Disc golf media coverage

[timg]

I was reading the difference between advanced and advanced masters thread and Three Putt's post brought up an interesting point. There is almost no disc golf media coverage in the "main stream" for tournaments, either minor or major.

Does anybody want to share theories on why that is the case and what could be done to possibly change that?

I've seen coverage of Magic (the card game!), rock/paper/scissors, pool and other not so exciting spectator sports on ESPN2 yet very little disc golf. Do the RPS and Magic communities have better advocates to get their stuff on tv? If there was some well produced tournament coverage on ESPN I think that would definitely expose the sport to more people and generate more interest in playing hopefully causing a snowball effect that would make getting media coverage easier, more sponsors for tournaments, etc.

I wonder if there is someone in the PDGA whose job it is to actively pursue promotional media opportunities. If there isn't then there definitely should be.

 

[mobster]

I've also wondered why disc golf hasn't gotten media coverage like other non-mainstream sports or activities. I don't think it would be hard to cover disc golf on television; they do ball golf really well. There's probably the argument that there's not the numbers out there that would watch it, but look at what happened to texas hold 'em poker as soon as they started televising that. And yes, there needs to be a media promoter for the PDGA who can talk Fox Sports or ESPN or that outdoor network to take a shot at disc golf.

 

[timg]

The numbers might not be there viewer wise at the start but they have got to be better than the numbers Pool or that Magic tournament drew in.

 

[skottyb]

Disc Golf used to be featured on ESPN2 on Sunday nights about 6 years ago, they did away with it though...

 

[ERicJ]

I guess for now were relegated to youtube.

I thought they did a good job with that "Chains" clip. I found it first on this page:
http://www.myspace.com/houstondiscgolfers

ERic

 

[Portablewalrus]

I read a good analogy the other day linking the popularity of disc golf to snowboarding in the 1980's. This sport fits in to a strange genre and is still pretty new. I think its only a matter of time before the media will naturally pick up on it, after all we've only recently picked up major sponsors. It takes a lot notoriety and money to get reliable coverage, and we just aren't there yet, but We've gotta be getting close, I can't wait for the day that I can watch disc golf on tv with the quality of ball golf!

 

[Three Putt]

Disc golf is actually expensive to cover. To do it well takes multiple cameras, and we have a lot of trees involved which means shots moving from light to dark which are a bitch to pick up. I've been to PGA events that were on TV, and there were A LOT of cameras used to cover those events. It is a lot easier and cheaper to produce a "rock, paper, scissors" competition, which is part of the reason you will see stupid things like that on TV before disc golf.
We also have a weird advertising demographic. For example, snowboarding had a definite age cut off. When snowboarding hit, the kids did it. The adults stuck to skis. So when you went after that snowboarding market, there was a definite age demographic you had in mind. Disc golf is all over the place. Old hippies, young dope smokers, middle aged family guys...about the only thing you can say for sure is we are all dudes. Other than that, the age and socioeconomic breakdown of a disc golfer is hard to pinpoint. That makes it hard to sell advertising for disc golf since you can't tell a company exactly who you are advertising to. Advertising drives media coverage. No advertising means no media, plain and simple.

 

[Donovan]

ESPN isn't always free

Keep this in mind. ESPN does get paid by The Women's Pool League to broadcast their tournaments. I know it sounds odd, but they pay them to put them on for exposure. So, I suppose Disc Golf would have to do that also. We would have to film it, edit it and produce it ourselves and then pay ESPN to show it. I know ESPN does show some of Men's pool stuff too, but this is why you see the women playing so often.

 

[Amorybulldog]

Hey ThreePutt,
check your visitors messages on your profile. Have some discs with something similar to your avatar on them if you are interested. They are full color discraft surges. Let me know.

 

[magictenor1]

I also play Magic the Gathering but I could never figure out why that was on ESPN. That's 2 hobbies of mine that are not exactly mainstream. My other big hobby is Fantasy Football which when I started playing was also unknown(mid-80's) but is now everywhere you look. Maybe in a few years DG will experience the same explosive growth.

 

[Portablewalrus]

If your target demographic is age 14-60 you always want to aim for the low end of the spectrum, because young people are the ones who are buying product and setting the trends. Snowboarding is enjoyed by people of all ages now and the demographics are similar to disc golf, yet it is still marketed as
youthful and edgy. When in doubt, get the kids with the mushy brains.
the fact that we have a wide range of participants is a blessing.

 

[Portablewalrus]

The problem is that this sport sounds ridiculous to someone who has never heard of it.