Did you know that paintball use to be on espn?

[stalker0]

I was looking for some paintball videos and i came across matchs that were form 1994 and 1995 of tournments. What stopped it? Does anyone know why?

[LaW]

Espn breaking a contract agreement with nppl, plus it probably didn't do well on the ratings. I used to watch it way back when, i was 12 years old i think...

[68Classic]

yeah I remember seeing it, I was only 7 years old. I watched it though. Found it very interesting. I wish it was still on now.

[stalker0]

http://www.webdogradio.us/video/oldschool/#tourney
they have a few old videos and i think they have tom in one of the videos im going to look.

[stalker0]

they do have footage of Tom Kaye 1992 and 1993
its at the bottom of the page

[rikkter]

thats how i found out and got interested in paintball.
saw it on espn, had good coverage of it too.

[FESTUS33]

Thank's Jerry Braun
ESPN did not break the contract, Jerry Did!
Rick:eek:

[Halliday]

Yes I did know.

[f3rr3+]

Originally posted by 68Classic
yeah I remember seeing it, I was only 7 years old. I watched it though. Found it very interesting. I wish it was still on now.

me too.... it was awesome... haha i remeber thinking OMG there shooting so fast...

[Automaggin2]

Originally posted by LaW
Espn breaking a contract agreement with nppl, plus it probably didn't do well on the ratings. I used to watch it way back when, i was 12 years old i think...


Yea, I remmeber it. When i saw him i immediatley ran to my mom and bugged her to let me try it out.

[xadamx]

Yes

Now its on Outdoor Life Network

[Tyger]

Wow, I've been found again. :)

Hi-res is best, but huge. Worth it tho. :)

-Tyger

[heftylefty]

yep i remember watching it on espn. i will never forget when i saw the guy with a prostetic(cant spell) leg slide into the 50. i just dont know why i havent forgotten about it yet. weird.

[billmi]

Originally posted by FESTUS33
Thank's Jerry Braun
ESPN did not break the contract, Jerry Did!
Rick:eek:

That is not true.

Braun's company produced the show. Commercials were sold in the show to cover production costs (running the tournament, producing the shows, etc.)

ESPN did not run the show during the oritinally scheduled airtimes.

If memory serves, the airtimes were Saturday afternoons at around 2:00 pm, or something similar. After the initial published airtimes passed, ESPN did start putting the shows on the air - but in a different time slot - after midnight.

At that point, Braun was stuck in the middle. By moving the commercials to a less watched time slot, ESPN reduced the value of the commercial inserts - commercials that had already been sold.

Braun took ESPN to court, and they eventually settled with him, airing the shows on a new schedule agreed upon as part of the settlement.

A few years later, ESPN approached Braun to produce another paintball show, as the first had been quite successful in ratings. I've seen the letter from ESPN to Braun, on ESPN's letterhead - it was shown at an industry conference at World Cup in 1998 or 99, when Braun offered the info for anyone else who might be interested in producing a paintball show for ESPN.

It was ESPN that burned not only Braun, but all the sponsors of the ESPN tournaments, not the other way around.

See you on the field,
-Bill Mills

[LaW]

Originally posted by billmi


That is not true.

Braun's company produced the show. Commercials were sold in the show to cover production costs (running the tournament, producing the shows, etc.)

ESPN did not run the show during the oritinally scheduled airtimes.

If memory serves, the airtimes were Saturday afternoons at around 2:00 pm, or something similar. After the initial published airtimes passed, ESPN did start putting the shows on the air - but in a different time slot - after midnight.

At that point, Braun was stuck in the middle. By moving the commercials to a less watched time slot, ESPN reduced the value of the commercial inserts - commercials that had already been sold.

Braun took ESPN to court, and they eventually settled with him, airing the shows on a new schedule agreed upon as part of the settlement.

A few years later, ESPN approached Braun to produce another paintball show, as the first had been quite successful in ratings. I've seen the letter from ESPN to Braun, on ESPN's letterhead - it was shown at an industry conference at World Cup in 1998 or 99, when Braun offered the info for anyone else who might be interested in producing a paintball show for ESPN.

It was ESPN that burned not only Braun, but all the sponsors of the ESPN tournaments, not the other way around.

See you on the field,
-Bill Mills


Thanks for that!

[billmi]

Originally posted by LaW



Thanks for that!

No problem.

When the story gets condensed down to "Braun sued ESPN" many have come to the idea that he did so without cause, and that soured ESPN to paintball. Knowing the full story, it looks a lot different than that.

See you on the field,
-Bill Mills

[hitech]

Hey Bill, do you know the details of Fred's TV show troubles?

[billmi]

Nope. I don't know of any problems with the Disneyworld show he did, or the episode of Road Rules he hosted at Mare Island. After that I haven't heard or seen much of Fred.

I stayed at a freind's house the week before the IAO, in PA, and grabbed a video off the shelf - 1999 World Cup Traumahead video. There I was in a sportcoat, next to Fred hosting the show. First time I'd actually seen that video - very wacky - and what was up with my hair back then?

See you on the field,
-Bill Mills

[hitech]

It was a somewhat similar story. Not being aired when it was supposed to. I don't think his paintball career was going the way he wanted and really didn't want to get into it much. I take it that you don't know where he disappeared to either?