NXL is dead, long live the NXL

[Chicago]

There are two things that are missing from the equation.

Yes, other sports like skateboarding and snowbaording etc did not see a big increase in participation numbers just from TV exposure. But they did see:

- A huge increase in out-of-industry money from TV exposure. There are plenty of kids who are a lot more interested in these sports than other sports, even if they don't play them except on their playstation.

- Paintball is a very different sport in terms of learning curve. Snowboarding is HARD. Skateboarding is HARD. I know a lot of people who saw snowboarding or skateboarding or BMX riding on TV, went to try it out, found it to be very difficult, and gave up. Paintball is different - if you go see it on TV, then go and play it (assuming you don't end up at a field getting lit up by people with ramping guns), you will enjoy it. I play with people from work, they all enjoyed playing paintball the first time they played paintball. The first time they tried snowboarding they just got a sore butt and didn't try again.


So paintball actually IS in a position where TV could bring us players, because the barrier to entry is so much lower.

 

[HERMITT]

I know what you mean Nick, and part of my heart hopes that you are right. But the problem is that the vast majority of people want to play soldiers in the woods! Also tournament paintball isnt strong enough to stand alone as a programme. The content is weak in the extreme if it is to be shown as a live/recorded live format or an extended highlights programme. By your own admission you dont think that many people know about tournament ball. This means that for a significant time the future of getting the sport on TV would be as featurettes on other extreme sport programmes. That way it would be associated with that form of lifestyle and that demographic while also educating people about the sport.

As a programme on just paintball goes you can forget it. It as no narratives, and far too many points of focus. It simply isnt a sport in any of the formats that lends itself to being broadcast.

We have absolutley nothing to gain from getting paintball on TV that wouldnt be better served by site owners running a couple of supair fields and encouraging walk ons.

 

[Robbo]

As I understand it, the correct televising of tourney ball has little to do with promoting recball...it's all about promoting tourney ball.
If there is any collateral growth in recball then cool but this shouldn't be the target.

Most people realize tourney-ball is where it's at in terms of where we need to be in marketing because it is the very same animal that is the adrenaline rush, that is the team spirit, that is the knife edge experience of competition.

We are trying to promote the tournament side of the game here which is infinitely more marketable than some cammo-clad wannabee running around the woods with a paint grenade stuffed up his ass yelling 'Charge'...

Nah, we need to develop paintball as a sport not a pastime indulgence and as such, this is why marketing tourney ball on TV will attract the youth of American in significant numbers to playing tournamnets in teams and I'm afraid, in my not so humble opinion, won't be found to be 'relatively useless'.

 

[HERMITT]

Chicago -

Outside companies were incredibly slow to get on the bandwagon of these sports. The consumer base of these sports was huge before TV even thought about it and then once it did get on TV it took years for the non associated companies to grasp the marketing potential. Even now the amount of revenue generated from companies that arent associated with these sports is very small compared to the input from industry companies. When was the last time you saw a VANS or Animal commercial? They dont need to advertise on TV because the people who watch mainstream television are not their target demographic.

Marketing firms are what will make or break our sport as they are the people who determine whats cool. When they get hold of things TV follows since a potential audience will already have been generated and interest raised. Snowboarding/Skate Boarding all formed part of the counter culture advertising that signified marketing from the early/mid nineties onwards. This has now passed. In many way we missed the bandwagon

 

[HERMITT]

Robbo

If that is the case then why would the industry want to get behind TV bids since the vast majority of income in paintball is from recball.

You argued yourself that it is from the growth in recball through walkons to tournament ball that will decide the future of our sport. We cant just expect to promote some kind of fast track approach that will see kids jumping from their PS2 to a tourny in just one step. It maybe infinitely more marketable as a TV format than a cammo clad nutter, but it is still a dead end. The formats are boring to watch.

It will never reach a point where the majority of kids are exposed to it. It simply cannot sustain a mainstream programme that will see it broadcast to a large enough audience. It is an extreme sport and will haunt the passages of the mundane and repetitive extreme sports channels and late night slots. Not enough people watch at these times or on these channels for a reasonable percentage return to materialise. The percentage of people who will want to go straight out and play tournies could never justify the massive expenditure that it would incur in order to make a viable TV product.

This is why i am firm in my belief that it is a massively ineffective and wasteful way of promotion. If you ask any marketing advisor they will never recommend TV as an avenue unless you target demographic is exceptionally clearly defined. With the growth of multi channel broadcasting the importance of knowing who you are aiming at is more essential than ever before. To say that you just want to encourage american kids to get out there and play is a shot in the dark that will get nowhere.

I ask again what TV exposure will do that other forms of marketing cant?

 

[Robbo]

Originally posted by HERMITT
Robbo

If that is the case then why would the industry want to get behind TV bids since the vast majority of income in paintball is from recball.

You argued yourself that it is from the growth in recball through walkons to tournament ball that will decide the future of our sport. We cant just expect to promote some kind of fast track approach that will see kids jumping from their PS2 to a tourny in just one step. It maybe infinitely more marketable as a TV format than a cammo clad nutter, but it is still a dead end. The formats are boring to watch.

It will never reach a point where the majority of kids are exposed to it. It simply cannot sustain a mainstream programme that will see it broadcast to a large enough audience. It is an extreme sport and will haunt the passages of the mundane and repetitive extreme sports channels and late night slots. Not enough people watch at these times or on these channels for a reasonable percentage return to materialise. The percentage of people who will want to go straight out and play tournies could never justify the massive expenditure that it would incur in order to make a viable TV product.

This is why i am firm in my belief that it is a massively ineffective and wasteful way of promotion. If you ask any marketing advisor they will never recommend TV as an avenue unless you target demographic is exceptionally clearly defined. With the growth of multi channel broadcasting the importance of knowing who you are aiming at is more essential than ever before. To say that you just want to encourage american kids to get out there and play is a shot in the dark that will get nowhere.

I ask again what TV exposure will do that other forms of marketing cant?

TV will be able to capture the most important features of the sport we love which other mediums just couldn't hope to emulate (if the presentation is done professionally).
The question you open up with seems nonsensical to me because the industry gets behind any potential TV bids because they too realize that to market paintball as a serious sport is the way to go forward, to take us to the next level.
Sergey also feels this is the way forward as I went on record recently in saying that Sergey also felt the development of paintball toward tourney ball is the only other way to mainstream us.
The fact the industry at present earns most of its money from recballers is completely academic when it comes to assessing potential TV uptake and its consequent effect.
I think we are gonna have to agree to disagree on this one coz if you cannot grasp the attraction of tourney ball if presented correctly and then not grasp the effect it would have if shown on network TV, then I truly will be banging my head up against a brick wall and Hermitt, believe me, I ain't in the business of despoiling works of art

 

[Chicago]

If you could play tournaments without needing to spend $1000 on kit to be competative, the industry might make more of their money off of tournament players.

But we've made tournaments too hard to have fun at.

 

[Missy Q]

No.

The Tournament high end, high octane paintball is the vehicle for the Television. Yes, the main income is Rec-ball, but thats where the phrase 'trickle-down' comes from. When it gets on TV paintball becomes more popular in general. The sites become busier, etc. The pinnacle of any sport is the most exciting, in every case, because those are the people that are best at it. You don't see Dave Johnson and Terry Smith (made up names) playing Golf at the weekend on TV do you? No, you see Tiger, and Monty, because they are worth watching. Doesn't mean most of the money in Gold doesn't come from the Terry and Dave types buying all the equipment....

Chicago, a few hundred K won't even pay your full-time staff. You need $2 million for your first season outside of what the events themselves will generate, and you know what, no-one wants to do it. They don't want to do it because there are so many other things which represent a much safer way to invest. Thats why the industry are the only people prepared to put their necks on the line, because their necks are already on the line. Unless you can present a healthy demographic, and plenty of potential customers, forget about sponsors. If you show people one field and some kids that can't behave, that won't cut it. I understand your argument and it has merits, but the way to get outside sponsors is not sufficiently linked to the means to get on TV enough for the 2 things to be easily conducive.

Nick, I get your points too. My frustration is simply that I live with the reality every day. Its difficult listening to people say how easy it is when, with all due respect to you and Chicago, you don't know enough about it to assume the ease with which it could be done. You are both over simplifying and underestimating in order to make points which, however valid, have no substance as they rely on unimplementable and unfinanced plans to do something that people who are good at thier jobs have so far failed to do. The PSP, Millennium and NPPL all try very hard to break this thing open.
I direct you to my 'World Police' reference again, simply to prove the point that good idea's are worthless without the detail of how they can be acheived and the financial means of doing them
.
'Big outside sponsors' and dream 'TV deals' are buzz-words thrown around to demonstrate how things should be done. Chicago even claims to know about plenty of big companies ready and waiting to get into paintball. The facts are different though aren't they? In the real world a bunch of people sit and search for such companies all day. They meet with executives and they push the sport. Perhaps Chicago could let the NPPL know these companies that are ready and waiting to invest, and then a deal can be done that insures such companies do not get burnt. Not going to happen though is it, as no matter how great it looks in a post, it has no substance. Hence my frustration. I feel no need to defend PP or the NPPL. they need no real defense because as you pointed out, I don't think they are under attack by anyone.

So someone please put up or shut up. Chicago, call the NPPL and feed them these magic leads so they can pursue them. Don't sit there and talk about them and how they are out there waiting.
If you can't, and they don't exist, just say so. I won't give you a hard time. I promise.

 

[Nick Brockdorff]

I know what you mean Nick, and part of my heart hopes that you are right. But the problem is that the vast majority of people want to play soldiers in the woods! Also tournament paintball isnt strong enough to stand alone as a programme. The content is weak in the extreme if it is to be shown as a live/recorded live format or an extended highlights programme. By your own admission you dont think that many people know about tournament ball. This means that for a significant time the future of getting the sport on TV would be as featurettes on other extreme sport programmes. That way it would be associated with that form of lifestyle and that demographic while also educating people about the sport.

As a programme on just paintball goes you can forget it. It as no narratives, and far too many points of focus. It simply isnt a sport in any of the formats that lends itself to being broadcast.

We have absolutley nothing to gain from getting paintball on TV that wouldnt be better served by site owners running a couple of supair fields and encouraging walk ons.

But Hermit, you are looking at the issue backwards m8!

You are saying "why put tournament ball on TV, when people want to play war?"

- Well... because the growth potential for paintball is OUTSIDE the people that want to play war.... all those war types are already running around in the woods doing it!

Because loads of kids out there would fall in love with paintball, if they were exposed to the tournament type ball.

It's an "if you build it they will come" type of thing:

1) Get high end ball on screen
2) A demand for high end ball arises at local level
3) Local fields build fields to cater for the new market
4) The kids start purchasing high end equipment
5) Manufacturers see an increase in revenue
6) Leagues see an increase in participation
7) Media gets even more reason to screen paintball

Yes.... all this takes time... and is not as easy as it sounds... but I don't really see it being done any other way.

Local fields have absolutely no incentive to build tournament style fields, as long as the demand for playing on them is low.... and that is where paintball is stuck at the moment.

Kids need a point of reference that is something ELSE than playing war - and only the highest echelon of paintball is able to give them that in a significant way.

But - none of this will happen, as long as paintball is as fragmented as it is, and everyone is too busy waging was on eachother, instead of on all the other sports and pasttimes aimed at the youth market.

As for paintball not lending itself to being broadcast, I think you are dead wrong.

ANY sport that is exiting to play, can be made exiting in broadcast... it's just a question of finding the right way of broadcasting it.

If having one point of focus was the real decider on whether a sport can be broadcast, Formula 1 racing would not be on screen.

It's the universal truth for any type of programming, that you need to be able to put the spectator in a position to relate... and none of the shows done on paintball so far has done that.... but someone WILL crack that nut - wait and see!

Nick

 

[Nick Brockdorff]

Nick, I get your points too. My frustration is simply that I live with the reality every day. Its difficult listening to people say how easy it is when, with all due respect to you and Chicago, you don't know enough about it to assume the ease with which it could be done. You are both over simplifying and underestimating in order to make points which, however valid, have no substance as they rely on unimplementable and unfinanced plans to do something that people who are good at thier jobs have so far failed to do. The PSP, Millennium and NPPL all try very hard to break this thing open.

I'm not saying anything is easy m8

I'm saying that in order for paintball to break free of the mold were are currently caught in, the NPPL, PSP, MS - and all the major manufacturers - need to start joining up and formulating a common plan you can all agree to, instead of spending half your (event related) budgets on making things difficult for eachother, and the other half promoting your own preferred format and agenda which is different from the next guys.

I want ONE organisation, universally accepted by all, to promote ONE format.... because I see the lack of that as the major roadblock for paintballs further development.... and as earlier mentioned, I honestly don't think that organisation is going to become a reality by force.... at least not as long as the playerbase is not organised (which would change everything, but that is another debate for another time )

I KNOW how difficult it would be to get many of the descisionmakers to agree on even whether they should have coffea or tea at the meeting.... and to be honest, I don't think my ideas are going to become reality for a good many years with the personalities currently dominating the larger paintball companies...... I'm merely saying that it WOULD be best for paintball, if you were all to focus your marketing budgets related to events in the same direction, instead of in all kinds of different directions... and were all promoting the same league!

Nick