Ready For TV Yet?

[Qbranch]

Discovery channel viewers would eat this up! Almost all of my friends (including me ) watch the discovery channel. The best time to put it on would be right before or after mythbusters.

That'd make my year if I saw FIRST on the discovery channel.

-Q

[Richard Wallace]

To the narrow question re: Aim High vs. previous games, I'd give the GDC high marks for the video appeal of well-played matches in this year's game.

More broadly I have to concur with Cory (earlier in this thread) that FIRST would be a victim of fast fingers on many a TV remote, except when either American Chopper style back-stories or really exciting matches like Einstein F2 are on the screen.

It's kind of a Catch-22: a TV show about a competition that aims to change the culture will not be popular until the culture has been changed.

[Daniel_LaFleur]

Originally Posted by Chris Hibner

I bet that you can take an entire regional and edit it into about 1 - 1.5 hours of exciting television. If FIRST becomes popular enough, the show could air on Sunday - the day after the event. I don't ever see FIRST going live for an entire event - MAYBE the final 4 at the Championship, but that's it.

Probably would be 2 weeks to a month afterwards, because the editing would take that long. You are talking about human interest stories, team interaction, as well as the robot competition and such. However, in this format (texas holdum style or documentary style), it could be packaged properly for Discovery Channel, TLC, or other 'high tech audience' channels.

[Robyn Needel]

I posted this several days ago to a different thread ... Discovery Channel is located near Washington DC and it looks as though their executive staff may be open to suggestions for new shows. It may be worth a write-in campaign. Here's the info:

One Discovery Place
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Tel: 240-662-2000

John Hendricks, Founder and Chairman
Judith McHale, President and CEO
Donald A. Baer, Senior executive VP, Strategy and Development
William M. Campbell III, President Discovery Networks, US
Dawn L. McCall, President Discovery Networks International

[petek]

One more chime in the chorus for a Discovery-type story (vs an ESPN-type sport show):

I feel a Discovery Channel-esque show could cover the awards far better than a sports-oriented production would. I'd be concerned about CA, EI, etc. not getting any coverage if the focus was the robot competition.

[jax1488]

much like HBO on demand... where u pick out the movies...

their should be FIRST on demand.. lol pick out the regional and matches... and if u have DVR it will auto. record for u!! i think thats the best way to go

[Lil' Lavery]

A&E HAS followed 2 teams for the full season in the past. In 2001, the A&E series, "The Competition" did a 1 hour show on teams 116 and 388 and how they faired at the NASA Langley/VCU Regional.

FIRST competitions do not suit themselves to be live tv compatable. There is simply no time to put commercials. Especially at the regional level you also get several "dud" matches, with multiple lower level teams, which are not entertaining to watch. The 10-8 matches are simply boring, no other way to put it.
I can tell you from expierience that an action-packed matches will draw substantially more attention from a non-FIRSTer. During an outreach event this year, we had a DVD running with several of our matches on it, our AVA entry, the game animation, and the GTR Semi-final highlight real (to show what CAN be done in FIRST, not just what 116 did). Many more people watched and commented on the GTR highlight reel than any of our matches. Seeing teams like the triplets, and Thunder Chickens unloaded is far more interesting than any average match.
If you were to edit the competition and basically make a highlight reel of the better matches, elimination rounds, and the big awards, then it might be entertaining television. But then again, that was what ESPN did, and it was still pretty boring to watch.

[Marc P.]

Originally Posted by Chris Hibner

Most of the TV announcers describe Texax Hold'em as hours of boredom with a few minutes of terror thrown in. No one is going to watch the hours of boredom just for the minutes of terror - therefore they tape and edit.

I'm not saying that FIRST contains consecutive hours of boredom, but out of a typical 8 hour day full of matches, 5-6 hours of it is down time. In addition, some of the matches just aren't that interesting. Besides that, I don't think that there's anything in the world that is interesting enough for people to sit and watch for 8 hours in one block - people have things to do.

I bet that you can take an entire regional and edit it into about 1 - 1.5 hours of exciting television. If FIRST becomes popular enough, the show could air on Sunday - the day after the event. I don't ever see FIRST going live for an entire event - MAYBE the final 4 at the Championship, but that's it.

This was exactly my thought when combining FIRST with TV. To the competitors, it's exciting to watch your team's hard work come to fruitation by fielding a robot and having it compete. To the average person who has no idea what goes into building a robot, or what the spirit of FIRST is, the competition looks like 8 hours of repetitive motion. It's not even so much that the matches are boring to watch, but more that people watching the same type of game over and over and over again tend to become disinterested after a period of time. Robots come on the field, move around, shoot some balls, move off the field, rinse, repeat. It's interesting for the first few matches while the concept of the game sinks in, but after watching 20 or so matches in a row, it does get repetitive. This is especially true if an outsider doesn't have a team to relate to. Take a sport like baseball for example- most people interested in baseball have a favorite team, like the Red Sox, or Yankees, and have favorite players on each team, like Manny Ramirez, or Derek Jeter. People can watch a full 9 innings of baseball because they have a team to root for, and their team/players are out there for all 9 innings. In a FIRST competition, even if a spectator has a favorite team, that team will only be competing in 8 or 9 out of around 100ish matches. The rest of the 90ish matches won't hold as much meaning or interest, and combined with the repetition of the game, can easily become boring to the average TV watching person.

I think the solution is like many have already posted in this thread- put together an edited show documenting the trials of one or a few individual teams throughout the build season (Discovery Channel did this for some teams in the 2004 season, details in this thread ), and finish it up with highlights from the team's performance at the competitions. This will generate interest in how the robots come to be, give the spectators some attachment to the featured team, and as a result give the viewers someone to root for when watching video of the competition itself. All the while, it may encourage people who otherwise wouldn't have known about FIRST to seek out teams in their area and offer whatever assistance they can. Accomplish that, and it may help make Dean's dream of a FIRST team in every high school a reality, once enough people see what's involved in working with a team and realize they can easily become a part of it.

Originally Posted by Steve W

This year had a really exciting game in my eyes. Since we web cast the GTR I was wondering if, without all of the delays in a regular regional, people could see FIRST being shown on TV? There have been times that this was discussed in the past but did this years game bring us closer to the big day of FIRST on Prime Time TV?

I think if you promote, promote, promote! what first is about, provide a well edited story telling DVD/promotional video of first....again more than just the robots on the field BUT the stuff on the field should be good and dramatic....make a riveting promo and make contacts and make them watch the video and just keep going at it.

who knows? maybe it will take off...or at least get coverage, I work in news as a camera operator and believe me I think I have much better odds of winning the lottery than predicting what the powers that be in news will tweak to but that means you just keep plugging away at it.

Hit GLobal and all the other networks and honestly....there has to be an alternative to canadian Idol!

[Chaos204]

Aim High was an enjoyable game to watch but i think FIRST is not cut out for Live TV.

Please hear me out

To be honest i don't think it is possible to have a TV worthy run of matches. even if they showed the a run of the finals from the regionals leading up to finals at nationals that would not make a TV show.

For an event such a FIRST to be on TV, viewers need to have a connection to the teams and to form their own opinions of who will win.

I don't know if you are familiar with a show on discovery called biker build off but that is how a FIRST show should be set up. they tape parts of the build so that viewers can form relationships with the builders. then they have a reason to watch. I taped the nationals at home while i was there and when i came home to watch it not even i could watch it. how could we expect non-FIRSTers to enjoy watch it.

I think First needs to be a series rather than an event plus how cool would it be to be on after mythbusters

[Dylan]

Originally Posted by Chaos204

I think First needs to be a series rather than an event plus how cool would it be to be on after mythbusters

I agree, there has to be some way to make it interesting enough. I mean, if they can make crab-fishing into a show (Deadliest Catch), surely they can do something with First.

[Tim Arnold]

Originally Posted by Dillon Compton

I would like to see a channel follow one or two teams through a season, reality TV style (TLC, perhaps?). The show would air weekly and would document the trials and tribulations the teams experience in their quest to build a robot. Funding issues, unexpected failures, and tense design meetings; these things make for great television. The regionals attended would be filmed and summarized (perhaps a special two hour program would be aired, with highlights, matches, and images of pitcrews etc...). This would all lead up to limited or full coverage of nationals; they could make it a two-day special event, and invite speakers to speak in interim periods or low action times (Dean Kamen, national WFA winners, Dave Lavery, Woody, etc...).

I think that the weekly show for 6 weeks will help establish a viewing base that will attract people to the "big event"- this will increase viewership and perhaps make it even moderately worth while for the station.

Discovery or TLC are probably our best bets.

I agree with you 100%... they want to see more of the human emotions and a deeper connection with the students than just watching some robots fighting. Thats why shows like Deadliest Catch follow the entire season, not just the catching. Showing all of nationals may be pushing it, but it would still be hardcore.

Originally Posted by Chaos204

Aim High was an enjoyable game to watch but i think FIRST is not cut out for Live TV.

Please hear me out

To be honest i don't think it is possible to have a TV worthy run of matches. even if they showed the a run of the finals from the regionals leading up to finals at nationals that would not make a TV show.

For an event such a FIRST to be on TV, viewers need to have a connection to the teams and to form their own opinions of who will win.

I don't know if you are familiar with a show on discovery called biker build off but that is how a FIRST show should be set up. they tape parts of the build so that viewers can form relationships with the builders. then they have a reason to watch. I taped the nationals at home while i was there and when i came home to watch it not even i could watch it. how could we expect non-FIRSTers to enjoy watch it.

I think First needs to be a series rather than an event plus how cool would it be to be on after mythbusters

Well good point, how about a series, following lets say 2-3 teams as they go from start to finish to competition....literaly follow every move so viewers learn about FIRST, the ethics, they get interested, oh and then...on the day of competition perhaps show it live or tape it and run it live to tape a but later that day or whatever.....

The "series" eposiodes of following teams would have to be interspersed with game/action video as well. As for commmercials? well....what better advertisers to hit up for commercial sponsorships of that kind of show than colleges, universities and high tech firms, automotive firms....talk about a target audience.

[Chaos204]

Originally Posted by STORMCENTRE

Well good point, how about a series, following lets say 2-3 teams as they go from start to finish to competition....literaly follow every move so viewers learn about FIRST, the ethics, they get interested, oh and then...on the day of competition perhaps show it live or tape it and run it live to tape a but later that day or whatever.....

The "series" eposiodes of following teams would have to be interspersed with game/action video as well. As for commmercials? well....what better advertisers to hit up for commercial sponsorships of that kind of show than colleges, universities and high tech firms, automotive firms....talk about a target audience.

I think we are on to something

If we can figure out a way to get as many teams involved as possible it would be amazing PR for all of FIRST including individual teams.

plus there wouldn't be a problem with attracting an audience because all of first would be watching. Imagine being able to say "Hay i saw that guy at Nationals!"

Is anyone out there familiar with pitching shows to networks?

[Alexa Stott]

I agree with everyone who says that a TLC/Discovery channel "reality" show where they follow a team around for an entire season. Like someone pointed out earlier, most people don't really know what goes into building a robot. If it was just the competitions being aired, it would get repetitive. But if someone can sit down to watch it and say, "Oh, look, it's team ___. They've been throught a lot of trouble this year. I wonder how things will turn out for them," it would most likely keep people hooked.

Also, like someone else mentioned, people sit down and watch their favorite teams/players for sports all the time. If someone can do that with robotics, it would make it more appealing to others.