What must happen for IPT to stay?

Jaden said:
I'm stating the obvious. I know I don't have any marketing credibility, although it's distinctly possible and even plausible that I could put something together that pool fans would enjoy more.

I'm just stating that you or I don't have the credibility to say that what he's doing isn;t going to work, and I get tired of hearing people on here constantly bashing his methods without giving them a chance and without any marketing credibility of their own. I am not nor will I say that what he's doing will elevate pool to a new level, but I am saying that what he's doing has a much better chance than what's been done thus far and I for one am willing to let it play out and see just what comes of it and in the mean time, I'll work on my eightball game, (something that I haven't done for a while)
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I like what he is doing. I like the idea of buying time and putting the tournaments on TV. You are not at the mercy of other people you can do it the way you want. You can sell your own advertising to cover the costs and even make a profit, sell your own products as well. Cable opens the door to an endless array of ideas when it is done this way. I hope he does it well and doesn't just prostitute the players and shows some worth while content that people will like to watch. I am just skeptical as to what he will actually put on and how it will be done. As far as you or I being qualified to say what is good and what is bad, we are his audience and will determine in the end how successful it is, not him. I guess I just can't get past him and what kind of person he is. That is what I find strange with some of the posters. Linda Carter is ready to have his baby and others are so far up his ass they will never again see daylight.
 
Rude Dog said:
Isn't that what this whole thing is about, more money? What is the problem with players making money? When was the last time the HOF players made $30k for showing up? Or any player making $6,200 for losing? What is your real problem MacGuy? Plenty of people are excited about this, and some aren't, including you. But what's the problem? Did you purchase a book from K.T. and not happy with it? I've purchased plenty of books that I wasn't happy with the end result but the Author of those books never repaid me or put millions of dollars into a game that I love to play. I just don't understand all of the negativity over this tour? It is what the pool playing community wanted for the players, MORE MONEY! If someone else had stepped up to the plate and did what K.T. has done, would that make it any better for those that don't like it the way it is right now? What is it that you and the others want from a tour? Sanctioning? I just don't get it, I guess. There must be something going on that the rest of us don't know about. BlackJack knows, but I haven't called him yet. His opinions are respectable because he does have past knowledge about the ins and outs of tours and what makes them click, and for some reason, he sees this as a failure too. I'm just an outsider looking in and seeing good things happen right now for the players. If there's more to it than that, please explain. Peace, John.
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I guess there is a manipulative nature to everything he does and I don't trust or like the guy to start with. I am trying to be honest. however it comes across. I should add, I have pool related business interests that represents about 20% of my annual income, so it is in my best interest for this to be successful. That doesn't prevent me from being honest though. That's all I can do.
 
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I was curious about the stink associated with this guy.
I really don't think the world of pool needs a sleazy less than ethical snake oil salesman to be involved in our industry....I googled his name and it turned all kinds of no-good...Do we really need him or no?
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macguy said:
With all due respect, if any of those people you mentioned who are so buddy buddy with him lent their names and support to the IPT it would go a long way to get it attention, far more so then KT himself could ever do. Was Donald Trump there? After all he owes all his success to KT and should have shown up? I guess he couldn't make it. Were there any celebrities there? Maybe next time.
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Yeah there were celebrities there.Johnny Damon from the Boston red sox for one.I guess by not being there you can't appreciate what it was like.I thought it was the most awesome group of players ever assembled under one roof.I was pessimistic about KT also but the man put on some show.There were camera men for every match plus a boom camera and one in the center of each table.The viewing will be great.This was only the second event for the IPT and the pool world is all a buzz with whats going on.This creates talk about the sport that reaches the non players also.I had my wife with me who does not play and she was so excited after watching the matches.Now she wants to start playing after seeing this, even though we have had our own table for 2 years.I think KT knows what he is doing even though he does seem a little shady in spite of the $1.000 suit.I just hope this gives pool the shot in the arm that it deserves.
 
bobroberts said:
Yeah there were celebrities there.Johnny Damon from the Boston red sox for one.I guess by not being there you can't appreciate what it was like.I thought it was the most awesome group of players ever assembled under one roof.I was pessimistic about KT also but the man put on some show.There were camera men for every match plus a boom camera and one in the center of each table.The viewing will be great.This was only the second event for the IPT and the pool world is all a buzz with whats going on.This creates talk about the sport that reaches the non players also.I had my wife with me who does not play and she was so excited after watching the matches.Now she wants to start playing after seeing this, even though we have had our own table for 2 years.I think KT knows what he is doing even though he does seem a little shady in spite of the $1.000 suit.I just hope this gives pool the shot in the arm that it deserves.
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I hope it comes through on TV. I will certainly be at the next one, it sounds like it was a great time. What do you think about my comments about celebrities? If he truly has these kinds of connections, he would be a fool not to use them. Let Johnnie Depp or Brad Pitt put on a pool tournament and there would be a buzz, KT, who cares.
 
One of the reasons that pool has problems getting sponsorship is the same reason as Greyhound racing. For years I bred and raced Greyhounds at seven tracks in FL and seven other tracks in other states. Between the animal rights groups opposing dog racing and the 40% that are against gambling of any kind, it’s an uphill fight. Not even the dog food companies would sponsor us.
Pool is thought of by many as gambling and hustling first, then they picture the characters they have seen in movies and on TV. No big brand name is going to take a chance and go against 40% of their potential customers being negative. The ITP could change that with a good image at tournaments and on TV. Johnnyt
 
Gabber said:
It seems to me that the people who actually care if the IPT is a success or not are NOT the target audience!
Gabber
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Could you clarify who you "think" is the target audience?

eg8r
 
Hey Rackemsucker I liked the part where Kevin and another person person were discussing a new idea and another man kept criticizing them. Kevin and the other man are worth millions. They leave the meeting and get into their Rolls Royce and see the other man get into his 1974 Gremlin. They look at each other and say say, we were listening to him? He doesn't have two nickels to rub together.

There were cameras that recorded every match that was played. These were professional recordings. Nothing cheap. I had front row seats all week and the camera men never bothered me. This is a made for TV production. I am sure that everyone realizes that TV is where the money is. I am just glad that he had great accomodations for the spectators.

Maybe they will sell the DVD's or put them in Blockbuster for rental. How great would that be?
 
rackmsuckr said:
The man just had to get rid of $140 million in 1 day for tax purposes, so he bought another yacht and another plane and I'm not sure where the other $80M went.
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So what kind of a tax break would one get in the USA from buying a multi-million dollar yacht or airplane ? Can less wealthy folks get a tax credit for buying a bicycle or new shoes ? Just curious.

Dave
 
To obtain staying power, the IPT needs money (not just from one person).
To obtain money, the IPT needs sponsors (and lots of them, not just natural cures).
To obtain sponsors, the IPT needs viewers (and lots of them).
To obtain viewers, the IPT needs a good quality program (NOT like the Sigel vs. LJJ match).
To obtain a good quality program...that's where they have to start with.

There have been posts saying that the KOTH will be shown as a reality-type show on TV. I think this is a good idea. If done this way, you can easily expand the entire KOTH tournament into a full season's worth of episodes.

For example...

Episode 1 - Introduction of the tour, overview of the first Sigel and LJJ match, introduction of KOTH tournament.
Episode 2 - Openning day ceremonies, and background info of some players.
Episodes 3,4,5,6,7 - First round coverage, where each episode focuses on the matches of one group
Episodes 8,9,10 - Second round coverage
Episodes 11,12,13 -Hall of Fame round coverage
Episode 14 - Final round coverage
Episode 15 - Championship match coverage

Each episode would be an hour long that would include select racks and "backstage drama" (most especially the Earl antics, the Manalo safety controversy, and any referee gaffs). When they do show racks (which should be more than 90% of the program time), they should show the ENTIRE rack (unlike certain racks in the Sigel vs. LJJ match where they only show a partial run). Also, there should be professional commentary for each rack. Okay, 15 episodes might be a bit too much for one tournament...they probably can probably shorten it to 10 episodes or so. By the time it's finished, it would be time to show the next major tournament.

Okay, I kinda got sidetracked. My imagination can go off on me at times. ;)
 
macguy said:
What ratings, it wasn't on TV, they don't report a results of a three or six month old sports event. They apparently ignored it and have not done any reporting on the tournament and it lasted 5 days, I can only go by what I see. There may be some articles but they will probably be editorialized advertising where you pay for an ad that appears to look like a news article. Of the millions who bought his book, most, say it is a rip off, read the reviews. I doubt press releases by a known informerical con man will get much attention by news organizations unless he pays for it. Except for his money, he is a negative no matter how you look at it.
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Have you read his book?

Jeff Livingston
 
macguy said:
Give me a break. People like Popeil, Tony Little, Chuck Norse, Body by Jake, Jack LaLane and a zillion more have made fortunes in TV marketing, he didn't invent it, he is however the only one ever banned. Support the IPT but stop embarrassing yourself defending the guy. You are sounding like one of those nuts outside the court room yelling "I love Michael".
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Have you ever created a successful pool tour?

Jeff Livingston
 
jsp said:
To obtain staying power, the IPT needs money (not just from one person).
To obtain money, the IPT needs sponsors (and lots of them, not just natural cures).
To obtain sponsors, the IPT needs viewers (and lots of them).
To obtain viewers, the IPT needs a good quality program (NOT like the Sigel vs. LJJ match).
To obtain a good quality program...that's where they have to start with.

There have been posts saying that the KOTH will be shown as a reality-type show on TV. I think this is a good idea. If done this way, you can easily expand the entire KOTH tournament into a full season's worth of episodes.

For example...

Episode 1 - Introduction of the tour, overview of the first Sigel and LJJ match, introduction of KOTH tournament.
Episode 2 - Openning day ceremonies, and background info of some players.
Episodes 3,4,5,6,7 - First round coverage, where each episode focuses on the matches of one group
Episodes 8,9,10 - Second round coverage
Episodes 11,12,13 -Hall of Fame round coverage
Episode 14 - Final round coverage
Episode 15 - Championship match coverage

Each episode would be an hour long that would include select racks and "backstage drama" (most especially the Earl antics, the Manalo safety controversy, and any referee gaffs). When they do show racks (which should be more than 90% of the program time), they should show the ENTIRE rack (unlike certain racks in the Sigel vs. LJJ match where they only show a partial run). Also, there should be professional commentary for each rack. Okay, 15 episodes might be a bit too much for one tournament...they probably can probably shorten it to 10 episodes or so. By the time it's finished, it would be time to show the next major tournament.

Okay, I kinda got sidetracked. My imagination can go off on me at times. ;)
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Actually, the production idea that I heard was that each day of the KotH would be made into a one-hour episode and that the final may be 2 hours.

About 30-40% of the content of each episode will be the reality / background type stuff.

I think the idea is that each event will be produced this way, so after one program is broadcast another is almost ready to go.
 
chefjeff said:
Have you ever created a successful pool tour?

Jeff Livingston
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Is that the best you have to try to attack me. Please. I think so many of you all suffer from such inferiority complexes you can't see beyond the hype enough to have an objective discussion.
 
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