when was the last time you saw pool on TV?

S

smashmouth

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
for the North Americans on here........ I'm thinking pre-recorded ESPN women's mid 2000's

I miss the old ESPN PBT broadcasts, they were cheesy but great

Canada used to get recorded snooker as late as the 80's

thank God for youtube
 
batalarms

batalarms

Ebony Hoppe Fanatic
I keep asking the same thing.Where are the pool matches?There is enough snow boarding,etc.Put pool back on please!
Marc
 
J

JAM

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Icon of Sin said:
I dont miss the ESPN races to 5 or Sudden Death 7-ball :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I remember that one they had in Baltimore ESPN Zone. What was memorable about it was Danny Harriman made 6 balls on the break. Pretty sporty!

Sadly, though, I don't know if a non-pool aficionado would even comprehend how cool that is to make 6 balls on the break in 7-ball.

Best break like that I remember, however, is when Alex was playing Santos at 2004 BCA Open in Vegas. He made 6 balls on the break in 9-ball, and incredulously, Alex did not get out. :eek:

Check it out, listen to the crowds cheering, watch Alex laugh ---> HERE :grin-square:
 
macguy

macguy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
There are so many venues today there must be a place for pool. Not necessarily on ESPN but maybe on another network. Heck, maybe on PBS. I have always thought an instructional series would be great. They have stuff on painting, knitting, cooking. Why not a say, 15 or 20 segment series on pool that once in the can could be run for many years. From beginner to advanced player.

If I was a top player with a name I would do it at my own expense and shop it around. It could even be combined with some selling sort of like the do on QVC with the guitar guy. Hook up with a company like McDermott or Meucci and sell cues in an informercial like format as the instructions are done. There are a lot of out of the box ideas I believe have never even been explored.
 
CreeDo

CreeDo

Fargo Rating 597
Silver Member
Geez I don't even think of pool as something I watch on TV anymore.
100% of my pool watching has been on a computer screen, for years now.
The rare times I stumble across pool on TV it's outdated, it's women, it's trick shots,
it's not gonna be SVB vs. Orcullo or anything like that.

I wonder if the lack of pool on TV has helped create more streaming and youtube videos
than there would have been otherwise. If we had pool on TV regularly, would that mean less demand
for pool video since you can get it on TV easily? Or more demand since being on TV constantly
in theory means more exposure and popularity?
 
Donny Lutz

Donny Lutz

Ferrule Cat
Silver Member
Pool network

macguy said:
There are so many venues today there must be a place for pool. Not necessarily on ESPN but maybe on another network. Heck, maybe on PBS. I have always thought an instructional series would be great. They have stuff on painting, knitting, cooking. Why not a say, 15 or 20 segment series on pool that once in the can could be run for many years. From beginner to advanced player.

If I was a top player with a name I would do it at my own expense and shop it around. It could even be combined with some selling sort of like the do on QVC with the guitar guy. Hook up with a company like McDermott or Meucci and sell cues in an informercial like format as the instructions are done. There are a lot of out of the box ideas I believe have never even been explored.
Click to expand...

With the hundreds of networks now in existence, including those covering individual sports, I'm surprised that the big dollar people in the pool industry don't get together and create their own. There's at least one tennis network, and I think far more people play pool than tennis (though I like to watch tennis, too).
 
B

bdorman

Dead money
Silver Member
There was a women's match on ESPN about middle of last year (2013). I don't recall the details but I think it's still on my DVR. Someone on AZB alerted the community to the schedule, otherwise I would have never known about it.

DonnyL wrote: I'm surprised that the big dollar people in the pool industry don't get together and create their own. There's at least one tennis network, and I think far more people play pool than tennis (though I like to watch tennis, too).

There are no "big dollar people" in pool. It is a miniscule industry. Our community has tennis courts and a pool table. I estimate tennis players outnumber pool players at least 10 to 1, probably more.
 
Last edited:
StraightPoolIU

StraightPoolIU

Brent
Silver Member
CreeDo said:
Geez I don't even think of pool as something I watch on TV anymore.
100% of my pool watching has been on a computer screen, for years now.
The rare times I stumble across pool on TV it's outdated, it's women, it's trick shots,
it's not gonna be SVB vs. Orcullo or anything like that.

I wonder if the lack of pool on TV has helped create more streaming and youtube videos
than there would have been otherwise. If we had pool on TV regularly, would that mean less demand
for pool video since you can get it on TV easily? Or more demand since being on TV constantly
in theory means more exposure and popularity?
Click to expand...

To expand on your point a little bit at least for me the expansion of streaming and youtube videos has made me less likely to care about a pool event on tv even if ESPN was showing it. Basically I never really enjoyed their presentation or format, but it was the only game in town. Now that there are some really good streamers out there you can 1. watch the matches live 2. watch the matches unedited 3. see the top players playing all games 4. (this can vary but...) have really knowledgeable commentators 5. watch in HD (some streams). I know it may me less mainstream exposure for our sport, but as a fan of pro pool I have no desire to go back.
 
Cornerman

Cornerman

Cue Author...Sometimes
Gold Member
Silver Member
smashmouth said:
for the North Americans on here........ I'm thinking pre-recorded ESPN women's mid 2000's

I miss the old ESPN PBT broadcasts, they were cheesy but great

Canada used to get recorded snooker as late as the 80's

thank God for youtube
Click to expand...

WHen was the last time I saw pool on TV? About a month ago.

Freddie <~~~ is this a trickier question?

{edit: I guess it's my bad... the WPA women tournament was on TV, but it was ESPN3}
 
danomano

danomano

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
bdorman said:
There was a women's match on ESPN about middle of last year (2013). I don't recall the details but I think it's still on my DVR. Someone on AZB alerted the community to the schedule, otherwise I would have never known about it.

DonnyL wrote: I'm surprised that the big dollar people in the pool industry don't get together and create their own. There's at least one tennis network, and I think far more people play pool than tennis (though I like to watch tennis, too).

There are no "big dollar people" in pool. It is a miniscule industry. Our community has tennis courts and a pool table. I estimate tennis players outnumber pool players at least 10 to 1, probably more.
Click to expand...

More people move to a community that has tennis courts for tennis than move to a community that has a pool table to play pool. I don't think your example is indicative of the overall landscape and would agree that there are more pool players than tennis players.
 
boogeyman

boogeyman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
JAM said:
I remember that one they had in Baltimore ESPN Zone. What was memorable about it was Danny Harriman made 6 balls on the break. Pretty sporty!

Sadly, though, I don't know if a non-pool aficionado would even comprehend how cool that is to make 6 balls on the break in 7-ball.

Best break like that I remember, however, is when Alex was playing Santos at 2004 BCA Open in Vegas. He made 6 balls on the break in 9-ball, and incredulously, Alex did not get out. :eek:

Check it out, listen to the crowds cheering, watch Alex laugh ---> HERE :grin-square:
Click to expand...

Good link, JAM!
The last time I saw pool on TV was about three or four years ago.
As we know however, pool is a "streamed" sport.
I agree with another poster on here in that even if pool WERE on TV I wouldn't bother setting my timer for it.
I enjoy pool on my PC any day.

And JAM? I agree with you, a non-pool aficionado could care less about such subtleties as a good break.
Heck, it just seems there is no market for pool on TV anymore.
So why WOULD they schedule pool matches? (rhetorical)

The 80/20 rule in marketing applies well here.
For those not in-the-know about the Pareto Principle please look it up.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JAM
Blue Hog ridr

Blue Hog ridr

World Famous Fisherman.
Silver Member
Being from Canada, we didn't get much with 2 channels. Wide World of Sports used to televise the odd Snooker match from England. I used to watch pretty intensely altho I have to admit, at the time I didn't understand what they were doing other than potting a red ball and then a black. Just kidding. The old halls had nothing but Snooker tables where I was.

I was playing at a hall way back when. On one of the tvs, Earls 11 rack match came on.
A rerun but still put down my cue and watched.

Even with a few cable channels, we didn't get much in the way of pool.
 
Donny Lutz

Donny Lutz

Ferrule Cat
Silver Member
bdorman said:
There was a women's match on ESPN about middle of last year (2013). I don't recall the details but I think it's still on my DVR. Someone on AZB alerted the community to the schedule, otherwise I would have never known about it.

DonnyL wrote: I'm surprised that the big dollar people in the pool industry don't get together and create their own. There's at least one tennis network, and I think far more people play pool than tennis (though I like to watch tennis, too).

There are no "big dollar people" in pool. It is a miniscule industry. Our community has tennis courts and a pool table. I estimate tennis players outnumber pool players at least 10 to 1, probably more.
Click to expand...

I may have a skewed perspective, being rather poor myself, but I consider Brunswick, Simonis, and the major cue manufacturers "big dollar people". I also consider Budweiser and the APA "big dollar".

Regarding tennis, I'm speaking as a pool player for almost six decades, and a tennis fan for more than three. Where I lived in the late '60s, we had tennis courts at the local college and at the private "country club" only, while there were over 150 pool tables in a county of around 60,000 people.

There are nations where pool is huge and tennis is not. Also, pool is bigger in colder climates where the outdoor tennis season is short.

I'm sure a search could give us numbers for both today...I could be totally wrong.
 
Txstang1

Txstang1

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
it was the chakkenge of champions on espn about 4 months ago in december.

on 4-13 will be the 2013 world cup of tricks shots. woo hoo. not.
 
Runnintable

Runnintable

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Months ago

It was unfortunately that gimmicky "Trick Shot Magic".

To tell you the truth I do not even look for it on TV to 'dvr' anymore. I watch all my pool through Ustream channels that I follow, or the occasional Payper view match and/or tournament.
 
Last edited:
S

Swighey

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Mosconi Cup 2013. Mostly don't watch, but there is a fair bit of pool shown on Sky Sports,in the UK. Not live though which is a shame.The blame lies squarely with the WPA though who some years decide not hold a world championship - how the hell is a TV channel supposed to show and build a brand that way? Wide boy Barry Hearn would do a better job in his sleep.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top