Business of Running

Running is a pretty boring sport to watch.  As a runner, I find it pretty interesting to watch my sport on television, but I definitely reside in the small minority.  Additionally, attending live running events, mainly track races, has a loyal but small following.  The question that I present is how to push the sport of running out to the masses successfully?

Much of the reason that track meets are not popular on is because of the TV coverage by the major networks.  There are not many major track meets that get national exposure on television, and the ones that do end up receiving subpar broadcasting quality, scaring away the small amount of viewers that take a chance and watch a track meet in the first place.  Often times, the broadcast will cut out right in the middle of a track event that is taking place.  What a great way to engage viewers.  Could you imagine if CBS cut out the broadcast of a 2 min drill during the NFL playoffs?  That would obviously never happen and highlights the difference in treatment and engagement between the two sports.  Track needs to concentrate on the high profile events and provide uninterrupted streaming for these events.  Next, the announcement during track meets is absolutely atrocious.  Tom Hammond is the worst announcer I have ever heard on a major sports broadcast.  The announcers, in general, do not know their stuff.  Often times, they focus on one athlete for an entire race.  Simple mistakes such as misidentifying athletes during a race hurt the credibility of announcers.  Watching a track meet can be pure torture because of the subpar announcing.

As for live events, there are two key ways that I believe can help track meets gain popularity.  Both of these beliefs are spoken often by Nick Symmonds, who earned a Silver Medalist at the World Championships in 2013.  Track meets must integrate two aspects to the live events: beer and gambling.  The fact that track meets do not have beer in their stadiums is almost the most ridiculous thing i have ever heard.  What other major sporting event does not provide beer for its fans?  Probably no live sporting event that actually makes a lot of money at its games.  Being able to relax and have a beer at games would be a great way for meet organizers to boost revenues and add value for fans.  I would like to see the uproar that would happen if an NFL game stopped serving beer.

Secondly, gambling on track meets should be instituted.  As Nick Symmonds says, this allows you to have a horse in the race that you can root for.  What a great way to drive fan engagement!  You show up to the track, place a bet on your runner, and go into the stands and cheer hard for him.  I would venture that watching runners compete at a track meet is just as exciting as watching horses run around an oval.  Permitting gambling would also help drive revenues up and drive fan engagement.