When we were doing ESPN tournaments there were 60,000,000+ in their "universe," and now there's 110,000,000+
For sports TV will always rule because of the social aspect. Sports-bars, bars, cafes and other businesses will always gather large crowds for sporting events.
Obviously you can now attach all other forms of media to the TV broadcasts synergistically. The marketing that can be done today is amazing, however, TV is and will always be the catalyst. 'The Game is the Teacher'
That's a great point, CJ. Espn alone has ballooned into Espn, Espn2, Espn classic, espn news, and now owned by Disney. The viewer numbers of today dwarf the numbers of the early nineties as you have posted.
And just think of all the content they need to fill those time lines. They carry the national spelling bee on espn now! So a resurgence in pool is due.
On a side note, about two weeks ago, espn classic had a "black widow marathon" and aired twenty four hours of billiards straight featuring Jeannette Lee from 1996 to present.
So that proves your point right there, espn still believes billiards has an audience, AND that the names and characters live longer than the tournament. So build up the names and personalities and people will show up to watch the tournaments.
The future looks bright.