TV question

[Easy Tiger]

I just watched the 2001 Australian Open at Sunshine, Victoria, on a video tape.

I saw Brenton Davy knock Christian Purdue out of the tournament in the semi's, then I saw an excellent match between Cara and Brenton in the final, which saw Cara triumph 198 to 183.

This was shown on Fox Sports in 2001. From what I have gathered, people seem to think that bowling disappeared off TV in this country 15 years ago. This was only 5 years ago.

What was it that caused this to disappear? Why did we lose coverage? Why is it that we seem to be having so much "difficulty" in getting it back on tv only 5 years after it was last on? It was a stepladder format, in a bowling centre, using basic camera and sound setup, with Chris Bombolas and Andrew Frawley as the commentators.

Apart from a change in "direction" from AMF, why can't this happen again now? I probably learned more from 40 minutes of that than I have from hours of watching the PBA stuff from America.. If having too many national tournaments is the problem, why don't we just axe the extra and just make it a "Super 6" again. I saw much more passion in that telecast than I have in the last 5 years I have been involved in tournament bowling. They actually looked like they wanted to win, and showed it!

Seeing our own compete is just so much more interesting.

 

[Samael]

Dont forget channel 10 used to show stuff on saturdays too, damn it, i cant remember what event it was, but it used to run it over the space of about 6-7 weeks.

money
attendance
sponsorship

Thats your 3 main reasons, not commercially viable for a major network to film and broadcast tenpin bowling. In the end, someone still needs to foot the bill, it sure as hell isnt going to be the networks, so you need to find alternatives to carry the cost.

 

[Jordo]

Perhaps charging people to watch some of the big tournaments?

After watching some of the people at the Sun City Open today I would have definetly paid money to watch that high level bowling. Also sponsorship would be a issue, yoyu would have to get a major company to sponsor the event if it was going to be telecast.

 

[Ashy]

Dont forget channel 10 used to show stuff on saturdays too, damn it, i cant remember what event it was, but it used to run it over the space of about 6-7 weeks.

money
attendance
sponsorship

Thats your 3 main reasons, not commercially viable for a major network to film and broadcast tenpin bowling. In the end, someone still needs to foot the bill, it sure as hell isnt going to be the networks, so you need to find alternatives to carry the cost.

Coke-a-Cola Classic.

 

[Easy Tiger]

So why did we lose Coca-Cola as a sponsor? What happened? Does anybody have a figure of how much it actually cost to put something like the SPC or Australian Open on TV? Does anybody still have TV contacts with any networks or Fox Soprts to make this happen again?

 

[Cam S]

So why did we lose Coca-Cola as a sponsor? What happened? Does anybody have a figure of how much it actually cost to put something like the SPC or Australian Open on TV? Does anybody still have TV contacts with any networks or Fox Soprts to make this happen again?

the coke classic was originally on Nine in the lunch break of the cricket

they dumped when they started the cricket show in the lunch break

God they were the days
Watch cricket - watch some bowling then watch some more cricket what more could a bloke want (That u could post on a public forum)

 

[willey]

Ninja 299, they actually replaced the Bowling between the Cricket with the Golf Show run by Ken Sutcliffe and probably as it did'nt rate eventually the Cricket Show.

Steve Mackie used to Pay the Pay TV $50,000 to televise the South Pacific, his thoughts were that it was very good advertising, He than sold all the videos made to all the AMF Centres to cover some of the cost, weather they wanted them or not. Before that the ABC did the South Pacific, but there was a substantial cost to feed all the workers from the ABC, which was paid by AMF.

willey.

 

[Easy Tiger]

Free food as a trade to get bowling on tv again? Sounds good to me!

If AMF/Macquarie wanted some good PR with bowlers that would be a good way to start. $300 000 a year to get our circuit televised. Well, if we got $3 out of 100 000 league bowlers nationwide, that covers your cost. Put TBA registration at $15-20 a year, and use $3 to cover tv costs. Then after launching it, get advertising on board, then that eliminates the "chicken before the egg" problem, and there you have a cycle for sucess. Then that extra from membership could be put into improving the sport.

Call me crazy, but can someone point out to me a reason why this can't be done, and now? Unless there is some underlying reason, I can't see why this isn't an option, and bowling could be back on tv within 2 years. And it would in turn bring back some prestige.

$15-20 a year for membership is peanuts.

 

[wchester]

$300 000 a year to get our circuit televised. Well, if we got $3 out of 100 000 league bowlers nationwide, that covers your cost.
Call me crazy, but can someone point out to me a reason why this can't be done, and now?

Uh.....For starters we don't have anywhere near 100,000 league bowlers.

 

[Ashy]

Uh.....For starters we don't have anywhere near 100,000 league bowlers.

So how many are there ? (Just curious)

 

[Tiger]

So how many are there ? (Just curious)

In 1991 there were 115,000 registered bowlers in Australia.
So you would think that there would be significantly less now, given that in Hobart we had 1500 back then and just under 400 now, if that sort of trend has followed across the country.

Channel 2 would be the best shot at getting any coverage on FTA in Australia, the major commercial networks are so ratings driven that unless it's a reality program or crappy sitcom they won't touch it with a barge pole, and are increasingly swinging away from sport.
After all, Channel 9 didn't want the Ashes last year, and now the One Day Domestic cricket in Australia is virtually gone from 9, so bowling has little hope of getting a start.
A-League and the NBL aren't on FTA either from memory, so bowling doesn't stand much of a chance.
ABC broadcasts sports like lawn bowls, local football (not ours here), womens hockey and things like that which wouldn't have huge viewership.
Even trying to get it onto ABC2 would be a start, after all, I watched a football match on ABC2 from the Tiwi Islands with dogs and people running all over the ground during the match awhile back.
So bowling could make a decent impression, show itself as professional, have the best standard players on TV and have noisy and enthusiastic crowds attending, and most importantly, upbeat commentators that don't take themselves too seriously and who don't have monotone voices, thus sending Joe Public to sleep.
As a hypothetical, it'd be interesting to see what the ABC would want for putting a major tournament stepladder final on their FTA network, or onto ABC2.

 

[griggsy]

ive been thinking for a little while now, after finding a site on the internet that webcasts the american junior bowling tour title matches, maybe we could do the same thing with our super 6 series. i know it isnt exactly bowling on tv but i think that if we could at all possibly do something like this for some of the major tournements in australia(with the help of a few volunteers and site sponsors) it might be just the thing to catch the eye of the right person to help get the ball rolling towards putting aus bowling back on tv.
any ones thoughts?

 

[weggy]

Dont forget channel 10 used to show stuff on saturdays too, damn it, i cant remember what event it was, but it used to run it over the space of about 6-7 weeks.

money
attendance
sponsorship

Thats your 3 main reasons, not commercially viable for a major network to film and broadcast tenpin bowling. In the end, someone still needs to foot the bill, it sure as hell isnt going to be the networks, so you need to find alternatives to carry the cost.

Agreed. But if they can televise lawn bowls (?!) on the ABC, surely they can do something for tenpin as well. Maybe televise the SPC and/or the aus masters on a yearly basis?

 

[Easy Tiger]

Uh.....For starters we don't have anywhere near 100,000 league bowlers.

That's funny I thought someone said we did a couple of years ago, must be my mistake.

Would someone care to verify how many we do actually have then, since you say we have nowhere near 100 000?

If 100 000 is all we had, then that is 0.5% of Australia's population. That's pretty ****! There are more members of the Greens party than that

 

[Jase]

It's something that TotalBowling has in motion for Australian Cup in Canberra...If successful we may even be able to bring you certain Match Play Games through out the Sunday Finals...

This is all just small steps… but one step at a time is a good start


Hopefully we will be able to set up a link for all to view.

 

[BELMO]

It's something that TotalBowling has in motion for Australian Cup in Canberra...If successful we may even be able to bring you certain Match Play Games through out the Sunday Finals...
This is all just small steps… but one step at a time is a good start
Hopefully we will be able to set up a link for all to view.

Thats sweet Jase!!!!!!!!!!!!!To get bowling on TV, perhaps we are going about it the wrong way!!!!!

Why are we trying to go National straight away with no proof of what bowling is??? Are we that high on drugs!!!

Bowling is not a popular sport in OZ, and im not talking about how many members we have, or how many birthday parties are sold or how many people bowl through out the year......Im talking about the TV companies who run the show and their perception of the sport. They dont want us! YET!

Jase wants to record a few matchplay matches and get them online....PERFECT START! Now why not go one better. Why cant we make our own TV show.
Amature recording it may be, but with the help of volunteers we can record matchplay games, step ladders or general qualifying bowling with high quality cameras (only 4 to be exact) and edit the footage with computers, have voice overs for commentating, we can do some amazing things with computers.
With each attempt im sure the quality of the video would get better and better....put it on a disc...........now we have something we can show the 'big dogs'.....If we ever get a chance to show someone.
We need to be able to show the national TV stations how the game has changed, but how it's just as entertaining has ever!!!! WE NEED VISUAL PROOF!

Maybe its me who is just on drugs, but trying to get bowling on national TV is impossible, the money you need to fund it, the money you need to buy a spot during the day.....If i were Bill Gates i'd do it for fun, but im not! The only way is make the TV stations see value in it, how can they see value in it, when they have never seen a step ladder final!

Can this be done??? If i didn't think so, i wouldn't of taken the time to post this!
It's up to us the bowlers to start the ball rolling, perhaps its a really really small ball, but better than nothing!

Jason Belmonte

 

[bowlrig]

Great idea Belmo.
Just to extend to it a little if I may, but why not use this idea and start with C31, I think it is, Community TV.
It is in all capital cities and a few major regional area's as well.
They seem to be asking for programme ideas and subject matter.
Just a thought.

Rob

 

[Easy Tiger]

Belmo you are spot on, the problem is in getting people to actually start thinking in the first place, and then get people to act on the ideas..!!!!!

It shouldn't be left up to one or two people to do this off their own back (ie Jase, TB, TBA, AMF, etc) it should be a collective effort of ideas which are put into practice by people who are able to do it.

We've got something here with Jase and TB hopefully doing Brunswick, so let's get this into a regular thing, expand on it, and built on the foundation.

As for the Bill Gates thing Belmo, it's up to you to start winning some big events on the PBA so you can start donating!

 

[willey]

We need to make Bowling a better spectacle on TV, I watched that World Matchplay series and I found it so slow I was switching channels between shots, than I would forget to turn back.(American Chopper was on as well)

I did read where in Europe they were trying a faster setup with at least 4 bowlers competing at the same time, made for more action.

willey

 

[BELMO]

As for the Bill Gates thing Belmo, it's up to you to start winning some big events on the PBA so you can start donating!

If you take a closer look at the prize funds on the PBA, winning Brunswick in the ACT ($6000 AUS) is like coming
5th on tour

Belmo