New Idea - Give Your opinion, Please.

Would You Pay $4.95 To Watch LIVE Championship Pool On The Internet?


  • Total voters
    87
I cannot imagine what goes into producing a video of a pool match, much less LIVE, but I have noticed a couple of things sitting on the rail.

When BCn and Accu-Stats team up, much like they do at the U.S. Open and Derby City Classic, there are overhead cameras, one very large boom camera, and overhead microphones. And then there is all of that machinery and equipment behind a curtain which isn't seen by the public most times. I heard it through the grapevine that the equipment alone costs six figures on up.

When ESPN filmed the Skins tourney, they had the overhead cameras, but they also had an actual cameraman right there in the pit with the players. When the player lined up for a shot, this camera guy with his zoom lens was inches from the designated pocket.

I always get a chuckle when I see a pool player stating he got sharked from a twinkie wrapper on the rail. I don't know how the pro players are able to overcome the camera action especially in the pit with all of its movements and noises, but they seem to be able to block it out. At the Skins event, Canadian Luc "Machine Gun" Salvas was in deep focus running out racks, and he almost ran his head right into the overhead boom camera. He immediately jerked himself backwards, but not without that deer-in-headlights stare when he realized he almost had a collision. It was funny! :p

To produce a high-quality production of a match, I would think it would take quite a bit of equipment: video and audio. This is a big undertaking, Oldhasbeen. I have a little experience with videographers in the legal setting. They do just fine with one angle shot of the deponent or person giving testimony, but to do a pool match, it would seem you'd have to have the capability to capture several angles at the same time.

I'll be staying tuned and look forward to seeing this come to fruition! I applaud you for this huge undertaking, and you can count me in for the 5 bucks! :)

JAM
 
OldHasBeen said:
IF - Lets say, Buddy was to be playing Efren at 7 pm tonight and you knew it was going to be on the internet - LIVE - Would you pay $4.95 to watch?

to watch some good players in a big money match I would give up the $4.95
 
JAM & CAPT. ARE RIGHT, BUT........

I wouldn't even think of this if not for the contacts I already enjoy. I have a good friend & neighbor who owns a company called Sight & Sound. He does the entire audio & video for major, national commercials as well as almost all major motion pictures shot here in the mid-west. I also enjoy a close relationship with the main I.T. person for the entire Washington University computer network. He is nationally known as one of the Tops in the field. Another fellow I work with is in charge of all computer video feeds with the main UPS headquarters. Capt. - you may be right and this won't work as I envision but if I don't look into it, I'll never know. I can promise you and any others that if I do this, it will be "FIRST CLASS" all the way or I won't fool with it.

TY & GL
 
OldHasBeen said:
I wouldn't even think of this if not for the contacts I already enjoy. I have a good friend & neighbor who owns a company called Sight & Sound. He does the entire audio & video for major, national commercials as well as almost all major motion pictures shot here in the mid-west. I also enjoy a close relationship with the main I.T. person for the entire Washington University computer network. He is nationally known as one of the Tops in the field. Another fellow I work with is in charge of all computer video feeds with the main UPS headquarters. Capt. - you may be right and this won't work as I envision but if I don't look into it, I'll never know. I can promise you and any others that if I do this, it will be "FIRST CLASS" all the way or I won't fool with it.

TY & GL

Don't get me wrong on my post above OHB. If it is done well, you can certainly count on me watching also. I just really think you would be better off taping rather than doing it live. Or if you do it live you would want to make it accesable for the fee anytime. Then you don't have to deal with time zones and league night and my daughter solfball games coming up etc, etc.
 
I think LIVE is paramount to success.

I think this could be a draw for any poolroom as well as very appealing to pool fans with an updated computer. What excites me is the #'s involved when we are talking WWW.

TY & GL
 
OldHasBeen said:
IF - Lets say, Buddy was to be playing Efren at 7 pm tonight and you knew it was going to be on the internet - LIVE - Would you pay $4.95 to watch?

How would you get out the word? You would have to do a lot of expensive advertising well in advance. You can't do it with a few people who read boards like this. Even magazine ad's don't reach that many people. Scheduling would be critical to get the viewers, times zones and so on. I have a feeling you would be trying to do it in a vacuum. I can't see you even covering expenses at $4.95 a head, much less have anything to give the players. I also see people making copies for their friends. A pool room with 20 fans will equal one paid viewer. Too many road blocks and potential technical problems to do something that at best will make very little if anything.
 
Sorry, Thats not my style.

macguy said:
How would you get out the word? You would have to do a lot of expensive advertising well in advance. You can't do it with a few people who read boards like this. Even magazine ad's don't reach that many people. Scheduling would be critical to get the viewers, times zones and so on. I have a feeling you would be trying to do it in a vacuum. I can't see you even covering expenses at $4.95 a head, much less have anything to give the players. I also see people making copies for their friends. A pool room with 20 fans will equal one paid viewer. Too many road blocks and potential technical problems to do something that at best will make very little if anything.

MacGuy - Thanks for your input - BUT - I haven't gotten where I'm at by that kind of negitive thinking. I started my 15 year old advertising company (now doing business in 25 states) from a dream in the middle of the night. I don't think Bill Gates or Thomas Edison thought that way either.
IF - I become convienced that it isn't a doable product & or a vialable financial venture, I'll drop it A.S.A.P.

TY & GL
 
OldHasBeen said:
MacGuy - Thanks for your input - BUT - I haven't gotten where I'm at by that kind of negitive thinking. I started my 15 year old advertising company (now doing business in 25 states) from a dream in the middle of the night. I don't think Bill Gates or Thomas Edison thought that way either.
IF - I become convienced that it isn't a doable product & or a vialable financial venture, I'll drop it A.S.A.P.

TY & GL

I am just playing devils advocate but I think my comments should be of concern. I honestly think what you want to do is in fact the future of mass entertainment once the technology is there. I can see not too far in the future where movies will open on the Internet. They will do everything in house and cut out the distributors and theater owners. I see a film opening on the net and you and your family will sit back and have it fed to a big screen TV in the comfort of your home. Average films that now that take many months to earn say 50 million and have to split with theater owners and distributors will open to 5 to 10 million households maybe more for say $19.95 and earn $200 million in one night. Small independent film makers will have a bonanza with the new technologies. I don't think the time is here yet but it's coming and ideas like yours will have a real place in it.
 
macguy said:
How would you get out the word? You would have to do a lot of expensive advertising well in advance. You can't do it with a few people who read boards like this.

The early adopters will in all likelyhood be those people who read boards like this. There are 10x more lurkers than posters I might guess, maybe more. Putting an announcement on the various boards and groups would get good initial respones. Add print posters at the broadcasting halls, a nice website for scheduling / payment etc, and it would be OK I think. Look at ACCUSTATS, they are not a household name, no saturation advertizing, but they seem to have a strong clientel. The trick is to keep costs in line with the revenue stream taking growth as it comes. I think this can be done !

Dave
(EE (U of S 1981) by training, career computer network specialist for 24 years, Marketing Manager and Technical Sales Slug for about half of that time)
 
I can't understand why anyone would not pay $4.95 to see Buddy Hall and Efren play each other some 9b or 1h. Any pool players that I know would jump at the chance. One thing that you might add OHB is the action component. Not quite sure how you'd do it (doesn't Puerto Rico host pool betting action?) but that could help you to make more worth your while.
 
Rickw said:
I can't understand why anyone would not pay $4.95 to see Buddy Hall and Efren play each other some 9b or 1h. Any pool players that I know would jump at the chance. One thing that you might add OHB is the action component. Not quite sure how you'd do it (doesn't Puerto Rico host pool betting action?) but that could help you to make more worth your while.

Are you kidding You go to one of the tours around and they have top players playing and can't get people to pay $5.00 to watch. They stand outside and ask when it will be over so they can get a table and play. People don't care about watching pool. They love to play but after 15 minutes they have no interest in watching anymore. Pool is a tough sell, even the players won't pay to watch.
 
OldHasBeen said:
IF - Lets say, Buddy was to be playing Efren at 7 pm tonight and you knew it was going to be on the internet - LIVE - Would you pay $4.95 to watch?


I like you idea. I would think about starting with players that have sponsors and hopefully they would kick in to get their player out there. It would be very cheap advertising for them.
I would also try and find the best video streaming out there. You sound like
you have a good start on getting the info. If you find a few talented guys
that are young you might be able to get in the door almost unveiling their new product.
The live version could include a couple interviews or instructional
minutes as well. Then sell a non life version without some of the LIVE features. Also maybe have a give away or two for only LIVE VIEWERS.
What I really like about the idea is that if kept cheap there are
several differnet ways to outlet the material. Notice I said cheap and not
reasonable. The pool crowd needs cheap and nothing more. I still think
it could be feasible and profitable because of the many outlets.
Y
ou would have a LIVE version, a taped version of the life version available on the net, DVD market for each of these, and a series version. If you have 6 matches or so then you could put those on one DVD and sell it as well.
It could even be just a highlight version narrated (or not) of the matches.

Players should jump at the opportunity but I dont know who would.

One problem I see is that you would either have to get the players to you or travel to meet the players and set up there.

good luck and keep us posted
 
OldHasBeen said:
IF - Lets say, Buddy was to be playing Efren at 7 pm tonight and you knew it was going to be on the internet - LIVE - Would you pay $4.95 to watch?

Pay to watch it on TV yes, on my computer no way. It just sucks too bad over the internet.
 
What If It Was Like This

Sounds Good To Me But What If You Took It One Step Further...lets Say You Have A Tournament With 64 Players...pay The $4.95 Till It Gets To The Final 32...after That You Pay The $4.95 Being On A Computer You Could Select Who You Think Is Going To Win..if Your Right The Next Match You Watch Is Free...kinda Puts A Gamble To It..this Would Work
 
I know this thread is 9+ years old, but I was reading thru some of OldHasBeen''s old threads and stumbled across this. Isn't it amazing that he was predicting this before TAR? And some of the responses about dial up, and people not wanting to pay $4.95 for a match are priceless.
 
I voted no because I wouldn't watch it for free either. I'm restless enough that I can't sit in front of the TV/computer and watch any pool in its entirety.
 
I know this thread is 9+ years old, but I was reading thru some of OldHasBeen''s old threads and stumbled across this. Isn't it amazing that he was predicting this before TAR? And some of the responses about dial up, and people not wanting to pay $4.95 for a match are priceless.

Some random thoughts.

- At $4.95 Tom probably thought he could get 10,000 viewers. You are right - he was a progressive thinker.

- Windows 98 - did somebody really have to bring that up? I'm trying to forget that I finally made my wife scrap Win 98 for Win 7 because I couldn't get anything to work anymore and I had to hear her complaining about it for several months.

- In defense of the naysayers, the bandwidth SUCKED back then. Grainy pictures, freeze up. Only us hardcore viewers would suffer it.

- Chuckling about Ross talking about his 17" monitor. Last night we went to Paul's TV and the 44" televisions look like a 17" monitors compared to the monsters out there.

- Wonder what happened to Captain JR? Did he pass away?
 
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Some random thoughts.

- At $4.95 Tom probably thought he could get 10,000 viewers. You are right - he was a progressive thinker.

- Windows 98 - did somebody really have to bring that up? I'm trying to forget that I finally made my wife scrap Win 98 for Win 7 because I couldn't get anything to work anymore and I had to hear her complaining about it for several months.

- In defense of the naysayers, the bandwidth SUCKED back then. Grainy pictures, freeze up. Only us hardcore viewers would suffer it.

- Chuckling about Ross talking about his 17" monitor. Last night we went to Paul's TV and the 44" televisions look like a 17" monitors compared to the monsters out there.

- Wonder what happened to Captain JR? Did he pass away?

Some of my exact same thoughts, TATE. I did lol about the 17 inch monitor comment. Not sure what happened to Captain JR.
 
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Holy resurrected threads Batman! Interesting though that the idea of pool ppv was being floated. When this thread was originally posted I just joined this message board, and I was watching what little online streaming pool there was in my college apartment. Streaming back then was pretty awful. A lot of it was basically somewhat primitive webcams lined up on a table. Nothing like today. TAR didn't start doing some of the real ppv and streaming stuff until 2007 or 08 and even those matches don't compare in quality to the stuff that Justin produced recently with TAR (and now CSI). Interesting to think about.
 
I voted no. I guess I'm a little old. What happened to the days where advertisers paid the bill. As modern day people, we are being charged for every little thing we do, e ery move we make. Most streaming video is very low quality and not worth a dime. Some is excellent but not all. Plus my internet connection is sometimes very poor. Would there be a way for me to watch at a later time if my connection was too slow? I would pay to see it in person though.
 
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