Nike may enter paintball (Rumor)

[chrizwheatley]

edit:: Is there any way to make paintball more accessable to spectators?

Play Xball! TV's always want to make something then manufacture spectators. Its has to bite at some point as long as the exposure is good.

There is a million ways even just offering help at a local site helps because the word spreads, it dont take a rocket scientist or whatever to work it out

 

[Bambulus]

Play Xball! TV's always want to make something then manufacture spectators. Its has to bite at some point as long as the exposure is good.

There is a million ways even just offering help at a local site helps because the word spreads, it dont take a rocket scientist or whatever to work it out

But the problem with showing a sport like paintball on TV is that the action is spread across the field, and there's too much going on at once for people to easily follow. Xball fields are designed so that players head towards the edge so it invites more aggressive play and that standing/sitting spectators have something close by to watch, but what people miss out on are the back players and players on the other side of the field.
Coverage of paintball matches manages to capture individual moves along the edge of the field (snake/teabag sides), but they fail to capture the progression of a match as a whole, and it's very difficult to follow. Couple that with the lack of understanding of Xball rules/goals and it's almost impossible to televise. At least from what I can see.

It'd be nice to have paintball televised, but to the best of my knowledge (which is limited to say the least - correct me by all means), all attempts have gone downhill.

I understand that the Blackpool event was a resounding success in terms of gaining average joe spectators, but translating that accross to a single screen is much more difficult to do. Are there ways we can make that easier? Should it even be something that we're aiming for, or are there things that are a higher priority?

Excuse me if I'm totally wrong, I'm still new and I'm still learning alot about the paintball world, and televising paintball is a topic that I'd like to discuss.

 

[stongle]

Televising paintball has been done to death, it sucks won't and can't work; unfortunately.

Maybe I'm old and miserable, but it'll never work as it's a participation sport. To people who play it looks good, and we understand the genius of certain moves and the tactics. To those whom don't it looks gay, and that is why no one sensible will invest. To be fair if we shot DU rounds and allowed UAVs, we might get sponsored by McDonnel Douglass. Nothing sells like a negative combat experience (on TV).

I really don't get the the Nike thing, it don't work. Hustler Powerboats on the otherhand.......

 

[chrizwheatley]

Personally i think it can and will work. TV is hard to entertain so cutting footage for paintball is much harder. Der Der have tried and done very well but thats a movies feel. TV itself is much harder and live would look crap, with good editing only exciting games could be shown and point catching moves if thats what people want, maybe what would sum up the game or event.

The things TV wants is something that people will tune into and watch from start to finish and this is where i think paintball will come out top. Make a 15 minute final last 30 or 60 minutes with cometary telling people what is happening an people will love it. My best bet is at half time on a football game most people love watching the replays especially the foul moves and the goals etc so screen this. (obviously if its not your turn for the round lol).

Once it bites people are naturally inclined to look further into it

 

[Rat]

I think there is a way to get paintball onto TV as a spectator sport, not entirely sure how to do it (making it watchable etc).

One way to "advertise" the sport though would be perhaps to get players/games shown in other formats.

For example next time CBBC does one of their "what did you do this weekend" shows, where the kiddies send in videos of their favourite activities. Why not get some of our younger players to send videos in of them in game etc?

Or for adults entering things like "come dine with me" or scrapheap or some other "punter programming" could also get paintball an edging view?

I mean their was a team called "Paintball Terriers" on scrapheap a while back. and when the team was intro'd they showed footage of them playing woods ball etc, and when it came to the final challenges they wore their PB gear.

Its not exactly showing the sport in a Sunday grandstand/highlights etc way. BUT!! it does get the sport onto the TV and into the public eye.

 

[tshaka zulu]

Other than "magazine" style programming (Entertainment Tonight, Extra, etc.), and on some cable network, paintball won't enjoy tv success. As has already been said, there's no single focal point as there is in real Football (j/k), baseball, soccer/futbol, rugby, MMA etc etc. It will work on smaller sports networks like ESPN2 and the like because they cater more to niche interests and smaller audiences, but I don't see it going much further than that unless there's a dramatic change of some sort in the way that tourneys are played.

It makes good film though, much like how the skateboard industry had their films (Bones Brigade anyone?) in the late 80s and still today.

 

[Exile]

Personally i think it can and will work.

I think there is a way to get paintball onto TV as a spectator sport, not entirely sure how to do it (making it watchable etc).

Are you two in denial? Honestly, if literally millions of dollars have been spent by ESPN/Dick Clark et al. and still unable to come up with a watchable, workable programme, then maybe, just maybe it's time to accept reality?

but I don't see it going much further than that unless there's a dramatic change of some sort in the way that tourneys are played.

That why the Xball (now M7/Race 2) format was created, but it still didn't work.

Televising paintball has been done to death, it sucks won't and can't work; unfortunately.

^^^^ Sums it up in a nutshell.

And as for Nike? I think there's more chance of the Pussycat Dolls entering MMA.......

 

[Mikey D]

Yep, and it proves the majority of the gear they sell is sh*t. Ask any physio about the difference between Nike running shoes and Asics. Still at least Matski proves (once again), he's top of the class.

Oh, and Nike do make Gold Golf Clubs. The color that is, I have a Sasquitch Driver.

Me too

One thing, Nike aren't cheap at all. So why people are hoping they'll bring prices down, I do not know.
Not that it'll happen anyway

 

[Fisz]

IMO,

+ visible paintballs = win.

 

[Scrumpy]

I don't think Nike would enter the paintball market on their own but in partnership with one of the big hitters making products under liscence (and then probably buying out said big hitter and running them into the ground and using their own Nike branding)