why paintball isnt on mainstream TV

[ZSigErik]

Is it just me?

Is it just me or is Adam shannons post and its followers sound EXACTLY like mine? LoL...

[adam shannon]

except i made 3 points...one expanding on yours, and 2 more you must have thought you posted.

1) laymans confusion
2) the difficulty of actually filming it
3) paintball politics

[ntn4502]

I think it would be possible and would be the best possible thing for the sport, but the problem being the only real sports channel doesnt like us all too much to say the least.

[Spyder BC]

my .02

I think that the ref/cheating issue is such a big problem due to the fact that you are hidden when playing (duh). But think about all of the other sports, refs have a great field of vision of all players (in comparison to p-ball) and there's 3-6 eyes in the sky that can monitor everything from many different angles.

Also paintball is exceptionally fast. As it stands, most games have no pauses, chances to assess what's going on, ect.

I like the idea that X-ball had, but I think that it failed in several respects. The 3 min wait time is grueling, and one round could potentially last a long time.

How about speeding UP X-ball's format? Each point lasts 3 mins. 1 min turn around time or maybe less (except in the case of controversial play). The round is played, outcome reached, penalties assigned, next round. How about like 9 people per team, but only like 3 on the field at once - the rest prep equipment, observe the other team, ect. In 40 mins of gameplay you would see a minimum of 10 breaks (one of the more exciting times of the game IMHO) in a normal game. Penalties - players are removed from the game for much longer in comparison to X-Ball, but the team can still field 3 players as long as there are 3 left not in the penalty box. The penalty taxes the team's ability to prep, plan, and stamina, plus the player would be out long enough that when they came back in they would be rested, but playing cold. The idea is to have many lightning fast rounds that forces lots of action in order to score points. It forces players to have greater physical stamina. It gets the crowd in a "mumblemumble..OOOooooooooooooAHAHAHhhhh repeat" pattern (use your imagination - you know what I'm talking about... ever watch Tennis?)

Well that's my .02 worth for now. Maybe with some tweaking it could work someday... I don't know. Just an idea I've been playing with...

[Riotz]

The reason paintball isn't on TV is because of legal action with ESPN, like irbodden and Curly said.


Now to improve the game to make it more exciting... Well there is allot you can do, namely make the games shorter because then they will move faster. Instead, some of the major tournaments are heading in the opposite direction just so they can sell more paint. NPPL has a good idea where they limit the number of bunkers in the back so there are less stale-mates and faster moving games.

Of course, refing is ALWAYS a problem. They should work on getting that fixed first. Ref's can't be lazy; they need to jump in there and get involved and not worry about getting hit. Give them armor if they are scared. There should be guide lines for refs, training, common hand singles that they MUST use, etc.

[TequilaMockingbird]

The most foolproof 60-second bunker rule I could think of would be to have mechanical bunkers on timers that slide into the floor after 60 seconds, then raise at a random interval. Now that would be fun to watch.

Paintball isn't really that bad compared to other sports on TV as far as watchability. A couple of Saturdays ago, I was flipping through stations, and apparently someone at NBC thought the best thing for a 2pm timeslot was...... Women's Curling. Now I like to watch women frantically sweep as much as the next guy, but COME ON! And outside sponsors paid ad money for this?!? Modern cameras could do great things with paintball. Besides the over-field cams like they tried in the XFL, "helmet cams" could provide some excellent footage.

[paint_munkey]

Originally posted by nippinout
Because it is BORING to watch.

Watching bowling on TV is boring, but I LOVE going out with friends to bowl.

Sure, it's cool to see paintball on tv, but why? I think it's merely for the sake of it being paintball.

i guess it could be boring for some people...
but, that's hardly the formula that espn uses to air "sports". just try flipping around espn and its clone networks on a saturday afternoon, and there won't be anything on except billiards, sumos, and horseback-riding.

[Nick1Shot]

1 Shot Productions

1Shot Productions

On behalf of 1Shot Productions (www.1shotprod.com) I appreciate the thought and brainstorming everyone puts into this. Our company wants to help paintball get on television just as bad as the next guy. Your ideas can do nothing but help!

1Shot's main priority is quality of our production. Our owner, Bob Vest just returned from the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas, where he picked up some cool new equipment to use for our videos. Not only did he get great equipment, but made some excellent contacts with people in the Broadcasting Industry. What we are working with is a need to formulate a story/plot to paintball. All sports show the story of a struggle/conflict. One team against another, a contestant trying to hit a certain trick or number of tricks, getting a tiny ball into a cup, etc. Tournament format paintball as it is has no steady plot. How could we incorporate a good story/plot without bastardizing what paintball is and is really all about?

1Shot Productions is working to accomplish a quality of paintball video/television production...thanks for your help!

Nick
1Shot

https://www.1shotprod.com

[devildog]

its hard to capture the action, you cant really tell who is shooting at who, and you cant see the actual paintballs always, so it makes it tough, i think it would be cool if they had head cams, or marker cams so you can see the actual action

[BobTheCow]

Re: 1 Shot Productions

Originally posted by Nick1Shot
Tournament format paintball as it is has no steady plot

I somewhat disagree. Two teams, fighting for (in most cases) a single flag, and returning it safely. I think that if you had a knowledgable commentator (oohh, let's say somebody like TOM KAYE) explaining as well as describing the action, it would be much more appealing to an audience that knows little or nothing about paintball. (I'm assuming the "ignorant" audience is who we are aiming for?)

[Nick1Shot]

Re: Re: 1 Shot Productions

Originally posted by BobTheCow63

I somewhat disagree. Two teams, fighting for (in most cases) a single flag, and returning it safely.

That is exactly what the game is, but...tournament paintball usually consists of hundreds of these all in one event. Therefore, there is no steady or consistent plot in tournament paintball. It's a bunch of little ones.

My idea would be to follow one team, from their home in the morning before they leave, to the awards ceremony. It would be somewhat like a RealWorld show, all about paintball. But I think the sport itself might lose a lot in this plot. That's what I meant by "bastardized".

We had it easy covering the Memphis Indoor Challenge, there was only 1 field. All the teams played right there, and we were more in control of what we saw and could choose what we wanted to see. At World Cup and at Ultimate Madness, we had to take what we could get. With 12 or even just 6 fields, we are allready missing 11/12 or 5/6 of the games that go on. How do you show on TV what you can't shoot with the camera?

Just some thoughts.

Nick
1Shot

https://www.1shotprod.com

[*captain_cox*37]

Originally posted by nippinout
Because it is BORING to watch.

Watching bowling on TV is boring, but I LOVE going out with friends to bowl.

Sure, it's cool to see paintball on tv, but why? I think it's merely for the sake of it being paintball.

You said bowling is boring. But they have bowling on t.v. . Why can't they give us a show of paintball here and there.

[DyNasTy]

hi

Paintball isnt really that boring too me too watch, I think its awsome.

Its honestly like watching a hockey game, or basketball game, or football game, but something I am more interested in. Yes there is more moving in all of those, but I mean, when a really good move is made or u watch someone get bunkered the 10-15 seconds a player didnt move made it just cool too watch either way.

[LittMag]

Originally posted by ZSigErik
Another theory I have is...

In other sports, such as football, baseball, there is ONE thing to focus on, a ball. Paintball doenst have ONE focus, becuase more then one person is doing something at a time to achieve a common goal. Each move not realy more important then the next. Football, everyone watches the guy with the ball, well paintball does really have "one guy with the ball".

I TOTALLY Agree, perhaps this could be solved by not showing games live *gasp* ... give the producers some time to select the most exciting camera, or where the turning point of the game is gonna be. Either that or every 5th paintball or so needs to be a tracer ball, like in the military, so we can see who's shooting where.

-Litt

[Nick1Shot]

Good thought

Tracer balls, I thinks that is outstanding! Kinda like the same technology that they use on FOX to put a yellow stripe on the 1st down marker, or in Hockey when they put a tracer on the puck. Good thinking!

The struggle with paintball videos isn't choosing the shots/angles used, but being able to achieve the shots and angles. I used to work for a TV station doing football, baseball, basketball, etc. There are 2 cameras up high...1 stays wide to see the whole field, 1 zooms to show individual action. Then there are 2 cameras on the field, running along the sidelines each on one side if the 50. This is the approach for paintball, except sometimes the bunkers hide the players. It's pretty tricky to cover so many guys all at once.

Keep brainstorming!

Nick
1Shot

https://www.1shotprod.com