Pool is dying as is, why make it worse by turning it private?

[kling&allen]

The problem with pool is not the size of the viewing audience they have, but the size of the viewing audience they don't have. Think of an average Sunday at the Masters or any Sunday with the NFL. In order to financially sustain any endeavor, you've got to have REAL big numbers. A couple of hundred thousand here and a couple of hundred thousand there just aren't enough. It takes millions!

Why can't Big Pool acquire the kind of sponsors that one Nascar team can? Why doesn't Big Pool attract glamorous spokesmen? One of the many problems with Big Pool is that it's just not very pretty. Do you want to watch the sun-tanned gladiators on the fairways and greens of Pebble Beach, or a dark room full of fat guys with tattoos? If you are an upwardly mobile family, do you want your kids playing on the golf team at Wake Forest, or downstairs at Nick's Pool and Pizza?

The investors and sponsors of this world like Pretty People out in the Sun. That's where the money is.

So, what's the solution? How do we change a dark, often foreboding image that has had a hundred years to manifest and nurture itself? I don't know the answer to that. I just know that what we have now isn't working. But Big Pool knows that, too. They're not dumb. They're just like the rest of us poor suckers, trying to scratch out a living in a cold, hard world. Sadly, it's just a very small world. Just very small.

Pool hasn't been a "top" sport since the invention of television for all the reasons you mention. But the good news is that it should be able to survive well enough as a niche sport as it has a global following (Europe, China, and US) with a dedicated but small core customer base.

 

[Fatboy]

I think the point is, it's not "free" to those viewers. Sky Sports is raking in $3-$5 per subscriber across all outlets; whether that subscriber watches or not. That equates to millions of dollars in monthly revenue not to mention the ad revenue they generate. If channels like Sky Sports went 100% PPV, "subscribers" would drop to more realistic "viewership" numbers and the cost of entry for those viewers would be $20-$30 a month. As subscribers drop, advertisers will not pay as much as they did for time slots, hence the increased monthly fee. The pay TV space is a racket. It's not about viewership, it's about how many subscribers a given TV platform has that have access to the channel.

What TV space is free anymore? I’m not sure that exists.

Best
Fatboy <———doesn’t watch TV

 

[Boxcar]

Pool hasn't been a "top" sport since the invention of television for all the reasons you mention. But the good news is that it should be able to survive well enough as a niche sport as it has a global following (Europe, China, and US) with a dedicated but small core customer base.

And that is Pool's true calling. To be a peaceful, pleasant pastime for millions of work-a-day folks like us is a noble calling. Pool is "local" and "daily." It's a bunch of old and new friends competing for beers and bragging rights. The real success of pool is found when you run out in front of your best buds. For every Shane or Mika or Fats or Willie, I can show you a thousand Fran Tarkentons. It's OK for pool to be small. The energy we spend agonizing over pool may be better spent genuinely supporting our home rooms and trying to make them better and cleaner and more attractive to the next generation. Pool is not dying, we are. Plant a tree.

 

[SEB]

What the hell is this guy talking about????

pool isn’t dying. It’s the best it’s been in my adult life.

 

[Straightpool_99]

Another thread to remind me why I play golf and stopped hanging with pool players. Your all cheap winey assholes Lol you want everyone to support the game except your cheap ass

you think only 150 people are tuning into to watch the mosconi cup? Seriously? Lol we have that many people and more watching in my little town.

Pool players are a strange breed. No matter how much money they have (which usually isn't a whole lot, but..), they act like they are completely broke to the point of being destitute and desperate, with no more pride to protect. If you put out a nice free beverage in a pool room (what lunatic would do that I wonder?), in 30 minutes the following would happen: First, all of it would be gone, even if only 3 people were actually there. All the cups would be stolen and whatever vessel held the beverage would be broken or soiled in some unspeakable way. And you'd have 3 complaints to the management that the beverage wasn't cold or tasty enough.

They are everything an advertiser would not want to advertise to or use for advertisement purposes:
Broke (or cheap)
Complainy
Unattractive (usually)
Unreliable or dishonest

If I had a clothing brand, I'd pay pool players not to wear it. And I love the game and have watched so much Accu-stats, at one time it was hard to find something I hadn't allready watched.

 

[Boxcar]

Pool players are a strange breed. No matter how much money they have (which usually isn't a whole lot, but..), they act like they are completely broke to the point of being destitute and desperate, with no more pride to protect. If you put out a nice free beverage in a pool room (what lunatic would do that I wonder?), in 30 minutes the following would happen: First, all of it would be gone, even if only 3 people were actually there. All the cups would be stolen and whatever vessel held the beverage would be broken or soiled in some unspeakable way. And you'd have 3 complaints to the management that the beverage wasn't cold or tasty enough.

They are everything an advertiser would not want to advertise to or use for advertisement purposes:
Broke (or cheap)
Complainy
Unattractive (usually)
Unreliable or dishonest

If I had a clothing brand, I'd pay pool players not to wear it. And I love the game and have watched so much Accu-stats, at one time it was hard to find something I hadn't allready watched.

What Straightpool said! In a universe of split second click bait, pool isn't even in the game.

In The Modern World, image is everything.

 

[WardS]

First of all the worst thing pool did was alternating breaks. The second worse thing pool did was alternating breaks. The third worse thing pool did....

You get the idea. People love to see 10 packs. NHL did the same thing with trying to even out the league...people love dynasty's and underdogs...not an even field where anybody can win at any time. Pool is turning into tennis where all you have to do is hold your serve..boring.

With the breaks...if someone runs the set on you then you get one turn to do the same to force a tie break. The tie breaker should be a boxing match. You're welcome.

I watched the international streams and I didn’t see a 4 pack, who is running these 10 packs.

 

[Racky BallBoa]

I appreciate the opportunity to choose a PPV service to view top ranked pool players competing against each other because I get to see the players close-up and at different camera angles along with expert commentary. My only complaint is that some PPV services lack quality, like the audio and video are way out of sync, or the commentators focus on talking about anything and everything except the pool match in-progress. I like to see unique "characters" in pool rooms and in videos because thet are entertaining and they tend to fully express themselves. Some players are introverted and quiet and polite and prefer to just tend to business on the pool table and that's ok but less entertaining. I have to say that there are lot more pool leagues, pool tournaments, and pool videos today than 50 years ago, so I think pool is alive and well and growing.

 

[wrldpro]

Plenty of drama for sure. Emotions are very high.

 

[3kushn]

All us billiard fans would certainly like to have Live access to all the tournaments at N/C. There's no doubt IMO that's a fact.
If the demand were large enough to stream for free, then it would happen. Advertisers would gladly invest. Unfortunately that's not the case.

There's other games and personal interests of others that are only available via PPV. If every game and interest were required to broadcast their events for "free", your cable bill or whatever you use, would increase to cover the cost. You'll then be paying for the National Horseshoe Pitching qualifiers, or Cow Chip Tossing Nationals. That's how it works.

Note: I'm not saying the OP is suggesting a law, but is suggesting the Streamers needs to donate their time and money. Of course the Host needs to do the same thing.. What's missing is .. If that's required, then we end up with nothing. Who would do that?

The OP is IMO putting the cart before the horse.

Going to stop here. This "Save Pool" thing has been run and run and run through the grinder so so many times.

Gar??

 

[garczar]

All us billiard fans would certainly like to have Live access to all the tournaments at N/C. There's no doubt IMO that's a fact.
If the demand were large enough to stream for free, then it would happen. Advertisers would gladly invest. Unfortunately that's not the case.

There's other games and personal interests of others that are only available via PPV. If every game and interest were required to broadcast their events for "free", your cable bill or whatever you use, would increase to cover the cost. You'll then be paying for the National Horseshoe Pitching qualifiers, or Cow Chip Tossing Nationals. That's how it works.

Note: I'm not saying the OP is suggesting a law, but is suggesting the Streamers needs to donate their time and money. Of course the Host needs to do the same thing.. What's missing is .. If that's required, then we end up with nothing. Who would do that?

The OP is IMO putting the cart before the horse.

Going to stop here. This "Save Pool" thing has been run and run and run through the grinder so so many times.

Gar??

I agree with you. Pool for the forseeable future is going to be a pay-2-watch deal of some sort. Sad its getting outrun by pickleball and cornhole but it is what it is. Just be glad that pro pool is making somewhat of a comeback and there's good pool to sweat. Cheap too.

 

[white1]

And that is Pool's true calling. To be a peaceful, pleasant pastime for millions of work-a-day folks like us is a noble calling. Pool is "local" and "daily." It's a bunch of old and new friends competing for beers and bragging rights. The real success of pool is found when you run out in front of your best buds. For every Shane or Mika or Fats or Willie, I can show you a thousand Fran Tarkentons. It's OK for pool to be small. The energy we spend agonizing over pool may be better spent genuinely supporting our home rooms and trying to make them better and cleaner and more attractive to the next generation. Pool is not dying, we are. Plant a tree.

so so true. Just play.

 

[garczar]

And that is Pool's true calling. To be a peaceful, pleasant pastime for millions of work-a-day folks like us is a noble calling. Pool is "local" and "daily." It's a bunch of old and new friends competing for beers and bragging rights. The real success of pool is found when you run out in front of your best buds. For every Shane or Mika or Fats or Willie, I can show you a thousand Fran Tarkentons. It's OK for pool to be small. The energy we spend agonizing over pool may be better spent genuinely supporting our home rooms and trying to make them better and cleaner and more attractive to the next generation. Pool is not dying, we are. Plant a tree.

Post of the Month worthy stuff right there. Well said brother. Local-n-daily. Fkn'A.

 

[Boxcar]

Post of the Month worthy stuff right there. Well said brother. Local-n-daily. Fkn'A.

Thank you.

Boxcar

 

[thenaturalpoolplayer]

I watched the international streams and I didn’t see a 4 pack, who is running these 10 packs.

Soft breaking and pattern racking.