TV wish list

MANILA, Philippines — Despite the fact that there has been a vast expansion in the number on broadcast outlets and streaming services, in the Philippines, the number of televised sports is still grossly limited. Basketball still outpaces the competition by far, with over a hundred hours a week of local airtime even under these abnormal circumstances. Volleyball has risen steadily in the last 15 years, and boxing is still seen, albeit irregularly. Football has caught up somewhat since the popularity of the Azkals rose in 2010. But many other sports simply have not been able to attract broadcast networks, who fear that their investment may be wasted if audiences don’t take to the new offering.

When this writer was a reporter, I attempted to get as many sports on the evening news as possible. Aside from basketball. I filled my reports with the regular bowling, billiards, darts and even motocross events in the late 1980’s. But for full broadcast coverage, the formula for success is a combination of factors. First, Filipinos prefer fast-paced, action-packed sports. The popularity of low-scoring football is an unusual new phenomenon, with roots in the 1950’s pre-television era when collegiate football was relatively popular. Another factor is how often games are broadcast, whether popular or not. This explains why there are Major League Baseball and NFL football fans in the Philippines. The consistent availability of the games makes it easy to develop the habit of watching them. A third factor is attractiveness and/or popularity of the participants. This has been proven in boxing (Manny Pacquiao’s popularity), football (the good looks of the Fil-foreign players) and women’s volleyball (a combination of both, particularly in consecutive Ateneo-La Salle championship series). Lastly, having a major sponsor gamble on broadcasting the sport gives it a headstart, like Chooks To Go with 3x3, Shakey’s with the V-League, and even Kopiko with motocross almost a decade ago.

What sports would fill most, if not all of those criteria today?

Arnis, for one, is ideal for television. Rounds are one minute long, matches last only five minutes, action is non-stop (and very loud), and there is an abundance of participants. In fact, the effectiveness of safety equipment has let stickfighters become too aggressive, since they don’t fear getting hurt as much as in the past. The only challenge is to unify the rules. In the north, it’s the sticks that are padded for the athletes’ protection. In the south, the padding is all over the athlete’s body. Sadly, arnis is only seen on television in passing when it is played in the Southeast Asian Games, and only in the Philippines.

Sepak takraw is another sport that provides a lot of action, and is indigenous to this part of the world. It provides the same level of action as other net sports like volleyball, but with less players and more acrobatic moves. A Southeast Asian commercial circuit would be easy to put together if a major network were supporting it. The broadcast rights could easily be sold to other countries in the region.

Esports is the biggest broadcast draw in the world now, mainly because the major components – the games, events and broadcasts themselves – are centralized under the manufacturers. Locally, its growth was interrupted by the pandemic, but having regular “seasons” would boost awareness again. Besides, anyone with the skill can be a pro, so it provides livelihood for Filipinos locally and internationally. Pro athletes from the Philippines have been competing abroad since 2016. And as we’ve seen recently, Filipinos are world-beaters.

More in a succeeding column.