OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Yes I agree...we need a knowlegeable commentator, and also stats would make a really nice addition!

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Take it easy guys, at the moment we are taking the feed from the local host broadcaster (clean feed), so the language of the commentator is the local language. In order to have an English commentator, we would need to engage one for each of the events- this is not planned for 2009 because of costs. Hopefully we can do it in 2010. It is very expensive to stream "live" from our major events due the the large bandwidth needed and due to the very high traffic from viewers. But we are committed to present our major events live and free, and all other events on a 20-30 mins delay.

This is a huge first step, so we need to analyze the total costs per year before we can enhance the service further. I have noted your requests, and we probably could place a few links for statistical information as well as a link for head-to-head statistics.

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Adham Sharara

Yep, no pressure Adham! I think it's been a huge effort and great for our sport... just working on the 'wish list' for the future

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By the way, we have a new episode of "ITTF World of Table Tennis", it will be posted in next few days on itTV. The commentator has a nice Aussie accent. Did you see the first show? These shows will be distributed to all TV stations in the world. You should call your sport channel and ask for it. We have one guy in ITTF pushing the show in Australia, NZ and Oceania. He needs help. Get your Aussie friends to e-mail or call the TV stations in your area.

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Adham Sharara

Yes of course these things cost money.
How about implementing a `premium service' system with a few extras such as commentary and HD video?

The world of table tennis episodes are big step forward I think. I hope the TV stations subscribe them and that they prove popular.

Adham how do you think table tennis should be presented to a mass audience? Do you think that the technicality of the sport hinders its growth or should it be embraced?

Thanks.

Thanks, that's a good idea. We are thinking of doing that next year for our top events, almost like a TV production, but we will need to charge for it. Then play it back for free after the event. I am trying to keep it "free" as long as possible. I heard many complaints on these Forums that it is not possible to see top TT, so I made a promise to provide it free (at least for one year) and see if many people watch it or not. So far so good. Our website is receiving more traffic than the ITF (Tennis ) website. It's unbeleivable but true (according to www.alexa.com).

regarding a mass audience. This takes several elements:
- tradition and history
- Star personality
- good content and easy access

In some markets all above three ingredients are there (China, Japan, etc.), but in most markets we do not have all 3 ingredients, so we are working on it. To answer your question with one word "Embraced".

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Adham Sharara

Maybe I am wrong, but I think, there is an implication here, that Table Tennis is somehow more popular, than Tennis.

As far as I know, ITF does not broadcast ATP and WTA tournaments.

As for popularity, Tennis (on TV) is essentially popular among people, who do not play Tennis.

Table Tennis (on TV) imho is extremely unpopular among people, who do not play Table Tennis. As for Table Tennis players, the most just play and do not care about TT on TV or on ITTF website. E. g. rather good players do not know, who Wang Hao is. And they do not really want to know. Maybe China is an exception.

There is no implication of any kind. Just a fact. The ITTF's website (http://www.ittf.com) is currently ranked No. 19,315 (among the top 100,000 websites) and the ITF (http://www.itftennis.com) is ranked 23,661. By the way Google is No. 1 and Yahoo is No.2. Only the top 100,000 websites in the world are ranked. FIFA's (Footbal) http://www.fifa.com is currently ranked No. 1,936 and is the top International federation on the web. ITTF is a distant second (amongst all International Sport Federations) and Tennis (ITF) is third.

During the Yokohama WTTC in April-May this year as many people visited the ITTF's website (8 days) as people visited the ITF website during the Roland Garos French Open in 15 days.

There are no implications, no deductions and no comments. Just facts and figures. We have set FIFA as the benchmark for websites and we are very far yet, but it's the only International Sports Federation ahead of the ITTF. A few months ago Tennis was also ahead. Step-by-step, step-by-step.

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Adham Sharara

Just thought I've clarify a little about alexa... This from the Wikipedia:



Alexa might well be one of the few way of getting information about traffic, but it is certainly not conclusive, and data can be manipulated. Still I believe it's likely to be indicative of real traffic...

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Like everything else, this is just a guide, but what is significant is not necessarily how accurate the actual Ranking is, as to how significant the "comparison" is between 2 sites using the exact same criteria. In fact, whether in reality Google is No. 1 or Yahoo is No.2 may be a controversial matter, but what we are looking at are the "trends" and the comparison with other IFs using the same criteria. To us this is a significant benchmark. Also what is significant is that we compare directly every month between the 28 Summer Olympic Sports. I am proud to say that we moved in a period of 10 months from 6th to 2nd. We were very happy a few months ago when we started to come close to Tennis, but still remained 3rd. Then we surpassed Tennis after we installed itTV for free. Of course Tennis may surpass us in the summer months due to their high profile events, but overall over a 12-months period we hope to be ahead. Keep checking.

Well, all TT lovers should promote this fact. Of course some will rain on our parade, but the fact still remains that this is a result of which I am very proud. I will publish in the next few days the actual traffic measured by our server during the recent World Championships in Yokohama.

Be proud, tell your Aussie mates that "your" website, your ITTF website, is amongst the most visited in the world compared to other IFs. Promote and be proud, your sport is moving up. We may not have the most attractive website, but we sure have content.

Haggisv, we need our own players to believe in our sport and to promote it whenever possible. We hope to get our new "ITTF World of Table Tennis" TV show on Australian TV screens. But we are meeting with a lot of resistance. Please get the other Australian Forum members to call their TV sports networks and ask for this show. We are spending a lot on the production and we want people to see it. Help us.

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Adham Sharara

I really do not know what players you talk to, but if this is the way they think and feel about their sport then I suspect it is far from the main body of TT players around. It is my experience in every sport I have played seriously that young players and experienced players alike know of the top players and their names simply because these are the role models the aspire to emulate or copy in their own game.

To play a sport seriously and not know the top players of that sport seems highly unlikely to me. I can not think of a single reason why table tennis players in general - as you imply - differ from other sports and do not give a toss nor want to know who the heroes of their own sport are. I personally believe the exact opposite applies.

To play table tennis and not know who Wang Hao is, is like playing golf without having a notion that a guy named Tiger Woods exist or being unaware that Roger Federer is sort of a decent player if you play tennis. It does not make sense, IMHO.

Anyway, I am really confused as to what you want to achieve with your post. Sure, being critical can be a good thing, but it is only really effective if backed up with constructive and positive suggestions to help take our sport forward, IMHO. Since you do not think ITTV is good for TT, then what do you suggest ITTF do instead to help market the sport we love?

Please do not take this as a personal attack. I am sincerely interested as to what you would prefer the ITTF do instead.

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speedplay, brabhamista,

I am answering your posts. I hope you can understand that I generally do not comment on things like this "Or is this just another silly attempt to catch Adham in your weird game?"

Now I have read my post again. OK, maybe it was too short and therefore somehow open to different interpretations or assumptions. No problem, I can clarify that.

Yes, I want ITTF to continue to broadcast and I do not see any possible reason to stop it. Whether ITF has more or less viewer does not bother me at all.

What I did mean, was that we can not make a conclusion about growing popularity of TT based just on comparison, which website of which International Federation enjoys more traffic. For the simple reason, that ITTF offers videos of top tournaments completely free, other International Federations do not do that. So more viewers of itTV does not mean TT is generally getting more popular.

Important: if you want a successful marketing policy, it should be based on reality. In this case my understanding of reality is different from Adham's.

I would also explain the low presence of TT on TV by its low popularity among general public. Not the other way round. Again, it is my personal opinion. I simply do not think, the broadcasters are a sort of biased against TT. They study the market and probably know very well about popularity of TT.

Now to the question about popularity of TT on TV among TT players.

E. g. Germany. More than 600 000 registered players, more than 400 000 of them playing actively in teams in 13-16 divisions. My experience: TT players do discuss top sport sometimes, but it is not TT, it is football (soccer). Of course, they know Boll and Roßkopf. It is different about Wang Hao, Wang Liqin, Kreanga etc. Believe it or not. But some people know these players too, of course.

Another example. The highest German division DTTL broadcasts its games. They started 3-4 years ago with "free" and then two years ago they decided to make people pay for it, not much. A few months later it was free again. Guess why.

So it may be an unpleasant idea, but I do think, that TT on TV is very unpopular even among people, who actively play. Please, do not kill the messenger.

It's really OK, I do not have any problems with Smartguy and his comments. He is what we call in some languages "The spirit of contradiction". It is, in fact, good to have someone like that among us. Negativity can only highlight positive aspects even more. You often need this kind of contrast. Maybe some day he will surprise us all and "agree" with something. Then as they say in Italian "Sonate le campane" or "Ring the bells".

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Adham Sharara

Funny ! You remind me my bosses at work. Everytime someone brings them bad news or show them bad processes we do, he's called "negative mind". "Positive" guys are the one who always say yes to what bosses say or want...No matter how smart what is asked to do is...
Go smartguy !

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Joola Rossi Emotion
T64 + Express one

You missed the point:
- In order to enjoy victory, you must have tasted defeat
- In order to find a positive attitude, you must recognize the negative one
- In order to see the light, you must have experienced darkness

So, in the case of Smartguy, in order to make positive progress, we need someone who sees the negative aspects.

Your bosses are addressing another issue. It is the issue of providing constructive criticism and a solution-oriented environment. If you will bring out something negative at work, then be ready to offer a positive solution. That is the role of the employee. Anyone can point out the errors, but the good employee also looks for a solution to avoid these errors. Your bosses have a good point, you may be missing it too.

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Adham Sharara