Why is it that skill/conditioning sports such as track&field and swimming have low TV ratings?

Question

Whereas darts and poker, which do require skill but no conditioning, are on TV so often?

Answer 1

First of all I want to completly disagree with the dude above me in his first argument..

What the F are you talking about? Track and Swimming are two of the most elemental sports in history.. These two sports have roots waaay before any of your "sports" these days.. everyone can swim and run.. but to reach that level you need years of preparation and fitness. Your claim that there are no professional swimmers or runners.. is pretty ignorant. There is a huge number of professional runners, and swimmers are starting to get more support.


Now to answer your question ( sorry about the rant )

Swimming and Running are sports that test the limits of people.. and are not supposed to be entretaining.. There has never been a rule to alter these sports so they are more entretaining.. which cannot be said for games like basketball and football.

There use to be a time where testing human limits was popular, and people looked up to these people.. some countries still do ( Australia, African countries ), but people in the US are now only spectators of games with action and excitement.. dont get me wrong, I love football, futbol, tennis and other commercial sports.. but they are games.. not real sports

So.. ESPN will show what people pay to watch.. games

Answer 2

Many reasons. The "sports" you mention (darts & poker) aren't sports, they're activities and virtually anyone can take part because they require a minimum of physical skill to play. This is the basic appeal, plus, the poker phenomena is a bit of a fad. This is why it pulls high ratings and when it reaches a saturation point, interest will fade.

Regarding the popularity of Swimming and Track as spectator sports, again there are a variety of reasons. Swimming is a difficult sport to watch on TV because of the viewing angles, plus, it's very one dimensional because the athletes are immersed. Beyond that, causal fans don't understand the nuance of the strokes, or know the athletes. There's no "pro" swimming, per se, it's thought of largely as an amateur sport.

Track once upon a time was a HUGE sport in the US. The Los Angeles Coliseum used to sell out for the US vs. USSR dual meet. It had the largest participation numbers of any sport in the US, and it's still huge in Europe and elsewhere. Track's popularity started to decline in the 80's while sports like basketball and football became the most widely PROMOTED sports.

Track did a poor job of proming itself, suffered from problems while it was transitioning from an amatuer sport to professional one and did not have the money to promote itself like other pro team sports did. As interest waned, so did TV and media coverage. Today, the networks to an abysmal job of covering a track meet. They cut races into segments, they show only the winning jumps, or throws and spend more time focusing on the athlete's story than the competition.

Track is starting to rebuild in the US, but it has a long road, with little money, drug scandals and no major stars (No Carl Lewis, no Michael Johnson) it will take a major effort to get the media interested. They'll show hopscotch if it makes 'em money.

Answer 3

People are interested in watching something they have a connection to. The majority of hockey teams are now located in the US, but hockey is not people's #1 sport to play or that their kids play. So, they are more involved in football, baseball, basketball and even things like soccer and volleyball. The biggest craze right now is poker it's all over ESPN, but how do you call that a sport? The true fans will find their way to a hockey game, I am just grateful I've found it. Hockey is the one thing that has been there for me my whole life.

Answer 4

I think this is because the people who watch these events of track and field have an understanding for it maybe because they are in events of it. Personally, I enjoy watching track and field events because I also run participate in these events. I think it takes a certain type of person to have a undersanding and appreciation for track and feild. Also, most of the population of our country are lazy so they don't find running intersting.
Have a Great Day!

Answer 5

Because unless you actually played those sports yourself, you probably dont find it exciting. I enjoy watching track and field but that is becuase i used to run so i can appreciate it.

Answer 6

becuz team sports r cooler and darts and poker r cool to watch when ur drunk.

Answer 7

no sex, sex sells.

Answer 8

no violence