I think equal offense scenarios are fun to play but as spectator sports it would be like watching batting practice.
The tete a tete in pool is above the heads of casual viewers and players. Football is easy to understand, baseball, golf, etc...The thing is they are all competing against people. Pool is a great game against people but it's not that exciting to watch when one player can take over the game and keep the other player powerless.
The question is: Do you want to entertain current fans or build a bigger fan base? If you want to entertain current fans then stay true to the game. If you want to build a new fan base then nothing is off-limits, but don't count on pool players to support you as fans.
I like pool and wish it were on tv more often. But I'm not dedicated to it. Not all games are built for mass spectator appeal. If it changes, I'm ok with that, because in the end all changes in everything are good (once they're over with).
But I do have an opinion. More than one actually, but I'll stick with one for now. I think the game of pool, for tv at least, could borrow a page from the trick shot format - shot challenges, race to 10, whatever, where one player sets up a shot, maybe even one requiring position for the next shot (which he must make to win or break even on that challenge). No props on the table, just one guy explaining a his shot, then shooting it, maybe with two or even three chances per challenge, then turning the table over to his opponent. This would not be trick shot shooting, they would be actual shots, banks and so forth, many requiring positions. These type events would never replace pool, and I don't think they should, but I noticed that while I'm not in love with the televised trick shot competitions, I do like the idea of borrowing a page from their book with top players challenging each other to make certain shots.
Other than that I have nothing to add because the truth is that if you like something, you should be content with that alone, and if it becomes popular that's good, and if it doesn't, that's just too bad, that's the way I look at it.
TJ