Why Doesn’t WPA, Matchroom or BCA Get On The Phones?

[Chicagoplayer]

Somebody, anybody tell me why pool has no clock/watch sponsors?
We have shot clocks and full wrist exposure on the table️

Someone needs to start phoning Rolex, Omega, Tag et al.
Pool needs eyeballs.
Image is everything.
Get the first one (sponsorship deal) and it becomes easier to get others.

 

[DeadStick]

Somebody, anybody tell me why pool has no clock/watch sponsors?
We have shot clocks and full wrist exposure on the table️

Someone needs to start phoning Rolex, Omega, Tag et al.
Pool needs eyeballs.
Image is everything.
Get the first one (sponsorship deal) and it becomes easier to get others.

I doubt the number of affluent followers of the sport is big enough to make it worth their while.

They do golf, F1, etc. Pool would be little more than a blip on their marketing radar.

 

[Chicagoplayer]

I doubt the number of affluent followers of the sport is big enough to make it worth their while.

Cue sports touches everything from royalty, celebrity and the affluent, all the way down to Joe Q. Student going out to be social with friends.

They do golf, F1, etc. Pool would be little more than a blip on their marketing radar.

Matchroom airs pool events in over 100 countries globally on EuroSport, SunSport, ITV, SkySport, DAZN
You gonna tell me our players don’t get views?

The world wants CONTENT!
Matchroom produces events in Boxing, Darts, Snooker, Pool (I’m not sure if their library still contains Bowls, FishOMania & Table Tennis) films these events with the highest production values, packages their library, and sells those libraries of content to the ESPN’s of Europe & Asia.

Now that Emily has expanded Matchroom’s events calendar, there is no reason to think small.

 

[DeadStick]

You gonna tell me our players don’t get views?

Of course pool gets some views, and of course I appreciate what Matchroom is doing and it's good to see growth happening in the prize money.

I'm saying the number of views for pool, and the demographics of the audience, most likely aren't large and affluent enough to interest those companies, who are used to sponsoring sports like golf and Formula 1, which are exponentially bigger and richer markets than pool.

Take the Mosconi Cup this year, which I'm guessing is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, event by number of viewers for the world of pool. We had a thread going here for the livestream watchers, and I'd estimate we had an average of around 20 people at any one time in that thread - from the biggest pool community in the world. The thread ended up being 44 pages long, with 1,297 posts, but I'd estimate there were only 70-80 members who joined in.

We're a passionate audience, but very, very small.

 

[Chicagoplayer]

Of course pool gets some views, and of course I appreciate what Matchroom is doing and it's good to see growth happening in the prize money.

I'm saying the number of views for pool, and the demographics of the audience, most likely aren't large and affluent enough to interest those companies, who are used to sponsoring sports like golf and Formula 1, which are exponentially bigger and richer markets than pool.

Getting in on the ground floor of an opportunity is always welcome.

Take the Mosconi Cup this year, which I'm guessing is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, event by number of viewers for the world of pool. We had a thread going here for the livestream watchers, and I'd estimate we had an average of around 20 people at any one time in that thread - from the biggest pool community in the world. The thread ended up being 44 pages long, with 1,297 posts, but I'd estimate there were only 70-80 members who joined in.

Maybe we should get their analytics?

We're a passionate audience, but very, very small.

Pool is accessible to all, & it’s bigger than just this forum.

 

[DeadStick]

Getting in on the ground floor of an opportunity is always welcome.

That's the sales pitch tried by every small player. Rolex and Omega probably aren't gonna bite.

Maybe we should get their analytics?

Good luck with that. Matchroom will have the best analytics, based on livestream viewership. They're not going to share them, unless you're a potential sponsor.

Pool is accessible to all, & it’s bigger than just this forum.

Yes, I know. But it's still relatively small.

Look, I'm just trying to be realistic. I would love for pool to get some big sponsors outside the pool industry itself. But I don't think it's going to go from zero outside sponsors, to landing a company on the scale of Rolex ($10.7B est. valuation) or Omega (owned by The Swatch Group - $11.8B market cap). Baby steps.

 

[King T]

That's the sales pitch tried by every small player. Rolex and Omega probably aren't gonna bite.


Good luck with that. Matchroom will have the best analytics, based on livestream viewership. They're not going to share them, unless you're a potential sponsor.


Yes, I know. But it's still relatively small.

Look, I'm just trying to be realistic. I would love for pool to get some big sponsors outside the pool industry itself. But I don't think it's going to go from zero outside sponsors, to landing a company on the scale of Rolex ($10.7B est. valuation) or Omega (owned by The Swatch Group - $11.8B market cap). Baby steps.

Swatch Group also makes $50.00 watches so they cover every vertcal. Its not unrealistic to think that veryone of the Executives has a table in all of their homes and loves to play even if recreationally, so approaching them is very rational. If they say no its no big deal, you just find another way to ask until you get a maybe.

 

[Chicagoplayer]

Swatch Group also makes $50.00 watches so they cover every vertcal. Its not unrealistic to think that veryone of the Executives has a table in all of their homes and loves to play even if recreationally, so approaching them is very rational. If they say no its no big deal, you just find another way to ask until you get a maybe.

Hear, hear!

 

[Chicagoplayer]

That's the sales pitch tried by every small player. Rolex and Omega probably aren't gonna bite.


Good luck with that. Matchroom will have the best analytics, based on livestream viewership. They're not going to share them, unless you're a potential sponsor.


Yes, I know. But it's still relatively small.

Look, I'm just trying to be realistic. I would love for pool to get some big sponsors outside the pool industry itself. But I don't think it's going to go from zero outside sponsors, to landing a company on the scale of Rolex ($10.7B est. valuation) or Omega (owned by The Swatch Group - $11.8B market cap).

Why not? Billionaire companies like money and fresh markets.

Baby steps.

In 2015, I made the observation that the state of Nevada, is bordered by 5 states, all of which have large numbers of military bases.
Every military base has a pool table, so the troops know what pool is- what they didn’t know is that there is a Team USA they could get behind.
I brought this to Matchroom’s attention and Matchroom decided to give a 20% discount to all military attendees.
I then asked who was promoting the Mosconi Cup on this side of the pond.
Since there wasn’t really anyone focused on it, I volunteered, and proceeded to call, Tweet, and contact every military base in Nevada & the bordering 5 states primarily.
And they sold over 100 tickets, but even better, they sold out the 2,000+ seat Tropicana
Now, I’m not saying that’s my doing, but I am saying I’m confident I knocked over a domino that helped get it there.

My point is, one person can make an impact.
I’m not an employee of Matchroom, so I don’t have the ability to make deals on their behalf, but someone who can should make the calls to Rolex, et al & get at least Mosconi Cup on their radar, as Mosconi Cup garners consistent crowds & viewership over both Europe & North America as you remarked.

 

[tomatoshooter]

Maybe they are worried pool players will hock the watches.

You do raise some great points about how timepieces tie in with the sport but they are not specific to it. I agree, that's better than pool specific sponsors.

 

[buckshotshoey]

Of course pool gets some views, and of course I appreciate what Matchroom is doing and it's good to see growth happening in the prize money.

I'm saying the number of views for pool, and the demographics of the audience, most likely aren't large and affluent enough to interest those companies, who are used to sponsoring sports like golf and Formula 1, which are exponentially bigger and richer markets than pool.

Take the Mosconi Cup this year, which I'm guessing is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, event by number of viewers for the world of pool. We had a thread going here for the livestream watchers, and I'd estimate we had an average of around 20 people at any one time in that thread - from the biggest pool community in the world. The thread ended up being 44 pages long, with 1,297 posts, but I'd estimate there were only 70-80 members who joined in.

We're a passionate audience, but very, very small.

Question... what time did the Mosconi cup air in the US? East coast time that is?

 

[AtLarge]

Question... what time did the Mosconi cup air in the US? East coast time that is?

It was being played in England starting at 6:30 pm local time each day, which was 1:30 pm EST.

 

[zetetikos]

Getting in on the ground floor of an opportunity uis always welcome.


Maybe we should get their analytics?

Pool is accessible to all, & it’s bigger than just this forum.

What's the advantage of getting in on the ground floor for the companies? They can invest later when it the ROI makes sense. If not you dont have a sponsor, you have a benefactor, that's not uncommon in sports (Team Ineos, plenty of FCs), but unfortunately pool is short a charitable billionaire or two.

If a company sponsors professional pool events, that has nothing to do with the millions of people who play pool, they only get the eyeballs of the people who watch professional pool. The majority of people I know who play pool multiple times a week, even as their primary hobby, dont even watch professional pool, let alone all the bar bangers who play a few times a year.

Of course there are sports with more fans than people who engage in it, but pool clearly isnt one of them, or organizers wouldn't be struggling to find outside sponsors.

Doesnt matter to advertisers how many people cuesports touches, only how many eyeballs the content gets and yes matchroom is producing content, and eurosport airs that content, if their metrics showed it was in super high demand, they'd make sure they had more content produced.

 

[sjm]

Somebody, anybody tell me why pool has no clock/watch sponsors?
We have shot clocks and full wrist exposure on the table️

Someone needs to start phoning Rolex, Omega, Tag et al.
Pool needs eyeballs.
Image is everything.
Get the first one (sponsorship deal) and it becomes easier to get others.

Nice to dream of, but pool has consistently failed to reach the demographic preferred by marketing concerns. When pool was on ESPN in the 1990s, while the viewership numbers were passable, the stats showed that it was higher-age, lower income people watching, not the prized higher income 18-49 years old people that marketers are trying hardest to reach.

When pool shows itself capable of attracting the right demographic groups in the right numbers, the marketers will follow. Tennis and golf have accomplished this, but pool has a long way to go in shedding the seedy image it still carries, and which the behavior of a few seems to reinforce more than occasionally.

To be fair, the presumption that the powerbrokers in pool haven't made attempts to attract out-of-industry sponsorship does not hold up to scrutiny. They just haven't pulled it off yet, with rarest of exception.

A positive is that the bookmakers who, as a group, have very deep pockets, are getting on board as sponsors of pool at the Mosconi Cup. If pool were to become a significant betting concern, that sponsorship would surely grow, and Matchroom understands in full that this would make pro pool much more popular and visible.

 

[Black-Balled]

Never forget your audience.

We are biased when it comes to perception and marketing of pool.

What do you all think about volleyball?

 

[zetetikos]

Nice to dream of, but pool has consistently failed to reach the demographic preferred by marketing concerns. When pool was on ESPN in the 1990s, while the viewership numbers were passable, the stats showed that it was higher-age, lower income people watching, not the prized higher income 18-49 years old people that marketers are trying hardest to reach.

When pool shows itself capable of attracting the right demographic groups in the right numbers, the marketers will follow. Tennis and golf have accomplished this, but pool has a long way to go in shedding the seedy image it still carries, and which the behavior of a few seems to reinforce more than occasionally.

To be fair, the presumption that the powerbrokers in pool haven't made attempts to attract out-of-industry sponsorship does not hold up to scrutiny. They just haven't pulled it off yet, with rarest of exception.

A positive is that the bookmakers who, as a group, have very deep pockets, are getting on board as sponsors of pool at the Mosconi Cup. If pool were to become a significant betting concern, that sponsorship would surely grow, and Matchroom understands in full that this would make pro pool much more popular and visible.

This is probably the only way and matchroom likely knows it better than us. Pool isn't that captivating to watch unless you are already into the sport. Teqball proves there is room for new sports, 250k purses, 60k attendance for championships, Eurosport, and major sponsors. all for a sport almost no one outside Hungary heard of 4 years ago. https://www.fiteq.org/

 

[buckshotshoey]

It was being played in England starting at 6:30 pm local time each day, which was 1:30 pm EST.

And therefore you hit on the problem... Everyone in the US is working to keep their family's fed. No wonder the viewership in the US is so low.

 

[garczar]

Never forget your audience.

We are biased when it comes to perception and marketing of pool.

What do you all think about volleyball?

I dig tall chicks and those tight shorts.

 

[Black-Balled]

I dig tall chicks and those tight shorts.

Who doesn't?!

 

[garczar]

And therefore you hit on the problem... Everyone in the US is working to keep their family's fed. No wonder the viewership in the US is so low.

Unless you figure out a way to change the Earth's rotation thus altering the time zones that's the way it works. MC could be on primetime in the US and viewership would be low. If it was on reg. network sports viewership wouldn't be all that hot. We play/watch a niche game people. Do you EVER see pool results on any sports outlet?? Of any kind?? RARELY if ever.