Pool Too boring to watch for average viewer

Johnnyt

Johnnyt

Burn all jump cues
Silver Member
Pool on TV is too boring…especially 9-ball. Once the average fan gets the idea that a pro with four or five balls left on an open table is going to run out over 90% of the time, they go to the fridge for a beer. You need a game that builds excitement and is even harder for the last few shots to keep him/her watching. Bowling, even though there are a lot of strikes, it gets harder and tenser in the last frames...not easier. Tennis, golf, and any other sport on TV doesn’t get easier at the end. I think they should play something like 8-ball, but you have to bank the 8 at least one-rail or kick it in at least two rails. At least then the last two shots mean something to the average viewer. Johnnyt
 
Well

Johnnyt said:
Pool on TV is too boring…especially 9-ball. Once the average fan gets the idea that a pro with four or five balls left on an open table is going to run out over 90% of the time, they go to the fridge for a beer. You need a game that builds excitement and is even harder for the last few shots to keep him/her watching. Bowling, even though there are a lot of strikes, it gets harder and tenser in the last frames...not easier. Tennis, golf, and any other sport on TV doesn’t get easier at the end. I think they should play something like 8-ball, but you have to bank the 8 at least one-rail or kick it in at least two rails. At least then the last two shots mean something to the average viewer. Johnnyt
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When I started playing 8 ball in the early 60's, you had to make the 1 and 15 balls in the opposite side pockets. It made for some interesting games.
 
I think that most people who watch pool on T.V. are people that play pool. I believe that pool, golf, poker, bowling, along with some others probably are watch by people who can really appreciate what they are watching. I can't watch bowling at all, I find it very boring. But I don't bowl, whereas a good friend of mine likes to bowl and enjoys to watch it. About 2-3 years ago when I played poker quit a bit I could watch that for hours upon hours.

So I don't think that pool will ever really be watched consistently by average viewers, nor will many other sports/activities.

Preston
 
Johnnyt said:
Pool on TV is too boring…especially 9-ball. Once the average fan gets the idea that a pro with four or five balls left on an open table is going to run out over 90% of the time, they go to the fridge for a beer. You need a game that builds excitement and is even harder for the last few shots to keep him/her watching. Bowling, even though there are a lot of strikes, it gets harder and tenser in the last frames...not easier. Tennis, golf, and any other sport on TV doesn’t get easier at the end. I think they should play something like 8-ball, but you have to bank the 8 at least one-rail or kick it in at least two rails. At least then the last two shots mean something to the average viewer. Johnnyt
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I agree, the constant running out in 9 ball or even 8 ball is what’s boring to the non pool fanatic. I also believe the minds that be at ESPN etal underestimate the intelligence of those bored 9 ball watchers. My solution????? One pocket. If one pocket is explained well at the start of the telecast and I am not talking about the intricacies of the game, just the basic, he has that pocket and he has the other. I think the viewer will watch with interest after they see it is not necessarily a run-out game.

Poker is huge now. What turned the corner for poker on TV was when they decided to show the hole cards to the TV audience. This little edge the audience has makes them all feel like they could win. I have seen people watching a Texas Hold-em game scream at the TV, “How can he call that bet? The guy’s got pocket aces”. Feeling superior to the player that called the bet forgetting why he knew and the guy on TV didn’t know.

Pool can do the same thing. Rack 15 balls. Play in rotation. Before the break, a referee draws a pill from a pill bottle for each player in the game. None of the players know what ball they have. Each player can win the game by pocketing their ball. They are paid money for pocketing other players balls also. And finally, show to the TV audience what ball each player has drawn. Like poker, the TV audience knows something the players in the game don’t know, making them feel superior to the players.

JohnnyT is right. 9 ball is boring. Kelly Pool, which is what this game is called, is not. Especially if the TV viewers know what ball belongs to the shooting player and he does not.
 
ALL tournament pool, on all equipment, played to any rules, by all players, is fundamentally boring for the general public in USA and Europe and cannot ever have a big enough or sufficiently interested viewing audience to attract major blue chip sponsors in those areas. Even dyed in the wool pool players rarely stay on at tournaments after they are eliminated to watch the semis or finals. The general seedy and downmarket image is also an obstacle that is unlikely to ever be surmounted.

Other than in Asia, the only prospect pool has of ever having a sizeable tv audience and an interested general public is if it is broadcast in some bastardised manufactured for tv form, perhaps grudge money matches or fake WWF style fixed outcome matches with larger than life characters ham acting their way through it or if closely allied to some form of easily accessed live gambling for the viewer.

Sorry, I love the game in all its forms, but that's the way it is:(
 
hemicudas said:
I agree, the constant running out in 9 ball or even 8 ball is what’s boring to the non pool fanatic. I also believe the minds that be at ESPN etal underestimate the intelligence of those bored 9 ball watchers. My solution????? One pocket. If one pocket is explained well at the start of the telecast and I am not talking about the intricacies of the game, just the basic, he has that pocket and he has the other. I think the viewer will watch with interest after they see it is not necessarily a run-out game.
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Yeah, I agree. I've been digitally recording anything pool related, and when I watch a nine ball match, the first few balls in a rack are interesting, but after they are halfway through the rack, I usually end up fast forwarding through it.

I also agree with your solution. I have only really started getting into pool a few years now, but right away, I enjoyed watching One Pocket more than any other game. It's a great game to watch because you can always learn or see something new. Even the video via computer is interesting to watch.

I think it would take a while to catch on, but once it did, I think the fan base would be very loyal.
 
Just a thought but part of the problem is that we are only being shown the break and run outs. I'd like to see a series of safeties and see how people get out of trouble in a hard game. I know I've seen games like that before but its real uncommon for it to be televised.
 
i have yet to figure out how you people can watch one pocket and not compare it to watching grass grow, or paint dry! i know it's a good action game, and i respect the skill it takes to play at a high level, but it is just soooo boring to me personally. And i'm not just a monkey who likes 9ball, i can play everything. I enjoy all billiard games-9ball, 8ball, i love straight pool and snooker, but no matter how high i bet, one pocket is boring for me to watch or play!
 
I wonder why they never show 8-ball on TV, you'd figure at least the "average" viewer (I think we're really talking about the marginal viewer) would have some experience playing the game. Is it too easy for the pros?
 
i don't think 9-ball is boring. it just needs to be played properly and produced properly. no race to five crap. first to eleven at least. DON'T just show the run outs. show the safety exchanges. GET GOOD COMMENTATORS. who explain what they're doing and why they're doing it. this is key. no bucket pockets. it's embarassing when you see a ball hit the rail halfway down and still go in.

9-ball is the best game because it contains big shots. your average shot in 8-ball appears less impressive because they're so much shorter. people prefer to see a power low right draw shot spinning the ball in and going three rails for position. you don't get that in eight ball. and plus there's more safeties.

i think the problem is it needs good production. which equals money. and you don't get this unless you're a big sport. but how do you become a bigger sport? vicious circle, which makes it difficult. but it is possible.

in the uk anyway i'd say the three key things are pocket size, match length, and explaining the nuances. reason why is 99% of people in the uk dismiss american pool in general because they compare it to snooker. they just think snooker has smaller pockets and big long matches with depth to them, pool doesnt have these things so it's inferior. not true in the slightest, but they don't know that.
 
The reason showing a race to 11 or more in 9-ball or any poolgame for that matter is that it takes up too much time for TV. TV time is too expensvie for it in the US. As far as 1-pocket...same thing...too long a game. 14.1...too long. We know that TV will not produce even a race to 9 in 9-ball now as it is. I would love to see some good 14.1 matches, but they won't air them or they will chop them up so bad to fit an hour they would be horrible.

I think the only chance to see anything over an hour match would be in two or more segments...and that would have to be two reconizable players. Johnnyt
 
between 8 and 9 ball I'd say 9's definitely the better choice for TV. I watched some tournament 8 ball and there was a lot of head scratching followed by a pretty boring runout almost every time (tho as a player I could appreciate some of the nice stuff people did).

I still would like to see 8 ball on the tube though because everyday players know it better than anything else, and they can see that the game they play every day with their buddies can be run out almost every time if you can play well.

I gotta respectfully disagree with the 1 pocket idea. Even if people are smart enough to figure out what's going on, we're talking a game where 90 percent of the shots are basically safeties. God help the audience if it all goes uptable. I've seen 1p enthusiasts agree to reset games that have turned into an uptable snoozer.

I personally love watching 1p more than 8 or 9 but even then, I don't understand everything... the accustats commentator will say 'well this one's obvious, you just roll on the four' .. and I'm like "shit, it is? I didn't see it". That's from someone who's at least heard of it and understands it a little and has tried it. The general public will be like "uhhh ok, I've watched 15 minutes and so far no balls went down. These guys must suck."
 
I think they should do something like a high-stakes pool reality show... show the gambling aspect of pool, I think that might be what the most viewers who would be attracted to pool would want to see.
And play on tight pockets.

Let me tell you, when IPT was out - I was working for a design firm, two of my co-workers, who knew I played pool, came up to me and started talking to me about it, asking if I've ever seen it... They said they loved it... I asked them why they liked this, and didn't like watching the ESPN version of pool - they both said the same thing "These guys are playing for like a million dollars!.. and they miss shots, on ESPN they make everything, it's borning, they show you people missing shots, they don't cut it out"... I don't think they realised that these players were playing on much tighter pockets, but they loved the fact that they missed.

People watch "Deal or No Deal" because the person on TV can win $1,000,000!!!.... Who wants to watch a 2 day tournament where first place is a few grand? That's like the minimum you can win in the first 5 minutes of deal or no deal.

My thought is, people dream of having the oppertunity to be rich in a matter of minutes - even if it's not remotely plausable (like your odds of getting on Who Wants to be a Millionare). They want to SEE people get rich, and they want to see people loose an oppertunity to get rich too.
That's why poker is so famous... The odds of someone winning a major poker tournament are crazy - and most of the people who watch it on TV don't even play poker outside of their house - but they love being wrapped in the fantasy while it's happening on TV...

You want pool to be sucessful, show the gambling - and have the tournaments pay out $2 mil..... not that it is as easy done as said.
 
Snapshot9 said:
When I started playing 8 ball in the early 60's, you had to make the 1 and 15 balls in the opposite side pockets. It made for some interesting games.
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I was told that game is called Alabama 8-Ball (1-Ball in the Right Side & the 15-Ball in the Left Side). Add the requirement of Last Pocket & you have some possibilities of a good safety game.

As for any game getting boring to the audience, what about 3 classes of team players (4-6 Speed, 7-8 Speed & the 9-Pro speed) playing the same game ($1000 a game in a race to 7 match), with the backers & players wearing mics, so the background has some pizzazz.

One week it's 9 Ball, next it's 8-Ball, then it's One-Pocket , then Snooker & so on. A dozen Round Robin Teams would add to the fun.
 
Gimmicks Sell.............

Gimmicks sell. The Beatles music was no better than the, Dave Clark Five’s. I know, who? No, the, Who, came much later. Point is, The Beatles, had a gimmick, the hair.

Poker’s gimmick was showing the TV viewer the hold cards. That same gimmick can be used to save pool. When the viewer knows what ball is a winner and the players don’t know, IT WILL SELL, to people not even interested in pool on TV. Example: The player shooting has the 6 ball to win but he has a tough position shot on the 7 ball. The viewer knows he doesn’t need to play that position shot but he pockets the 6 and scratches, trying to go three rails to get on the 7 ball. He is hot and the TV viewer sighs,,,,,,,,,, awwwwwwwww, if he only knew he could have cinched the 6 ball for the win.
 
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although showing one pocket seems like a good idea i dont think it would ever go over because in one pocket there is alot of strategy involved {defense} that the average viewer would not comprehend.it would be great for us who love the game though.
 
rbgarmon said:
although showing one pocket seems like a good idea i dont think it would ever go over because in one pocket there is alot of strategy involved {defense} that the average viewer would not comprehend.it would be great for us who love the game though.
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No, showing one pocket doesn’t sound like a good idea for TV for the reasons you mention, rbgarmon.

99% of the people you would have asked in 1963, if a band grew their hair out long, then put a bowl over their head and cut around the bowl, would the world fall in love with this idea would have said, Hell No. It don’t matter how good the music is.

One pocket has a, gimmick, too. A lady walks by the TV, she watches a guy down over a ball straight in the corner pocket. She thinks to herself, BORING. Then she sees the guy miss the shot so badly that the ball goes into the opposite corner pocket. She is wondering why the guy is still shooting, after all, he lucked the ball in. She watches a little more. Curiosity has sunk in. Yea, that’s right, this lady plays CHESS.

Like chess, one pocket makes you think. People watching TV like to feel smarter. They want to learn something new. Especially if it makes them think. I know I am in the 1% on this one but you tell me,,,,,,,,,,,has 8 ball or 9 ball captured the inquisitiveness of the TV viewing public yet? I say,,, make um think. They are smarter than you 99%ers think they are.
 
jimmy-leggs said:
If pool is to be in popular in anyway on T.V.,it has to be 8 BALL.
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How did that work with all the big cash the IPT put in, Jimmy? Nothing personal whatsoever guy but it has been tried with the top players in history, with huge cash involved and it failed.

It has to be a new gimmick game or one pocket. Everything else has been tried.
 
the only thing i can figure out is there is just not enough of us lovers of the game out there.i just wonder what kind of ratings espn receives when they do show it.ive noticed many times they put it up against something that will receive major ratings such as monday night football.never understood that one either.
 
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