SWithout fans the sport has nothing and just getting the sport on TV is not enough IMO.
For example, a deal could be made with ESPN where someone produces a program for ESPN if they air it for "free".
Is this win/win? I don't think so. What are we getting, horrible time slots, zero promotion, but wait... We get add space we can sell to sponsors for an over inflated price. Sure this will pump money into the tournaments and promoters pockets imediatly but will it gain us long term fans? What happens when the sponsors don't see results? What are the long term effects of this model of business?
Lets backtrack and take a look at what they get. Free programming to fill their unwanted time slots. It's good for them IMO and as long as we believe that is a fair offer ESPN won't offer us anymore.
So if the above is not the answer then how do we pump money into the game in a way that will generate long term success? It all starts with getting a Fanbase. To do this we need good time slots, we need promotion, and most of all we need good production. To understand what good production is you need to understand why people watch sports in the first place.
A question for the promoters... Why do people watch sports? I'll give you a hint, it is not so they can see robots run rack after rack effortlessly and show no emotion in the process, unless...
Imo the long term solution is to answer that question, produce a product that casual sports fans will watch, sell the product to the ANY decent TV station (this pumps a little money into the sport), then get sponsors for a sport that will actually be seen(Nother profit center) and keep repeating this process and investing in the sport. The fan base will grow, the sponsors wil multiply, and the demand for pool to be on specific stations will be realized.