Somebody call OLN RIGHT NOW!

[tafnut]

I'm reading USA Today, and there's a very interesting article about OLN (brought you the Tour de France) wanting to become a Playa in the TV sports biz. Owned by megabuckian Comcast, they were hoping for a piece of the NFL pie, but got squeezed out when the NFL wanted to keep the games for their 'NFL Network'. OLN has already been shut out in its bids for MLB, World Cup Soccer, NASCAR and the PGA.

I have a great idea - get the Olympic sports, and hype them into a year round affair, instead of the quadrennial dog-and-pony show! Think about it! The rights must be dirt cheap - everyone loves the Olympics when they're on and there's TONS of sports to choose from, all with their own fervent followers. It's a lead pipe cinch!!

Who knows the PTB there? C'mon, let's get this party started!

[he said in quiet desperation - facing another year of tape-delayed pap.]

[marknhj]

Re: Somebody call OLN RIGHT NOW!

The rights must be dirt cheap - everyone loves the Olympics when they're on and there's TONS of sports to choose from, all with their own fervent followers. It's a lead pipe cinch!!

Tell that to NBC - they paid $3.57 BILLION for the rights to the 2000 - 2008 Games...and that's just for the US rights. The Euro's coughed up an additional billion and small change!

[polevaultpower]

Re: Somebody call OLN RIGHT NOW!

[he said in quiet desperation - facing another year of tape-delayed pap.]

I heard outdoor NCAAs are going to be live on the final day. The bad side of this is that the time schedule is going to be moved earlier in the day, which I am sure will make the distance people complain about running in the heat.

The good news is there should be LIVE TRACK on TV. 8)

[polevaultpower]

Re: Somebody call OLN RIGHT NOW!

Tell that to NBC - they paid $3.57 BILLION for the rights to the 2000 - 2008 Games...and that's just for the US rights. The Euro's coughed up an additional billion and small change!

Most Olympic sports would only cost a tiny fraction of that outside of the Olympics.

[gh]

Such is the demand for the mainline sports (NFL, MLB) that they're easy to split up across networks, and not having the Super Bowl or the World Series doesn't mean you can't turn a profit.

But take the OG out of the mix and the Olympic sports, in general, quickly become a very tough sell. Indeed, one need only look at the amount of programming NBC does to see that it's a tough sell even if you've got the ne plus ultra at the end.

The economics of it is so elemental.

[tafnut]

But take the OG out of the mix and the Olympic sports, in general, quickly become a very tough sell. Indeed, one need only look at the amount of programming NBC does to see that it's a tough sell even if you've got the ne plus ultra at the end.
The economics of it is so elemental.

Even if you add the 'Vince McMahon' factor of hyping the holy crap out of it? I can NOT believe, in this day and age of Reality-TV BS, that SOMEONE can't find the golden nuggets in the Oly sports and strike it rich re-marketing them as Entertainment. The tragedy, comedy, drama, underdog, overdog, rivalry and EGO of Oly sports is right up there with ANY sport, if just exploited correctly. And I don't mean dumbing them down for Joe 6-Pack. Lord Almighty - if MLB can market THAT product, the excitement of T&F should be a . . . lead-pipe cinch!

[bad hammy]

I can NOT believe, in this day and age of Reality-TV BS, that SOMEONE can't find the golden nuggets in the Oly sports and strike it rich re-marketing them as Entertainment.

Saturday I was working out on an elliptical trainer at the gym watching the winter X-Games on TV. I have no idea what the events were called (the sound was down) but basically it was motocross (on snowmobiles) and some kind of very dangerous-looking snowboarding downhill obstacle course. In any event, it was really interesting and, seemingly, death-defying stuff.

T&F is very primal, easy to understand (for the most part – don’t ask the average guy about the triple jump!) but it is not, for the most part, a sport where fans can think “man, they might die at any time”.

[Gebfan2]

Re: Somebody call OLN RIGHT NOW!

I have a great idea - get the Olympic sports, and hype them into a year round affair, instead of the quadrennial dog-and-pony show! Think about it! The rights must be dirt cheap - everyone loves the Olympics when they're on and there's TONS of sports to choose from, all with their own fervent followers. It's a lead pipe cinch!!]

Good idea. But don't lump them all together. Pick a few. Specialize. Create compelling races, match-ups, and competitions. The rest will take care of itself if there are great competitions to watch and they are presented as competitions rather than highlight films.

An OLN-type station should cherry-pick the best Olympic sports, specialize, and cover those. OLN, for example, has a great thing going with the Tour de France, so why not focus on all individual sports involving head-to-head races. Pick up the new million dollar Big 5 for marathons, for example. All types of cycling, t&f, roadraces, etc. All they need is a "Lance" in a couple other sports, and they have a good start. Heck, they already have one on the shelf and ready to go. I guy named Geb-something-or-other.

Much can be learned from how bycycling creates day to day interest in the Tour. A series of races whose winner is determined by total time, for example, would create interesting tactics in running in the same way it does in bycycling. Or, as in cycling, have a winner based on total time and points.

[tandfman]

Indeed, one need only look at the amount of programming NBC does to see that it's a tough sell even if you've got the ne plus ultra at the end.

Toi aussi? Sacré bleu!

[gh]

Julius Caesar would have understood ne plus ultra.

[tandfman]

I'll be damned. Tu as raison. Merde!

ops:

Never mind.

[SQUACKEE]

> but it is not, for the most part, a sport where fans can think “man, they might die at any time”.<

They should see me run Mt. Tam for time. :arrow:

[Powell]

Re: Somebody call OLN RIGHT NOW!

All they need is a "Lance" in a couple other sports, and they have a good start. Heck, they already have one on the shelf and ready to go. I guy named Geb-something-or-other.

An African with an unpronouncable name? I don't think so. They would do better focusing on those T&F events where Americans win gold medals.

[bekeselassie]

Americans wouldn't be impressed with someone like Geb no matter how many races he wins or how many records he sets. To appreciate T&F (as participants in these forums already know) one has to have participated in it. You don't give a rip about watching someone run around a track 25 times until you understand how fast he's going and you have some reference for that. I know what it is to experience tons of pain and wanting to die after a race and puking and passing out at practice in an effort to break the 5-minute mile! So when you tell me that a man can run about 4:45 pace for 26 miles, I'm awestruck.

Tell my wife that Geb just ran 13 miles averaging under 4:30 per mile, and she says, "WOW! . . . I guess that's good?" :roll:

We can't get people interested in this sport if they haven't first experienced it for themselves. How many basketball fans have never shot hoops? How many football fans have never at least played with the guys in the neighborhood?

[tafnut]

We can't get people interested in this sport if they haven't first experienced it for themselves. How many basketball fans have never shot hoops? How many football fans have never at least played with the guys in the neighborhood?

NASCAR - Daytona puts 250,000 fat butts in seats watching something they'll only do in their dreams. T&F has the second most participants of any HS sport and we do nothing to cater to each new generation. Admittedly, most HSers pass through woithout achieving anything of note, but that's no different than any other sport. I also realize the lack of team competition alienates Americans, but I still think T&F could be marketed in a way that average fans could 'get' what's going on and care about the Us vs. Them aspects. International duels, World Relays Championship, indivividual rivalries hyped, etc.

I guess it's a pipe dream, and we need to be careful what we wish for, but right now I have 125 kids coming to track practice every day, and I know they could be interested in the sport nationally and internationally, if given a chance. Many watched (or at least taped) the Boston meet at my urging.