The way the airlines work these days... I think if you add luggage, seat selection and the ability to cancel, that price doubles. Still, not unreasonable.
2023 World Pool Championship
- Thread starter jay helfert
- Start date
L.S. Dennis
Well-known member
I worked for UA at SFO during the 90’s back then two suitcase free included in the price of any ticket. Of course being an employee at the time we traveled basically for nothing anywhere we wanted to go. My how has air travel changed over the years!
I agree with everything here. I figured out a long time ago that giving out referrals to 'help my friends' always blew up in my face. I had to give out referrals to help my clients. In other words, be mindful of who you are really trying to help. Recommending a plumber who desperately needs work to a client is a good way to lose a client. And a plumber.
Recommending an excellent plumber who will fit them in because you send them a lot of work is a good way to keep a great relationship with an excellent plumber as well as many happy clients.
That is the mistake Matchroom is making with DAZN. I think they are trying to use POOL to boost DAZN viewership in the US and trying to use DAZN to boost pool. They are both desperate for work to refer to my analogy. They can't boost each other because neither has any 'juice' right now in the USA.
Get pool on Matchroom.com and keep trying to get it on a broadcast outlet. That will help pool.
Tying them together will never be successful without something else to move the needle.
Plus, it's annoying that the rest of the world can easily and inexpensively watch a match that I have to jump through annoying hoops to watch, and if I forget to cancel can end up paying way more money than I intended to. Especially when it involves my country.
Ha, ha.....I guess we all have different tolerance levels.
The chance of me riding in the cattle car (economy class) to Europe is pretty close to zero. I wouldn't voluntarily do that, if it were free. Oh wait, I can do it free, as I retired from a major airline. As Thurston Howell III once said in regard to getting off of Gilligan's Island: "If I can't go first class, I just won't go".
My hat is off to anyone who is willing to do that, but it's not for me.
Matchroom signed an exclusive five-year deal with DAZN last year. My guess is that they get so much money for boxing from DAZN that its helping to fund all of MR's other endeavors -- including pool -- and prevents them from contracting with a US channel or platform.
www.dazn.com
DAZN agrees landmark worldwide Matchroom Boxing deal | DAZN News US
Sports streaming giant DAZN will be the global home of Matchroom and its world-class, worldwide stable of fighters.
I think your guess is correct. Matchroom presumably has great viewing metrics broken down by demographic and location for its pool content. The US viewership must be quite limited given their lack of attention here.
Also what options are left for USA viewing? ESPN has been dead for pool for 20 years. ABC/CBS has been dead for pool for 50 years.
KT in 2005 had the IPT on some obscure cable channel. Versus I think it was called?
The only reason we see pool on any screen at all is the mom and pop streamers that are into pool.
Now there are a few companies that are bigger but streamers, such as DAZN. What better choice is there, “that will take pool”?
KT in 2005 had the IPT on some obscure cable channel. Versus I think it was called?
The only reason we see pool on any screen at all is the mom and pop streamers that are into pool.
Now there are a few companies that are bigger but streamers, such as DAZN. What better choice is there, “that will take pool”?
LMFAO You actually believe the bs they claim is happening over there. Wow....
more and more sports (and viewers) are moving away from TV to streaming platforms. i watch football/soccer on discovery+, and snooker too. i think one would have to be quite out of touch to think a dying media form is the savior of pool. for example in snooker, eurosport on the TV shows one table, on discovery+ i can pick between five tables, and choose what commentary language i want, watch it one phone/tablet, etc. there are only positives.
I know where you're coming from, but I've heard this kind of reasoning before.
A business venture is not, in fact, backed by all the assets and resources of a proprietor or his/her parent company. About fifteen years ago, so many on this very forum suggested that the IPT venture would have legs for the sole reason that its CEO had deep pockets, and indeed he did.
Effective CEOs don't throw additional resources at a venture just because they can afford it. On the contrary, they do it when it's good business.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I agree with much of what you wrote, though I think the comparison of IPT and Matchroom might not be a good one. I am 100 percent positive Barry Hearn is a good businessman. For sure, he's got a proven track record in a variety of sports areas, as we all know. The comparison of Kevin Trudeau, who had no experience in sports, much less pool, and Barry Hearn isn't quite the same.
In my opinion, Trudeau was given bad advice by a pool subject-matter expert from the get-go. Unlike Hearn, he had huge payouts, giving each Hall of Famer $30,000 and a bye in the King of the Hill tournament, as an example. In addition to the huge payouts of the IPT, they had the same costs as Matchroom does for the staff, venue, moving tables, setting up tables, camera equipment, et cetera, et cetera. Truly, it was a flawed business plan from the start, sad to say, because of the high payouts.
Even though the payouts of pool by Matchroom have not elevated to a higher level, the expense of each Matchroom pool event is enormous. I love the razzmatazz that Matchroom is creating for pool. I don't see darts and snooker on DAZN, though. Why Matchroom has chosen DAZN for pool in the USA et al. is curious.
You are 100 percent correct that a "business venture is not, in fact, backed by all the assets and resources of a proprietor or his/her parent company." The IPT as a business venture folded eventually. Trudeau still maintained all his assets and resources until the Feds went after him for his book of "Nature Cures." The IPT also never gained traction to be profitable. Matchroom pool as a business venture under—what is it?—"nineball."—could possibly fold too if it never turns a profit. Hearn will still maintain his assets and resources as a proprietor, though, as you point out.
Trudeau had deep pockets for as long as he could until he realized pool was a sinking ship. I'm not sure how deep Hearn's pockets are for pool, but I don't think the payouts for pool will increase until Matchroom breaks even or turns a profit in pool.
As a pool enthusiast, I pray Hearn turns a profit. He certainly knows how to make things happen in sports. Unfortunately for USA, we don't have the viewership for pool, and my Uncle Chester and Aunt Dorothy will never, ever see and appreciate the excitement that I see watching pool while pool is showcased on DAZN in USA. Pool must be broadcast differently to attract American mainstream viewers. We American pool aficionados will watch YouTube, DAZN, and use VPNs to steal a live stream to watch pool, but I want my Uncle Chester and Aunt Dorothy to experience the excitement and know pool's super stars: Sky Woodward from the Bluegrass State, World Champion Shane "The South Dakota Kid" Van Boening" the angler, charismatic Kelly Fisher, handsome EKlent Kaci from Albania, Germany's husband-and-wife Killer Fillers team, Allison Fisher OBE who went from snooker to pool, Fedor and Kristina's survival in a geopolitical world, et cetera, et cetera.
Pool, much like snooker, may become popular on the other side of the pond since their mainstream viewership has Skysports and other "normal" channels to watch it. Their viewership hopefully will increase with mainstream Brits and Europeans. I guess it's better than nothing for pool. We Yanks can hope to catch the reruns on YouTube and reminisce about the way pool once was when the Europeans flocked our shores to enjoy the American pool experience.
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Yeah, I know. The war is all a fake. And you are about a dum fuk
Unfortunately I agree. This year I had to make do with watching the daily highlights and it was ok. I was too busy to watch it all anyway so it was nice to just get a recap at the end of the day.