04/24/24
March 15, 2005
What's next ... televised bingo?: With the NHL season cancelled, sports TV in Canada hits rock bottom.
posted by the red terror to culture at 09:00 AM - 25 comments
Such is the political animosity that the Fox and Sky networks, controlled by megalomaniac monopolist Rupert Murdoch, hates the BBC and refuses to carry any of their programming. Here in the UK, Sky just buys all the sports that the BBC show, so that all that's left on Auntie is snooker, darts, rugby internationals and the occasional FA cup game. Sky even bought one man and his dog a couple of years ago. Still, the BBC just doesn't have the channels to cover sport properly and in general Sky does a fine job. On preview: Yeah curling! Any game that's got brooms has got to be er, good.
posted by BigCalm at 09:26 AM on March 15, 2005
How about non-stop poker (WSOP, WPT and EPT) and three NBA games a night. I'm not struggling for things to watch. In fact, I've become an expert on both.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 10:46 AM on March 15, 2005
Non-stop poker is just as good as non-stop darts and non-stop croquet. Riveting replacement programming.
posted by the red terror at 11:07 AM on March 15, 2005
I dont get televised poker. Whats the Big deal? No pun intended!
posted by daddisamm at 11:14 AM on March 15, 2005
Non-stop poker is just as good as non-stop darts and non-stop croquet. Riveting replacement programming. Don't forget NASCAR, horse racing, bass fishing, and figure skating.
posted by jasonspaceman at 11:19 AM on March 15, 2005
And, of course, there's Law and Order reruns on every other channel...
posted by MeatSaber at 12:14 PM on March 15, 2005
Don't forget NASCAR, horse racing, bass fishing, and figure skating. There's already specialty golf and horse racing channels, perhaps that's where those sports belong. Nascar and figure-skating aren't my ideas of excitement, but they are certainly closer to athletics than celebrity poker and actually carry physical action and suspense that something dangerous and exciting might happen. Card games are cool, me and friends have played poker for decades, and nobody is saying they shouldn't be on TV. But if the public needs hours-and-hours-and-hours of it, better that it's broadcast on Spike! or the specialty Game Show TV channel. TSN and The Score say that the poker is cheap to buy and brings in ratings. Fair 'nuff...Canadian Idol, Survivor, Amazing Race and The Apprentice brings in ratings too -- how long before they qualify as "sports programming"?
posted by the red terror at 12:16 PM on March 15, 2005
Well, you got me. I can't believe how wrong I was, poker is just boring crap. Thank you so much, I don't know what I was thinking. How could I possibly like such an obvious replacement show. I'm sure as soon as hockey is back on the air we'll never see it again. No sir - no trend there. Asshat.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 12:18 PM on March 15, 2005
posted by jasonspaceman at 12:20 PM on March 15, 2005
Weedy, you seem mightily miffed. No offense is intended. That poker should be an "obvious" replacement on a sports channel is simply as obvious as using Scrabble, Monopoly and Risk as more replacement sports programming. To call poker a sport is simply laughable. A contest, yes, it is that. But athletic...? Please. Maybe you are the sort who calls Dungeons & Dragons a sport (and yes, I've actually heard that argument too).
posted by the red terror at 12:31 PM on March 15, 2005
D&D is only sport when weapons are involved.
posted by jasonspaceman at 12:36 PM on March 15, 2005
Hey Red; Actually, that Poker became popular as a televised event happened long before the NHL lockout when the Outdoor Life Network started broadcasting WPT events about two years ago (I know, sounds a little bit, well, stupid) - with over 50 million Americans playing poker regularly the arguement over whether or not it's a sport is moot - it pulls in viewers, and viewers are all that matters. Frankly, given the content of most "sports" TV, poker fits just fine into the programming. And D&D is SO a sport - the most demanding sport of them all..... A sport of the MIND. (With dragons)
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 02:36 PM on March 15, 2005
Poker on TV is definitely not a new thing. In the UK, at least. I remember watching it at least ten years ago on Channel 4 on a Sunday morning where they showed all kinds of crap. There'd be like six weeks of poker, then they'd start showing scrabble... I also remember being transfixed by sumo wrestling, truck pulling, tractor racing, and this really bizarre game called kabaddi where people ran around holding their breath and tagging people. Bring back minority sports on TV! And BigCalm is right about the BBC. They're so desperate to fill their sports schedule that they're constantly trying to convince us that darts is a sport. And lawn bowls. And... I kid you not people, they had wheelchair curling on a few weeks ago.
posted by afx237vi at 04:16 PM on March 15, 2005
I'm not oblivious to the fact that poker was b'cast by OLN (as if it fufills their mandate) prior to the NHL lockout, nor the reality that "it brings in viewers." In fact, if you scroll back up and re-read my earlier comment, you'll notice I made precisely that point. But I'm not so sure that viewers are ALL that matters. If it were otherwise, they'd be broadcasting jello-wrestling and wet t-shirt contests, whatever costs next-to-nothing and pulls in eyeballs. Likewise, I'm not convinced that ABC, CBS and NBC in the United States continue with news divisions that are a burden to shareholders simply because their executives want to tinkle cocktail glasses with the Secretary of State. These stations have a contract that makes assurances about the "public trust" and "public interest." There are regulatory bodies that issue broadcasting licenses. In Canada, it is called the CRTC. When you apply for license to start a "sports" channel, you sign-off on things like live sporting events in your promise of performance. I could be wrong, I could be in the minority, but I suspect that dog shows and poker games were not what Sportsnet, TSN and cable giants (Rogers, Bell, Shaw) were telling the CRTC and offering their customers. Again, I don't mind poker. But when I turn on a sports channel, I prefer to watch actual sports. Enjoy!
posted by the red terror at 04:34 PM on March 15, 2005
What amuses me is the article mentions old strongman contests, as if that's something NEW on the sports channels. Let me assure you folk outside of Canada that I've quite often seen "Worlds Strongest Man" contests from the 1980's air on the main sports networks. This is a not a new idea. If sports networks think it's okay to air poker, then how about chess? A sport is something that requires physical effort. Sorry, but lifting cards doesn't count. It's a fucking retarded idea for a sport, and any network executive at a sports network that says "Hey! Let's air poker!" needs to have a red hot one rammed up their ass repeatedly. The sports channels in Canada are a joke anyway. Like I give a fuck about the Blue Jays. But of course, I MUST, since I'm in Canada. All a big contributor to why I've dumped cable entirely. I'm saving $50 a month, and not missing it at all.
posted by Drood at 03:06 AM on March 16, 2005
So basically, the alternative to all thse offensive 'non-sports' being broadcast is to have the CRTC regulate prgramming so that it fits to the definiton of athletics? Careful, we're getting into some tricky territory. The obligation that Sportsnet and TSN have to that is nil -and yet the power still rests in your hands - don't watch. And to suggest that if viewers were all that matters means mud-wrestling and wet t-shirt contests is patently ridiculous, poker abuses none of the standards of broadcasting license. Shall we shut down Muchmusic because there aren't enough videos? How about new videos? Or good videos? Or just plain things that I consider music? And how is poker appropriate to OLN? Outdoor Life Network?!? Somebody call somebody!?! THE NAME OF THE NETWORK IS NOT CONGRUOUS TO THE CONTENT!!!! The fabric of society is desintegrating! Please. I truly hope you find something worthwhile to rail against.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 07:51 AM on March 16, 2005
Before anyone else loses their mind over the OLN/poker incongruity, I think Weedy misspoke in his original post. As far as I know, OLN doesn't broadcast poker tourneys. The Travel Channel, however, does show WPT events every week. Just want to clear the air before people start picketing outside OLN's offices...
posted by MeatSaber at 08:41 AM on March 16, 2005
I didn't misspeak. I was flat wrong. Either way - Poker has nothing to do with Travelling either. Ha! My High Horse has a stable platform.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 09:04 AM on March 16, 2005
Weedy, time-out from the bong for a second. You are having trouble reading what I type, and perhaps even more difficulty comprehending. Your write: "The obligation that Sportsnet and TSN have to that is nil -and yet the power still rests in your hands - don't watch." If you pay a subscription to, say, National Geographic, and they instead deliver Rolling Stone in your mailbox, then you aren't getting what you paid for. Both TSN and Rogers Sportsnet made promises to the CRTC, cable providers and subscribers. I get it. You love poker. You think it's a sport. But as far as your "tricky territory" goes, if poker qualifies as a sport, then Scrabble is a "sport", video games are "sports", stamp collecting is a "sport", working on an assembly line at an auto plant is a "sport", Gordon Lightfoot trivia contest is a "sport" ... where do you stop? You continue: "to suggest that if viewers were all that matters means mud-wrestling and wet t-shirt contests is patently ridiculous, poker abuses none of the standards of broadcasting license" I clearly never said that. I refuted your point that viewers are ALL that matters. I never said nor implied that poker "abuses standards" or crosses the line of good-or-bad taste; in fact, I said, several times, that I play poker and I enjoy poker. I simply noted that card games cross the line of RELEVANCE. Crucial difference. And I'm not "railing against" much, I'm merely stating the obvious: card games -- bridge, poker, gin or old maid --aren't sports.
posted by the red terror at 10:20 AM on March 16, 2005
And I'm saying who gives a shit? Frankly lots of things others consider sports aren't in my book - but I'm certainly not against them being broadcast in lieu of.... what? Dead air? Or are you suggesting that they are required to broadcast Swedish Elite League games, or Foxy boxing despite the fact that no one will watch them? To suggest that poker 'shouldn't be allowed' or isn't 'part of the mandate' strikes me as just plain bitching... Something I'm more than familiar with. If you pay a subscription to, say, National Geographic, and they instead deliver Rolling Stone in your mailbox, then you aren't getting what you paid for. Both TSN and Rogers Sportsnet made promises to the CRTC, cable providers and subscribers. But, you're not getting this scenario - you're getting replacement programming that doesn't fit your definiton of what should be allowed. More like Liberal political articles in your Rolling Stone. The whole is still totally committed to its mandate. The audience is not being cheated. In fact, given the numbers (viewers) it's being entertained. And sweet tumbling Christ, relevance? Talk about a subjective stance. Does it have to have a ball involved?
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 12:42 PM on March 16, 2005
Red Terror, you should search the Lockerroom archives for past "sport or not a sport" discussions. There's been quite a few of them, and there's almost never a unanimous decision. Don't remember if we've addressed poker, though.
posted by Samsonov14 at 04:34 PM on March 16, 2005
And I'm not "railing against" much, I'm merely stating the obvious: card games -- bridge, poker, gin or old maid --aren't sports. Not so fast... Duplicate bridge has been recognized as a sport by the International Olympic Committee. Duplicate bridge results have been appearing in the sports sections of newspapers for almost 100 years. Sports Illustrated used to have regular bridge columns and articles.
posted by grum@work at 01:17 AM on March 20, 2005
And, of course, there's Law and Order reruns on every other channel... And CSI: Ponca City, Oklahoma, or whatever they're onto now. Duplicate bridge has been recognized as a sport by the International Olympic Committee. As in it's an actual Olympic event (either real or for exhibition)?
posted by Ufez Jones at 02:11 AM on March 20, 2005
As in it's an actual Olympic event (either real or for exhibition)? A quote about the current Olympic status of bridge: (from here) "So far, Bridge has reached the same level as Golf, Rugby, Squash, Karate etc. which, though recognized as sports, are not yet admitted into the Olympic Games. From this level, bridge may belong to some International Associations of sports and be part of the Olympic Congress. The WBF [World Bridge Federation] logo and flag are included in IOC publications and displays."
posted by grum@work at 02:27 AM on March 20, 2005
The good thing about the cancellation of the NHL season, curling.