool covered on ESPN. They also don’t pay attention to bowling, lacrosse, rugby, table tennis, and many other sports outside the big four. Olympic sports are completely ignored except for once every four years. They barely even cover soccer which is the world’s most popular sport.

Maybe if we’re lucky pool will get there again in 10-15 years.
 
You get a Taylor Swift, Beyoncé blah, blah involved then you will get the publicity wanted. Personally I’m not sure if I want the rest of the world ruining our thing now that it’s getting good. IMO
 
JAM said:
We'll have to disagree on this one. Social media is a not good vehicle to spread the news compared to television network or media that is online or print. But then again, I am referring to online media of news outlets, which reaches a wider range of readers.

Of course, we pool people are going to read social media news about pool, but I guarantee you that my Uncle Chester and Aunt Dorothy will never see that pool news and not hear about Fedor Gorst's journey or Eklent Kaci's triumph over his injuries. These are a good stories to share that will attract non-pool readers.

The point of the thread I am trying to make—and maybe I am not wording it correctly—is I think Matchroom would benefit from reaching out to other non-pool-related news media, whether it is print or online. Pool cannot grow as a sport if news about big events like this one is contained on Facebook and disseminated on threads written by pool enthusiasts and read by pool enthusiasts. In other words, it needs to be disseminated further than social media and Facebook—in my opinion, of course. :)
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Most companies no longer invest in coverage for cable news or print media--unless you are targeting the over 80 demographic. But I certainly agree with you that this was an amazing event and it's too bad it's not more widely seen. We have to trust the people at Matchroom that they know how to market these niche sports, they have done well with snooker and darts. That's not a bad future for pool players.

Some of the recent Youtube streams (just the last few days) have 800k views, which is good considering that it was a secondary stream. In contrast, 500k watch ESPN2 during primetime.
 
JAM said:
Good points.

"Over-80 demographic." Hahahaha! I guess that's me, though. ;)

It is true about the snooker and darts, how Matchroom has had success in these sports. They do come up in mainstream media, though, unlike pool. If you search "snooker" and "darts" in quotes on Google News, you'll see quite a few articles. When you put "billiards" in quotes, you read about a local junior player or a pool room that closed or how pool tables are selling in USA. Not much else. Maybe this will change, though.

Here's a recent article on CNN Sports about snooker in Saudi Arabia: https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/05/sport/saudi-arabia-snooker-crucible-theatre-spt-intl/index.html

Here's a recent article on BBC about darts: https://www.bbc.com/sport/darts/articles/cz7786yljr6o
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You probably saw this already on his social media, but Fedor had a videographer follow him during the week to do a documentary. If that’s any good, it could have a broad reach like you are hoping for.
 
Despite all of the glitz and glamour Matchroom puts into their events, it still doesn’t change that fact that most of the mainstream world does not care about professional pool. A few more years of Matchroom continuing to elevate their events may have an impact and cause the world to start to take notice, but we’re just not at that point yet.
 
Into the main news cycle? No. No blood, no scandal, no bombing, no click bait.

The best we can hope for as far as broadcast TV is to get on 60 Minutes or similar magazine-style program again.

I suppose we might get a brief mention in a "sports washing" exposé.
 
The_JV said:
Well not to be argumentative, but my FB feed was endless with highlights and notifications of the finals. Guess it depends on what's considered "main stream media" these days.

Wait for the evening news or fire out that instant gratification to social media.
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If she's thinking ESPN-style mainstream she's dreaming.
 
JAM said:
Pool is cruel to its own, and some of the opinions shared by pool enthusiasts—I can't even label some folks as "enthusiasts," I guess. But if we in the pool culture don't give a damn about pool as a sport elevating to new heights, if we in the pool culture think it's better that pool remain unnoticed, if we in the pool culture consider pool not worthy of fame, then pool will continue to have one tire in the mud, no matter how much money Barry Hearn pours into it. What a shame!

There are some, however, who do not feel this way in the pool culture, and I am one of them.
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I think there are some who want this game to remain a “neighborhood bar” because it guarantees they’ll have a seat and it won’t get too crowded.
 
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JAM said:
Pool is cruel to its own, and some of the opinions shared by pool enthusiasts—I can't even label some folks as "enthusiasts," I guess. But if we in the pool culture don't give a damn about pool as a sport elevating to new heights, if we in the pool culture think it's better that pool remain unnoticed, if we in the pool culture consider pool not worthy of fame, then pool will continue to have one tire in the mud, no matter how much money Barry Hearn pours into it. What a shame!

There are some, however, who do not feel this way in the pool culture, and I am one of them.
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i'm with you on the objective, i just don't think mainstream news itself has a bright future. i read somewhere that joe rogan has more viewers than CNN, MSNBC and ABC combined
 
JAM said:
Me personally, I feel this event is very newsworthy. It was a first-class competition which brought in professionals from around the world, and the human interest stories of Fedor Gorst and Eklent Kaci both are the kinds of things folks enjoy reading about.

Not all sports news is pulling a gun on somebody. Good grief, man!
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I agree. Gorst's story is an amazing one, and packaged correctly, it would draw some media interest.

Fedor was stranded in America, unable to return to his home country of Russia because of the circumstances surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine. For six months, he was banned from sanctioned play by pool's governing body on the basis of his Russian nationality alone.

He has picked up the pieces and made a good life for himself in America, welcomed and embraced by American fans, and permitted to play on Team USA at the Mosconi Cup. He just won the World Championship and the biggest first prize in 9ball history.
 
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It is not knowable why coverage of this event wasn't picked up without knowing what the marketing plan and budget was.

Cracking into the mainstream media, when your sporting event isn't already in through the front door, such as tennis or golf, is a tough nut requiring a lot of planning and effort and even then you might end up with squadousch. One thing is for certain: without a big, aggressive, well thought out, long term plan that got rolling months ago you will not get coverage. In addition I'd mention that nowadays you need to care about social media as much as traditional media.

Lou Figueroa
 
The_JV said:
I don't consider any "news source" credible, but I would hope a sports only network like ESPN could broadcast something without bias.

My point is what "source" would a company like MR prefer to have their content broadcast on. ESPN is a NA outlet. The internet is international. Despite your personal thoughts on the matter. I'll guarantee the MR results hit those who matter faster via social media then they would a television network.

Could vary well be MR is indifferent to network coverage...?
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I may agree here….credible sources on main stream media are hard to come by.
I saw a stat on an early match…171,000 viewers…..I think that’s what Matchroom is vying for…it’ll be in the millions and be a success.
 
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