Why exactly is it that...

[TheMarshMan1 0]

...skydiving events are no longer televised? Another thread got me thinking on this. I know this has been covered many times before, but the more I think about it the less it makes sense. Here's my thoughts on it:
I've heard people say that its because skydiving is not something your average viewer is able to participate in...but if you look at some of the other televised sports, that makes no sense. How many people do you know that can participate in freestyle motocross? Exactly...and thats on all the time. Shit, how many people who watch football religously actually participate in the sport? Uh...not many.
"Its because of the commercials" someone once told me. "They can't really advertise skydiving equipment to the general viewing public." Why does it have to be skydiving equipment? Can't it be cars, soap, food, deodorant, or (best of all) beer?
I thought the X-games were all about eXtreme sports? I dunno, but I think most (of the general public, at least) would consider skydiving an extreme sport.
Is it because they wouldnt get a lot of viewers? Somehow I doubt that....hell, how many people actually watch fishing, or hunting on ESPN? I can't imagine very many....
I'm sure my opinion is very biased toward skydiving, but still...I always thought people thrived on drama and action and excitement. That said...maybe its better that skydiving stays out of the mainstream. What do you all think about this?
"If I could be like that, I would give anything, just to live one day, in those shoes..."

[AndyMan 7]

Quote

...skydiving events are no longer televised? Another thread got me thinking on this. I know this has been covered many times before, but the more I think about it the less it makes sense. Here's my thoughts on it:

Not that people can't participate in it - hell, people don't participate in formula one racing, but people still watch it. I think the problem is that people can't relate to it, especially they can't relate to the scoring system.
Just look at what was big in the x-games: skyboarding and freeflying - did people understand the scoring system? Did joe average sit at home and yell at the TV that the judges were wrong?
I watched the x-games with some of my whuffo friends, and they couldn't get over the idea in freeflying that the camera man was being judged. They thought it was absurd that there was a camera man filming another camera man, filming a skydiver. In hindsight, I don't disagree. While those camera flyers had a skill that I will never posess, it doesn't make it right for prime time. X-games freeflying was 50% a contest of who was the better cameraman. Can you think of any other mainstream sport that pits cameramen against each other?
I think blade swopping could get a good folowing... Especially the downhill slalom courses. It's quantifiable. I like things that can be measure: Tests of distance and time. That will work so much better then tests of camera work.
_Am
ICQ: 5578907
MSN Messenger: andrewdmetcalfe at hotmail dot com
AIM: andrewdmetcalfe
Yahoo IM: ametcalf_1999

[lazerq3 0]

Quote

How many people do you know that can participate in freestyle motocross? Exactly...and thats on all the time. Shit, how many people who watch football religously actually participate in the sport? Uh...not many.

How many people do you know can go joina world class FF or 4 way team?....Not very many!!! To answer your quetion .....any 10 through whatever age (and even young ) can go out and purchase a motorcross bike and go have fun.and maybe after a few yreas of riding be pro motor cross person at the age of 15, 16 etc....Any one can purchase a football and get intermediate teams together, anyone can go by skate board ,BMX, whatever and go have fum and eventualy be kick ass at a very young age ,,,,,But to be a skydive you have to be a certain age and have a lot more money to have fun than the above listed. I can go out now and buy a desent motor bike for well under $1000 and have fun......with skydiving...I cant even barley get the training for 1000$!!!! Yes I agree that it suxs were not televised as much but form a marketers piont of veiw its understandable.......and hell less people jumping means more room in the plane right!!
jason

[lazerq3 0]

Quote

It's quantifiable

GEEK!!!
jason

[billvon 3,111]

>How many people do you know that can participate in freestyle motocross?
Plenty. How many people own dirt bikes in the US? A lot. It's the same attraction as NASCAR. Sure, most people don't drive at 160+ mph, but they do drive, and fantasize that they could be driving one of those cars (and, more significantly, using STP gas treatment in _their_ car to get that racer's edge.)
On the other hand, how many people in the US jump from great heights, or fly ram-air wings? Not very many. It's not only odd, it's incomprehensible to most people who think parachuting is something done out of C-47's with big round parachutes.
>That said...maybe its better that skydiving stays out of the mainstream. What do you all think about this?
Ding! Ding! Yes! The more skydiving is sold as a mainstream sport, the more we will be subject to the same mainstream stupidity as every other sport. AAD's, loadings less then 1:1, and hard helmets will all become mandatory - after all, can't risk our children's lives for a simple sport. Average skill levels, and average currency, will go way down as the average sports fan jumps once every six months, whenever a particularly cool skydiving commercial gets played often. Of course, you won't be able to tell them from anyone else, because they will have all the latest gear. You'll still be able to jump a tiny canopy, of course, as long as you go to a swoop center, have the appropriate licenses, insurance and gear, and are a member of the correct swoop competition organizations. Better not let any of your cards lapse, though! They will all cost money, but that won't be too much of an issue, since every serious swooper will be sponsored by one of the big corporations. The sponsorship money machine will ensure that enough people swoop to provide good footage for the TV shows, which of course is what's important. Right?
-bill von

[TheMarshMan1 0]

Quote

and maybe after a few yreas of riding be pro motor cross person at the age of 15, 16

I can assure you that that is NOT true. I raced ever weekend from the time i was 12 to the time I was 18.
I *think* you missed my point...but dont worry...so did I. But AndyMan is right, I dont think it has to do with being able to participate- and his Indy Car example was awesome.
AndyMan...I dont quite understand the camera-man thing, or the fact that people dont watch skydiving cause the scoring is difficult for whuffos to comprehend. I watch football, but know very little about it. Hell, even in automobile racing there are points systems...I have no idea how they work, yet I still watch...
"If I could be like that, I would give anything, just to live one day, in those shoes..."

[TheMarshMan1 0]

Quote

Ding! Ding! Yes! The more skydiving is sold as a mainstream sport, the more we will be subject to the same mainstream stupidity as every other sport. AAD's, loadings less then 1:1, and hard helmets will all become mandatory - after all, can't risk our children's lives for a simple sport. Average skill levels, and average currency, will go way down as the average sports fan jumps once every six months, whenever a particularly cool skydiving commercial gets played often. Of course, you won't be able to tell them from anyone else, because they will have all the latest gear. You'll still be able to jump a tiny canopy, of course, as long as you go to a swoop center, have the appropriate licenses, insurance and gear, and are a member of the correct swoop competition organizations. Better not let any of your cards lapse, though! They will all cost money, but that won't be too much of an issue, since every serious swooper will be sponsored by one of the big corporations. The sponsorship money machine will ensure that enough people swoop to provide good footage for the TV shows, which of course is what's important. Right?

Well...I suppose that just about answers the entire thread! Thanks Bill......but is that really all there is to it?
"If I could be like that, I would give anything, just to live one day, in those shoes..."

[quade 4]

Quote

I've heard people say that its because skydiving is not something your average viewer is able to participate in...

It's not that they can't participate in it, it's that they haven't participated in anything like it and therefore can't relate to it.
Follow me on this . . .
I'm a 16-year-old kid watching the X-Games. Yeah, it's pretty cool watching Tanya Gracia-O'Brien doing anything. She's a cool looking chick, doing cool looking stuff, but um, lessee, I skateboard and skysurf really isn't anything like skateboard and Tony Hawk can do a 900 off the top of the pipe and I'm working on my 360. Hmmm, who do I want to watch?
Most sports coverage has little to do with action -- really. It's about vicarious participation. The viewer imagines himself in the position of the players. How many times have you heard a true-blue sports fan refer to "his team" winning the Super Bowl?
Also, it's not about what is extreme. It's about what sells product. Check out all the wild action on "The Golf Chanel."
You can break down almost any televised sport and there's going to be a much larger audience that can; ice skate, drive a car, skateboard, BMX, ride a horse, sled, swim, dance, throw a ball, run from point a to point b, play chess . . . you name it and there's a bigger built-in audience for it than for skydiving. They may not do -exactly- the same thing in real life as their sports heros do, but who hasn't thought if they could just get their hand on one of those Indy cars . . . man, they'd show them how to drive.
Like I said, vicarious.
That said, the blade running & pond swoop boys seem to be missing a bet. If it was my trademarked sporting event, I'd damn well be putting up some cash to get it produced and out there. I can almost guarantee that if Reggie approached ESPN with a show already in "the can" that it would sell. The reason both of these sub-sports would work on TV is exactly why RW and FF wouldn't. Both blade running and pond swooping are very, very close to skiing (snow and water) at least in concept to wuffo eyes. They both take the action right in the face of the TV camera and everyone can relate to biffing in. But, I think they're going to have to prove themselves to ad execs before the money is going to just start flowing.
quade
http://futurecam.com

[Iflyme 0]

Quote

Shit, how many people who watch football religously actually participate in the sport?

"Football" is one of the world's most participated in sports! Oh, wait a sec -- you mean "American Football"... hmmm
Anyway, it's all in the ratings. # of viewers, vs $ spent covering the sport. If the ratings aren't high enough, then the advertisers won't want to buy time (for their commercials) in the show. No income for the broadcaster means "let's find something else more people will watch...so we can sell all those commercials slots".
While TV might be entertainment for the viewer, for the broadcaster, it is a product. If the product ain't selling, you need another product.

Quote

I'm sure my opinion is very biased toward skydiving

Well of course it is! Mine, too! I LOVE to watch skydiving stuff -- but not enough other people do...
"There's nothing new under the sun"

[PhreeZone 20]

Right... but do you watch ball room dancing? Its got a way bigger audience then skydiving and it's up to be in te olympics... so why don't you watch it?
I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend... ~3EB

[lazerq3 0]

Quote

I can assure you that that is NOT true

Mot to beat a dead horese but I was at a Freestyle event in SLC 1.5 yrs ago and therre was a kid there who was 15 years old !!! Pulling out some big shit mind you....so yes there may not be many but they are out there!!
jason

[hooked 0]

I agree that there is hardly no skydiving shown on TV. I would love to be able to see some skydiving events on a somewhat regular basis. However, most people can't even 'get over the idea of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane' so why would they want to watch it? It's too bad, because the 'whuffos' don't know enough about the sport and they will never understand the "why". Most people don't know much about the why's or the how's of the sport. Some probably still think of the old round parachutes they see in the old movies. It would be nice to have a really good informative show put on in primetime just to inform the average person. But then, that might draw more people to the sport, huh? In the meantime, I will be watching all my DVD's and Videos that I have acquired.
J
"Okay, who took the syringe and injected skydiving directly into my bloodstream?"

[lazerq3 0]

Quote

However, most people can't even 'get over the idea of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane' so why would they want to watch it

Hell I cant imagine dropping in on a 12 vert half pipe....But I still love to watch it!!!! It suxs people have that metality but O'well what ya gonna do!!
jason

[Zennie 0]

Quote

hard helmets will all become mandatory

Oh man, pet peeve of mine. But not in the skydiving context. I drive around my neighborhood and see every kid on a bike wearing a ProTek & body armor and just about barf.
Shit, I can't tell you how many times me & my friends ate it on our bikes & skateboards. No helmets no pads. Abrasions & concussions build character.
And another thing... why is it that people idolize auto racers, motocrossers & rodeo dudes (and dudettes) and then in the next breath say we're the crazy ones?
"Zero Tolerance: the politically correct term for zero thought, zero common sense."

[hooked 0]

"What ya gonna do?".........We're gonna enjoy it and their not!
J