Watching Pool on TV vs on the Internet

Ghosst

Ghosst

Broom Handle Mafia
Silver Member
More of a question of preference than, "what's good for the game."

If pool never again appears on a television set I don't think I'd notice to be honest. I don't actually own a TV. I have computers, and two are connected to projectors. Rarely if ever do I even turn on a set-top box that would even pick up the cable. I think it's a cord I just haven't cut yet. I no longer even have a landline phone.

It's not about technology, I'm just laying that out so it's not a discussion.

If I think of pool on TV, the only things that come to mind are the Mosconi Cup, Snooker, and reaching very far back, the Wide World of Sports.

I find the clinical feel of a television production to be a little stifling, aside from snooker. When I lived in England that was very much how it appeared even when I was sitting in the crowd rather than on the other side of the screen. But 9-ball in the Mosconi Cup? It's a little too clean for what pool is.

I like seeing videos on YouTube, different camera angles, seeing the venue itself, hearing the crowd in the background. It's not a conference room with stands in it, it's a real poolhall. It makes me watch, it makes me want to visit that place. If it's winter here and I can see people in shorts it reminds summer will come around again.

The commentary is of course another topic, but even on SkySports I find the color to be a little lacking compared to some other sports.

What about you, which would you rather see? I like the dark poolrooms with glimpses of other players in the background so I'd rather see it on the internet.
 
Ghosst said:
More of a question of preference than, "what's good for the game."

If pool never again appears on a television set I don't think I'd notice to be honest. I don't actually own a TV. I have computers, and two are connected to projectors. Rarely if ever do I even turn on a set-top box that would even pick up the cable. I think it's a cord I just haven't cut yet. I no longer even have a landline phone.

It's not about technology, I'm just laying that out so it's not a discussion.

If I think of pool on TV, the only things that come to mind are the Mosconi Cup, Snooker, and reaching very far back, the Wide World of Sports.

I find the clinical feel of a television production to be a little stifling, aside from snooker. When I lived in England that was very much how it appeared even when I was sitting in the crowd rather than on the other side of the screen. But 9-ball in the Mosconi Cup? It's a little too clean for what pool is.

I like seeing videos on YouTube, different camera angles, seeing the venue itself, hearing the crowd in the background. It's not a conference room with stands in it, it's a real poolhall. It makes me watch, it makes me want to visit that place. If it's winter here and I can see people in shorts it reminds summer will come around again.

The commentary is of course another topic, but even on SkySports I find the color to be a little lacking compared to some other sports.

What about you, which would you rather see? I like the dark poolrooms with glimpses of other players in the background so I'd rather see it on the internet.
Click to expand...

Thanx, Ghosst....you just made me more satisfied with streaming.
I’d like to see it grow and get more professional.....but keeping it out of the hands of the
people that give us game shows with grown people jumping up and down like pre-schoolers
could be a good thing.......pool for pool players
 
After watching cornhole, hot dog eating contests, and
Running on tv. I’m going to choose internet streams.
I don’t want our beautiful game associated with that mess.
 
There is no "vs" between TV and internet. I haven't had cable TV for almost 15 years, and I watch plenty of "TV." It's streamed over the internet. When I watch a PPV pool match I almost always send it to my TV. Even the Matchroom events, I watch them via the internet on my TV.

But I much prefer to watch a well-produced match than a sh!tty dark shaky cam.
 
As a fan, there certainly are some benefits to streaming. Pool gets presented in a way that appeals to fans. I love Kozooms ability to stream multiple tables, it's easy to follow your favourite player. It also always bugged me when I'd see pool on TV and you would see the brackets. Last 16 race to 11, QF race to 11, SF Race to 7 or 5. What? I felt like this devalued the tournament final. We also now have a embarrassment of riches when it comes to material to watch. I remember scouring the schedule looking for some type of pool to watch. Anything. Now I can watch pool all day every day for a year and still not get through everything online.

But from the perspective of growing the game. If pool doesn't get back on to tv, it will continue to shrink. Streamed tournaments are advertised to pool players and it is really only hardcore fans that watch and know about them. The benefit of ESPN and other networks is that it can reach an audience that wouldn't normally search for it. I always saw an uptick in pool hall patronage during the broadcasting of the World Pool Championships during the Matchroom days because Sportsnet would play it during primetime. Those highlight packages were spectacular. I know fans would rather see a full match, but showing highlights from 4 matches in 2 hours was a great way to hold peoples attention.

Keeping pool in the public eye is even more important as I see fewer bars and as a result fewer bar tables outside of the pool hall. Most of the pool tables that I am aware of are in pool halls these days. The benefit of the bar table is that people can happen across a game of pool during a night out as opposed to having to make a decision to play pool. I feel like pool these days relies on it's participants to grow the game since there aren't many avenues to reach out to the general public anymore. And I fear looking at streaming/Broadcasting as an either or thing contributes to this.
 
The thing that stands out the most to me is the fact that the real beauty of the game still really hasn't been shown on TV. With HD I thought someone would really step up the production and capture some of the more beautiful aspects of the game, like when contrasting colored balls collide or capturing dust exploding off the tip after the break. With the majority of pool moving to streaming the production value has sort of gone backwards.
 
I have a 70 inch TV (Samsung) and that's where I watch all of my pool which I get from YouTube streamed over to my TV via my Bluetooth DVD player. Isn't that how everybody does it?
 
I don't care HOW I watch pool, but the fact is that if pool is on TV it has some value to the general public. If it's an inside thing among a small community, it is still a niche sport without much chance for a real lasting pro national tour with season bonuses ever again.

So while it does not bother me that I can't watch the regular Sunday WPBA or PBT matches on ESPN, it does bother me that they are no longer on since that shows lack of interest and value in our sport.

I think the best matches with commentary has been from AccuStats with Grady, Buddy, and the rest, I'd be happy with that. The webcam or cell phone videos we get at times are eh. I have seen the shots before, what I want to hear is how they shot it form the commentators and maybe what else may be an option and why. Also hearing the side stories they tend to get into is great. TAR was very good with commentary and their pre-match hour long interview and shooting sessions were also equally good.
 
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Pool and streaming are designed for each other.

It is a miracle that we can watch so many events. Just think back 15 years...It's like night and day.



Jeff Livingston
 
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