Some suggestions on making pool more interesting for t.v.

mnorwood

mnorwood

Moon
Silver Member
1. Make the table at least 10 feet long if not 12feet long.
2. Four inch pockets.
3. The cloth should be extremely slow.
People get bored of watching pros run rack after rack without any missing. The game looks too easy to the average joe. Bigger tables give people more playing surface to look at. This is one reason why I think snooker makes for better t.v.

3. 8 ball should be the game of pros.
People can identify with an 8ball style game, its what most people know.

4. The balls should be bright contrasting colors that can be seen easily on the overhead camera angle. Stripes and solids are too hard to differentiate for people to see the patterns.

5. Make it a point based rotational game. You lag for the break and you get 1 point for each ball you pocket in your ball grouping and 2 points for the black. The player who pockets the black gets the break. If you bank the ball you get double the points for that ball. Matches run until you hit say 50 or 60 points, whatever makes for about an hours worth of play.

Just some thoughts. What say you???
 
mnorwood said:
1. Make the table at least 10 feet long if not 12feet long.

This is unrealistic...tables are getting smaller, not larger, and if you want the "masses" to tune in, it should be on the same equipment they are likely to play on...jmo

2. Four inch pockets.

Tight pockets are already 4.5"...a 1/2" isn't going to make a big difference, with a pro player.

3. The cloth should be extremely slow.
People get bored of watching pros run rack after rack without any missing. The game looks too easy to the average joe. Bigger tables give people more playing surface to look at. This is one reason why I think snooker makes for better t.v.

Huh?:confused: Do you get to watch pro players live, in a tournament, very often? On tv they already edit out the misses, and skip games, to conform to time frames. In real life, the pros do NOT run out all the time (not even close). That's why Accu-Stats are great...you get to see the WHOLE match...misses and all!

3. 8 ball should be the game of pros.
People can identify with an 8ball style game, its what most people know.

Agreement here...but you already have #3...see above! :D

4. The balls should be bright contrasting colors that can be seen easily on the overhead camera angle. Stripes and solids are too hard to differentiate for people to see the patterns.

More agreement here. The WPBA used to use a c.g. 'overlay', on the overhead shots, that made the balls big enough to see what was what. I thought that was good.

5. Make it a point based rotational game. You lag for the break and you get 1 point for each ball you pocket in your ball grouping and 2 points for the black. The player who pockets the black gets the break. If you bank the ball you get double the points for that ball. Matches run until you hit say 50 or 60 points, whatever makes for about an hours worth of play.

Interesting thought! That's probably too high a number, for the time frame. Maybe 30-35 is more realistic.

Just some thoughts. What say you???
Click to expand...

These are just my opinions. We'll see what others have to say!:D

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
 
sounds similar to snooker. i think if they made snooker on tv more casual it could work, but not 9ball.
 
Pool has never been appealing on television (and never will). 3-ball maybe because it's fast and simple and anyone can follow that without having the commontators constintly explaining each and every shot as if pool is only for professionals, "so don't try this at home kids.." commentary can be cut down to a minimum.

The only people who watch pool on TV are the ones that play pool. And even they would rather play than watch. Only a LIVE finals would be fun to watch.....
 
I think I would have to go with the majority of what Scott said on this one. To appeal to the masses, you need to play on what the mass plays on....and that would be bar tables. I would like to see more 8-ball matches. 4.5" pockets is well enough. I'm on the fence about the slower cloth. I really don't think that would make much difference for the viewers at home.
 
I wouldn't watch it if it were played on bar tables. I think JustPlay is right about only pool players watch pool on TV anyway, and if they had the chance they would rather go to the hall and play and watch it later on DVR. As it is now, the majority of pool matches I watch in on the internet. I don't even know when it comes on TV in my area. With it being on the internet, I can watch it almost anytime, anywhere on my laptop. In bed, on the toilet, no matter. I rarely catch it on the big screen TV anymore.
 
JustPlay said:
Pool has never been appealing on television (and never will). 3-ball maybe because it's fast and simple and anyone can follow that without having the commontators constintly explaining each and every shot as if pool is only for professionals, "so don't try this at home kids.." commentary can be cut down to a minimum.

The only people who watch pool on TV are the ones that play pool. And even they would rather play than watch. Only a LIVE finals would be fun to watch.....
Click to expand...
Live action in pool finals would only be appealing if we could somehow get the $$$ WAY up there. Pool is competing with Poker, and their huge, well funded events. Even Poker's viewership is slipping.

Dick
 
Last edited:
Could we change the game to make it more demanding. Rotation 8 ball or one sided 8 ball. Nine ball where the cue ball must contact at least 1 or 2 rails after each shot. Require one or more banks per game. Changes that force more dramatic shot making or position play and add suspense to each game and reduce the boredom factor.
 
Okay here's what we do. Instead of two players we make it 22 like maybe 2 teams of 11. Since the table and balls are so small and hard to see lets just get rid of all of the balls instead of one and enlarge to playing surface to make it a giant grass field. And instead of hitting the balls into the pockets you can throw or run the ball into one of the big "pockets" or grassy areas on each end of the field. People might be more interested in this new game due to the fact that your opponent can play defense while you're shooting and even make physical contact to keep you from "pocketing" the ball. Also, this game might be physically more demanding so a 60 minute time limit might be proposed. Anyone have any other thoughts? Saftey issues might be addressed with helmets and pads maybe.
 
Have a true AMATEUR National Championship. Have the "National Champions" from each LEAGUE compete in a tournament style format, with the championship matches on TV (men's/women's singles, scotch, team, seniors, etc....APA, BCA, VNEA, CSA, TAP, etc...any league with over 1,000 members playing for the "real" championships!). I think TV viewers would connect with it and it would also promote leagues and maybe even get more folks playing pool!
:p
 
Have more "Internet Death Match" on TV. Seriously, watching OMGWTF and Cubc play was very entertaining. I have the file saved on my hard drive and watch it every one and then.
 
mini rant

I don't think slow rag cloth is the answer. If it is, we might as well make that nap cloth, dead rails, huge pockets, loud music in the background, beer stains and peanut shells on the cloth, dirty balls, big heavy cue ball, etc etc.

OK, I can understand the 8-ball angle, but let's not get carried away. Should Nascar switch to Ford Rangers just because most Americans don't drive sports cars? (I can't believe I just used a Nascar analogy. :o)

IMO, the most annoying thing about the IPT besides the players not getting paid in a timely manner was the fact that they used nap cloth. Pool tables should be high performance equipment. The game can be made more challenging in other ways, if necessary.

/mini rant
 
Just something to think on: In a podcast with TAR Joe Rogan mentioned that Fertitta brothers (owners of UFC) were something like $44 MILLION in the hole before the reality show The Ultimate Fighter turned the tide and got non-MMA fans interested in the sport. The result of that shows success has spawned a MMA culture that is hot and non-hardcore fans want to be involved in. Just look around at the Affliction and Tap Out shirts along with Xyience. A total off shoot of MMA popularity whose success would never have happened without the reality show IMO.

Keep in mind that the production costs for a TV event are pretty much the same be it MMA or Pool or whatever. The crew just films what they are told. Price is similar. So the cost of production would be close to what they paid for a similar level of production value.

I don't see any white knights riding in with that kind of dough plus pool is a long format game like golf or a Nascar race. Anything you do to get a match under 45 minutes just butchers it. The amount of air time required to do it right on traditional TV is prohibitive IMO.

A reality show is the best bet and has been covered numerous times here. If they can make one about Alton Brown riding around on motorcycles eating at roadside dives I gotta believe a show following Alex around would get people interested. All you need is money, knowledge, an in, a bunch of luck and the odds are still stacked against it. I think it will happen someday but it seems that the TV industry is amazingly good at butchering ideas and making them too dumb to work....Pool Sharks anyone?

Tournaments will never do it either. They havent worked in the past and they won't work in the future. To make something work for the masses it must be simple and straight forward....drama, conflict, good guys and bad guys. Why do you think there 4 or 5 Law and Order series and 3 CSI's ...the formula works. The UFC or Boxing model with stair stepped ranks, Champions and Contenders would work. If someone could finance it and get it produced and aired. I am not holding my breath.
 
Since I work in TV (Work for an ABC Affiliate) I'll give you my opinion from the angle of network television. Dark rooms, low light, and static shots don't make for good TV period. I don't really think it is the action on the pool table, but the non action on the entire TV screen. There is a reason why that even on a simple news cast they change the camera shots often. It just gets boring watching basically the same shots and angles on TV.
 
I am not invalidating anyones opinion. Just making a comment. Every popular sport has evolved with the times. Pro sports like football and basketball change the rules and the equipment all the time in an effort to enhance the game. Why shouldn't pool do the same thing in the interest of staying alive? All I know is the game can not remain the same and survive. What's wrong with trying new things?
 
true, experimenting with new ideas is good...

mnorwood said:
I am not invalidating anyones opinion. Just making a comment. Every popular sport has evolved with the times. Pro sports like football and basketball change the rules and the equipment all the time in an effort to enhance the game. Why shouldn't pool do the same thing in the interest of staying alive? All I know is the game can not remain the same and survive. What's wrong with trying new things?
Click to expand...

In the interest of trying new things, one idea I thought of once was to make 8-ball more challenging for pros as follows: It seems like a 9-foot table make it too easy for a pro to break and run out in 8-ball... so how about adding a 6th row of balls.... 10 solids, 10 stripes. Perhaps that could combine the clusters of a bar table with the longer shots of a 9 foot table. :)

I'd much rather see that than a regular 8-ball game on nap cloth. JMHO, and I have no idea how it would really play out.
 
Just to expand on something that someone said earlier about Nascar. If we're talking in terms of playing a game that people are most familar with I think Nascar is actually a really good comparison. First of all the cars aren't sports cars they are Fords, Chevys and Dodges. Yes they are highly modified racecars, but the basic engines are made by those manufacturers. People love to identify with their brand Ford vs. Chevy etc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top