Dancing Departing

[TLEberle]

Movie is right out, because you have to procure the rights, and other networks are already doing movies. Sports means you have to carve out three hours, hire talent, you're competing against the established networks, and there's rights issues. It worked for poker (and less so for blackjack. As badly as they'd like to branch out from it, their bread is buttered on game shows.

[Dbacksfan12]

Sports means you have to carve out three hours, hire talent, you're competing against the established networks, and there's rights issues.

Since I spent my time growing up in the Big Ten, we always had coverage.  Do companies like Jefferson Pilot and Mizzlou not exist anymore?

Not that I want to lose what GSN offers--but if they insist on trying other things...

[BrandonFG]

Sports means you have to carve out three hours, hire talent, you're competing against the established networks, and there's rights issues.

Since I spent my time growing up in the Big Ten, we always had coverage.  Do companies like Jefferson Pilot and Mizzlou not exist anymore?

I want to say the former still does. I know one of the indie stations aired their games iin recent years...same for the ACC Network.

[DrBear]

Sports means you have to carve out three hours, hire talent, you're competing against the established networks, and there's rights issues.

Since I spent my time growing up in the Big Ten, we always had coverage.  Do companies like Jefferson Pilot and Mizzlou not exist anymore?

I want to say the former still does. I know one of the indie stations aired their games iin recent years...same for the ACC Network.

Raycom has gobbled up Jefferson Pilot (which was Lincoln Financial at its end); Mizlou, according to Wikipedia, is now specializing in horse racing with some sports distribuution.

There were some others - SNI (which handled Big Ten basketball in the 60s) and TVS (the Eddie Einhorn-run network that did a LOT of college basketball, including the 1968 Houston-UCLA game that was the first televised nationally), but now the conferences are either with ESPN, NBC Sports Network or CBS, or have their own networks, either cable or internet.

Actually, I've wondered why GSN doesn't try to find a sponsor and revive College Bowl.

[mmb5]

Actually, I've wondered why GSN doesn't try to find a sponsor and revive College Bowl.

Attempts have been made in the past 10 years by both the College Group and other entities.  The College Bowl-type game played now is much more densely layered.  So you either go with the classic version which few current players like to play, or you go with what is played now and does not translate well to television.

[clemon79]

The College Bowl-type game played now is much more densely layered.

How so?

So you either go with the classic version which few current players like to play

Does this really matter, though? Yeah, you might get a *different* audience for a TV version, but I don't think you'd have any trouble fielding quality teams.

[Matt Ottinger]

The College Bowl-type game played now is much more densely layered.

How so?

It's complicated, and Mike is far more familiar with this world than I am, but the short version is that the people who are involved in quiz bowl at the collegiate level take it all way too damn seriously.  (So do a lot of high schools.)  There is some delightfully entertaining reading at Wikipedia and elsewhere, written by quiz bowl insiders who think what they do is the most important thing in the world.  In fact, the Wikipedia article for the original College Bowl series breathlessly describes one particular game as "one of the great upsets in College Bowl history — or indeed, in the history of any intercollegiate competition."  (The article about a group called the Academic Competition Federation is also amusingly self-aggrandizing.)

They play under formats that have mountains of rules and regulations, and as so much of what you "should" know in these games has become codified, clues and references in questions have become more and more obscure.  Mike's right, quiz bowl at the elite level would be no fun at all for a national audience, certainly not the kind of audience GSN would want to attract.

There are other issues.  For one thing, "College Bowl" as a brand doesn't exist anymore, though I imagine somebody's still got the copyright or the trademark or whatever.  Most viewers these days have probably never heard it called that, and if they're familiar with the format at all, it's through their local high school competitions, which all have different names.

[clemon79]

They play under formats that have mountains of rules and regulations, and as so much of what you "should" know in these games has become codified, clues and references in questions have become more and more obscure.  Mike's right, quiz bowl at the elite level would be no fun at all for a national audience, certainly not the kind of audience GSN would want to attract.

Oh, that much I knew, but that's easy to toss out the window and fark anyone who doesn't like it. I thought he was implying that the format of the game itself had changed significantly from tossup-followup-lather-rinse-repeat-for-two-halves.

[TLEberle]

They play under formats that have mountains of rules and regulations, and as so much of what you "should" know in these games has become codified, clues and references in questions have become more and more obscure.  Mike's right, quiz bowl at the elite level would be no fun at all for a national audience, certainly not the kind of audience GSN would want to attract.

Could Quizbusters compete if it was done on an independent station, or picked up to fill a network slot on the weekend?

[Matt Ottinger]

Oh, that much I knew, but that's easy to toss out the window and fark anyone who doesn't like it. I thought he was implying that the format of the game itself had changed significantly from tossup-followup-lather-rinse-repeat-for-two-halves.

Format isn't an issue, or else we'd all be paying royalties to the College Bowl folks.  Yeah, that hasn't changed much.

And I agree that one approach is to "fark" the current elitists and do your own thing.  GSN could go onto college campuses and cast for contestants in the way contestants are cast these days, meaning that you don't necessarily select the ones that would do the best, or that have already formed a team.  As much as The World Series of Pop Culture was a decent Q&A show, there was some controversy in the selection process when teams who might have performed better on the audition test were passed over for more telegenic teams.  You'd have the purists crying foul, but you could make the material a little more accessible that way.

Could Quizbusters compete if it was done on an independent station, or picked up to fill a network slot on the weekend?

Maybe with a better host.

An independent local station?  Sure, if there's a sponsor, which is typically all any of these shows need.  There are plenty of local quiz bowl programs that are on commercial stations.  But no, we're more audience-friendly than most, but I don't think even we would stand a chance on a national stage.

[BrandonFG]

Y'know, I really thought my question was asked, but apparently it never made it to air, although I'll still receive my prizes went through. But Matt addressed the point I really wondered, which is how difficult would it really be to put two teams of college students against one another, and ask a bunch of questions, but with varying formats, and not just against a clock for two rounds. Just call it "Campus Conundrum"* or something along those lines, and make no reference to it being a "College Bowl".

Matt also addressed my other question about what could happen if it really were called "College Bowl 2012" or something like that, and whether anyone would be up in arms the way we get when Fremantle presents its newest revival...

*/I own the rights to said title, plus, I just really, really love saying "Conundrum"
//So there!

[Jimmy Owen]

Y'know, I really thought my question was asked, but apparently it never made it to air, although I'll still receive my prizes went through. But Matt addressed the point I really wondered, which is how difficult would it really be to put two teams of college students against one another, and ask a bunch of questions, but with varying formats, and not just against a clock for two rounds. Just call it "Campus Conundrum"* or something along those lines, and make no reference to it being a "College Bowl".

Matt also addressed my other question about what could happen if it really were called "College Bowl 2012" or something like that, and whether anyone would be up in arms the way we get when Fremantle presents its newest revival...

*/I own the rights to said title, plus, I just really, really love saying "Conundrum"
//So there!

Maybe for colleges that don't participate in the non-televised bowl.  I don't think the colleges would lend their name to the team, just as they wouldn't allow for two different football teams playing in different conferences.

[Matt Ottinger]

Maybe for colleges that don't participate in the non-televised bowl.  I don't think the colleges would lend their name to the team, just as they wouldn't allow for two different football teams playing in different conferences.

Not getting official collegiate cooperation is far from a deal-breaker.  Playboy's done just fine with their "Girls of the _____ Conference".  A disclaimer at the end (or even as part of the host's introduction) saying the contestants are not official representatives of their respective universities and you're all set.

[clemon79]

I don't think the colleges would lend their name to the team, just as they wouldn't allow for two different football teams playing in different conferences.

"And as a token of our appreciation for your cooperation, our sponsor will make a contribution in the amount of - "

"Stop right there. Done. Where do we sign?"

[Dbacksfan12]

Y'know, I really thought my question was asked, but apparently it never made it to air, although I'll still receive my prizes went through. But Matt addressed the point I really wondered, which is how difficult would it really be to put two teams of college students against one another, and ask a bunch of questions, but with varying formats, and not just against a clock for two rounds. Just call it "Campus Conundrum"* or something along those lines, and make no reference to it being a "College Bowl".

Matt also addressed my other question about what could happen if it really were called "College Bowl 2012" or something like that, and whether anyone would be up in arms the way we get when Fremantle presents its newest revival...

*/I own the rights to said title, plus, I just really, really love saying "Conundrum"
//So there!

Maybe for colleges that don't participate in the non-televised bowl.  I don't think the colleges would lend their name to the team, just as they wouldn't allow for two different football teams playing in different conferences.

You're talking about two completely different things.  For one, the NCAA sanctions football.  

Or did I just get 4/10ed?