DG on ESPN

[lazy42]

I found this and thought it was worth sharing, probably won't do any good but we can all dream right?

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Put-Disc-Golf-on-ESPN/129685487103940

 

[ZBoazMobster]

Like

probably won't do any good

Has to do better than Moe saying kissing Smithers was like Frisbee Golf. He's glad he tried it once.

 

[Phil_Ludvik]

I think Feldberg said it best when he said that DG wont be on ESPN until they start filming it better.

When they can get better shots of the flight of the disc, and the lines involved when you throw, it will make it more interesting to watch.

 

[WillGrrr]

That 2010 CO States video is awfully good. It needed a few more women players, though.

 

[lazy42]

I think Feldberg said it best when he said that DG wont be on ESPN until they start filming it better.

When they can get better shots of the flight of the disc, and the lines involved when you throw, it will make it more interesting to watch.

Good point, but if they can do it for ball golf, they can do it for Disc Golf.

 

[scarpfish]

Good point, but if they can do it for ball golf, they can do it for Disc Golf.

Two slight problems with this, which when put into practice aren't so slight.

1. Disc golf courses are a lot more compact than ball golf courses. Have you ever seen the cable that a network lays down to be able broadcast a PGA event? Its
astounding. Sure you wouldn't need as much, but it, not to mention all the cameras you would need would likely interfere with play.

2. Some of the most challenging disc golf holes deal with things that ball golfers never have to deal with, densely wooded trees. This provides a very unique complication in how you go about getting a good camera angle. Its also one reason why the finals course at PDGA Worlds, (where a majority of the PDGA video is from) is usually held on a somewhat open layout.

Another problem that I think needs to be addressed is having good commentators. People who not only know the game well, but know how to explain it to people who've never seen disc golf before.

All that being said, I could care less whether DG is ever shown on television. Some sports just don't translate well into being good for spectating live much less via broadcast.

I personally find most televised ball golf downright boring, and I'd suspect most people who take interest in watching it do so because they play the game themselves and understand the subtle nuances that people who don't play it do not. If televised disc golf ever becomes a reality, that's where our viewing audience will also likely come from. That's going to take some time as this sport is going to be in a base building mode for at least another decade.

 

[Brall]

it all comes down to $$$

the sport is already ripe to be on national tv, if only occasionally. a company/person with the cash just needs to put it there.

once this happens, even on a small scale, the sport will blow up 100% just like chris moneymaker did for the wsop main event.

 

[GLong]

Another problem that I think needs to be addressed is having good commentators. People who not only know the game well, but know how to explain it to people who've never seen disc golf before.

I've only watched Disc Golf Monthly, and the commentary is downright dreadful. I have zero experience in broadcasting and have absolute confidence that I could do a much better job. It sounds like they watch the tape, get stoned, do one take of commentary and leave it at that. They aren't doing it live. They should watch it 2 maybe 3 times, take some notes, and do 2 takes of audio. Cut and paste to get the best track of commentary.

I love that DGM is free on On Demand but sometimes I feel like it's a bit embarrassing for the sport.

I personally find most televised ball golf downright boring, and I'd suspect most people who take interest in watching it do so because they play the game themselves and understand the subtle nuances that people who don't play it do not.

I played a lot of ball golf for one summer (because it was free) about three years before I started playing DG. This and playing ultimate in college laid the groundwork for me getting into DG. I have played maybe twice since then, but find it very interesting to watch on TV now. It's very odd.

 

[Ace D]

ouch... 23 likes. off to a depressing start. what can this guy do to "think big"?

 

[AirMcNair]

Two slight problems with this, which when put into practice aren't so slight.

1. Disc golf courses are a lot more compact than ball golf courses. Have you ever seen the cable that a network lays down to be able broadcast a PGA event? Its
astounding. Sure you wouldn't need as much, but it, not to mention all the cameras you would need would likely interfere with play.

2. Some of the most challenging disc golf holes deal with things that ball golfers never have to deal with, densely wooded trees. This provides a very unique complication in how you go about getting a good camera angle. Its also one reason why the finals course at PDGA Worlds, (where a majority of the PDGA video is from) is usually held on a somewhat open layout.

Another problem that I think needs to be addressed is having good commentators. People who not only know the game well, but know how to explain it to people who've never seen disc golf before.
.

I wasn't going to chime in but since we are talking about live TV sports I need to. I have been working live sporting events for the past 5 years as a camera man or video tech. Events from basketball, football, NASCAR and even horse racing. NASCAR has the money to do what I am about to say and that (having money) is one issue. With the intro of fiber optics it has made running bigger events like golf and NASCAR easier. The cable is lighter and can run for miles with out losing any of the feed. As with Triax it will lose its feed past the 500' mark. That being said I have done horse races where we were using 500' triax and we didn't lose any of the feed. I think that ESPN or FOX or any other sports channel can do a great production of a live DG event even on a smaller budget. The thing you would have to do is run a lot of cable but you wouldn't need a lot of cameras, maybe 10. They would just have to plug and un-plug from hole to hole which is fine because you can cut to another camera that is still connected or go to the commentators for a shot. The production of this is the easy part.

The hard part comes when you want to ask for TV time with barley any money. They need sponsors that will be willing to pay for commercial spots, money to even make the production happen, and people willing to even attempt to make this happen. MONEY IS THE ISSUE I THINK.

Now to your second issue that I agree with. Commentators will be an issue because I don't know if we have anyone that can explain the game and talk about what is going on to people that have no idea what is going on.

If we can get a small time production company like Raycom (NC area) to get involved to do the USDGC would be the best bet at this time. It will be hard to get ESPN or FOX to put it on the main channels but if you get like CSS, Raycom, FS SOUTH, or some kind of regionalized channel it will work better.

Ok sorry for my .02 being so long. I hope this helps.

 

[scarpfish]

With the intro of fiber optics it has made running bigger events like golf and NASCAR easier. The cable is lighter and can run for miles with out losing any of the feed.

Losing feed isn't what I'm concerned about. The very existence of having any sort of broadcast equipment around, not to mention the people manning it, is going to present a complication in interfering with play. Generally on a ball golf course, particularly a championship caliber one, there is plenty of slack room to deal with this sort of thing.

The thing you would have to do is run a lot of cable but you wouldn't need a lot of cameras, maybe 10. They would just have to plug and un-plug from hole to hole which is fine because you can cut to another camera that is still connected or go to the commentators for a shot. The production of this is the easy part.

And how do your camera people get from hole to hole without interfering with the players? Many of our courses are not equipped to handle this.

If we can get a small time production company like Raycom (NC area) to get involved to do the USDGC would be the best bet at this time. It will be hard to get ESPN or FOX to put it on the main channels but if you get like CSS, Raycom, FS SOUTH, or some kind of regionalized channel it will work better.

Even that is going to be cost prohibitive IMO. The thing is the future of broadcast sports is going to be a radical departure from what we know today, particularly for small alternative sports like ours. The future is likely not to involve television at all. Its going to involve the very thing you're reading this forum from, whether that be your computer or your smartphone. Granted, the shoddy attempts the PDGA has made so far with webcasting has been rather unimpressive, but with time that technology is likely to improve.

 

[RussMB]

​

This is going through my head right now. lol

There was an article in one of the Disc Golfer magazines, where someone got to talk to an ESPN guy. He made a great point about "People need to connect to the sport". Basically, they need a reason to watch. It's kinda a like Soccer. Soccer is not as popular in the US as Football, Baseball, etc..

But look at how many people watched during the World cup, or even the Olympics. The reason they watched is because the USA team was playing. They may never watch again, but they had a reason to watch during those events. The Majority of people will watch sports because they have a favorite team. You may say "I'll watch regardless", but that's not everyone. It's growing, but it will take a while before the pro's become a household name.

We know who Ken Climo is, but who knows that name outside of our circle. The flip side of that coin is that 10-15 years ago nobody knew who Tony Hawk or Shaun White was. That's definitely not the case today! It will happen, it just has to grow into it. We are definitely on the right track, and are more recognized today. Perhaps DG will eventually become an X-games sport.

Just my thoughts on the topic.

 

[AirMcNair]

To answer the first two. Those are details that will have to be talked about and mapped out for each course that is being covered. A man with a handheld camera with a person helping with the cable will not be that much of an intrusion by the basket. I think the only cameras that will need to be on tri pods are ones at signature holes, the commentators, and the finial hole. The camera men would switch every two holes, so that they have enough time to get there. In my head I am thinking about the finial day with the lead group. I am not saying it will be perfect and this is something that I have just thought up but I think this could work.

About the last issue you are right in many ways. I think they could do a dumbed down production for the internet. The only thing I see that will help will be the use of RF cameras where there will not be any cables used for the handheld cameras, but they are expensive.

 

[NothinButChing]

hahahahaha

 

[RussMB]

With wireless technology, and cameras becoming smaller. It's to the point where you can put a camera anywhere. For those that are familiar with Nascar, then you know about the "Digger Cam". It's a camera placed on the track, Pictured below. It's not High def, but it won't be long before it is. If they can put a camera in the middle of a Nascar Track, then someone could put one anywhere. No, the camera footage may not be impressive to some, but give it time. Every year they make improvements, and it gets better and better. The camera issue is a moot point, when the time comes and the money is there, the equipment will be also.

I work in radio, perhaps I'll go try out to be an announcer.


The Digger Cam

 

[AirMcNair]

The gopher cam isn't wireless. It runs off of fiber and it is high def.

 

[superium]

We know who Ken Climo is, but who knows that name outside of our circle. The flip side of that coin is that 10-15 years ago nobody knew who Tony Hawk or Shaun White was. That's definitely not the case today! It will happen, it just has to grow into it. We are definitely on the right track, and are more recognized today. Perhaps DG will eventually become an X-games sport.

Just my thoughts on the topic.

This is exactly why I think disc golf will NOT become mainstream because those 2 guys have had undefiable performances in there sport where theres nothing quite "undefiable" in disc golf.

 

[RussMB]

Sorry, that was a combined thought about wireless! You know what, I got that HD info from someones post on an answers webpage. I should have read that a little better. I just wanted to illustrate that cameras can go anywhere.

 

[deBebbler]

Technology is the key.

Some of the drone theory & technology our defense dept has been working on is trickling down to the private sector now, and RC technology is increasing rapidly. Camera(s) could be mounted on a hovering vehicle, guided by GPS coordination. Those could provide the HQ overhead analysis that was mentioned before.

As long as it isn't a windy day, that is...

 

[DiscChucker]

Sorry, that was a combined thought about wireless! You know what, I got that HD info from someones post on an answers webpage. I should have read that a little better. I just wanted to illustrate that cameras can go anywhere.

I think an example that would better represent your case would be the on car cams. Those babies are wireless and actually function very well.