M.Roch "speaks" on Escrime Magazine, June 2, 2005

[sabreur]

Originally Posted by KD5MDK

American audiences could be made to like fencing, at least WS, with the proper effort applied by the television producers. Run enough ads, promotions, and simply show it, and people will watch. It just takes concentrated work. Happens all the time.

Your naivete about markets and how they work is refreshing. Take a look at the failure rates of prime time shows. For fencing to appear on TV, it would have to successfully SELL something. People don't put anything on TV out of the goodness of their hearts. They put things on TV to attract viewers for their advertising. It is a difficult, cut-throat and extremely high-stakes business. If there was a market incentive for fencing to appear on TV, it would already be on TV, because it would offer someone the opportunity to make money by having it on TV.

We are a crap market--very small, very niche. And the people who sell fencing-related things--equipment, travel to venues, hotel rooms--would sell those things to us in roughly the same amounts if they didn't advertise at all to us. We're not like skiers or bowlers or golfers who go out and replace our entire kit every year or two. We don't descend in the hundreds of thousands over a season to use the magnificent strips of high-class fencing resorts.

We don't need fencing on TV. We do need an efficient means to distribute video of world-class fencing events. Not to attract others as much as to bootstrap ourselves. And we need to recognize that we are never going to be a popular sport, and quit dreaming about being like tennis, and start thinking about how we attract more of the people who might actually be interested in fencing--we need to define those things that attract people to the sport, and define those characteristics that typify fencers, and actually try to recruit people who have a predeliction....

[KD5MDK]

I rather assumed that the selling was of generic ads (IBM e-business servers, Subarus, stuff like that) in between events. I have forgotten which it was, but distinctly recall some sport in the last olympics which got a lot of coverage and I thought "They're doing this because they needed a story to push." The gymnastics advertising market certainly isn't huge, and yet it gets almost full coverage (entire routines of almost all US competitors shown, plus some of their competition). Certainly there's the "dirty old men looking at little girls in leotards" aspect to explain some popularity, but I think there's a genuine need by the network which has paid lots of money for those TV rights, to have content which shows Americans beating the rest of the world. Dominating, if possible. Thus the mention of Women's Sabre.

I'm not sure if I'd heard of the Tour de France before Lance Armstrong started winning it, and I'm sure I'll stop hearing about it when he retires, unless another American looks to replace him. As I said, American's dominating is the key feature in olympic coverage, above all.

The market model I had in mind was not TV shows, but pop music groups. As far as I can tell, they're effectively interchangable. Sure, they go after different niches (although I haven't the slightest idea what the difference between 'Nsync and the Backstreet Boys was), but even granting that Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears are slightly different, they, and Hillary Duff and Charlotte Church and Jessica Simpson are all products, created and produced by their studios and pushed on a receptive audience. I think that can (unfortunately) be applied to most entertainment.

[AllisonT]

I can't imagine that wires make or break the popularity of fencing! All I heard during Olympic WS was, "why are their masks lighting up?" Didn't help understand saber any more clearly did it?

As for ads, fencing is selling soy milk, financial consulting and men's hair color already. Everyone else can just jump on board! They can loosen the endorsment rules and let fencers wear sponsor logos on their gear (other than at the Olympics, of course). Where is the Capt. Morgan rum sponsorship for saberists? Don't they have a little capt'n in 'em?

The biggest boost fencing needs is good comentating here in the USofA. The fine products from Fencing Footage show that it can be done. Let's put all that slow motion replay and graphics to use for good and not evil (say, golf). Can USFA lobby the telecasters for coverage and give them a good comentator and "color man" (person, not gender specific )?

RANT: I can't stand watching another Olympic telecast that consists of 90% swimming and track as if we all care who wins each and every heat of the 100m, 200m, 500m and 1000m events. They are running. It's always the same. The only comments on technique you ever hear are when the runner is going to start running faster.

[esskreemr]

Originally Posted by AllisonT

As for ads, fencing is selling soy milk, financial consulting and men's hair color already. Everyone else can just jump on board! They can loosen the endorsment rules and let fencers wear sponsor logos on their gear (other than at the Olympics, of course). Where is the Capt. Morgan rum sponsorship for saberists? Don't they have a little capt'n in 'em?

Excellent points. I find it interesting that Roch is willing to completely alter the fabric of foil fencing as we know, yet refuses to take a look at more mundane solutions. It's time to start allowing fencers to brand themselves and show a little individualism. There is currently no reason to retain the all white fencing uniform. It lacks color and imagination. Time to put away those stupid and potentially dangerous lexan masks and approve team uniforms. It would be much easier to id your fav fencer and add a human element to fencing if we all didn't look essentially the same. Those who want to stick with the traditional garb can. RELEASE THE HOUNDS OF MERCHANDISING!! I've said if before, and it continues to retain its validity. I think we need a visionary at the helm of fencing, not a political panderer who is willing to destroy the sport we know of for veiled threats to remove fencing from the big Os. Increase it's base of countries. Make sure women are integrated into the executive structure of the FIE (they're not), make sure that every country with a fencing federation has a say but not majority influence.