If you're wondering why they made the change, here you go.

http://www.bassfan.com/news_article/9384/what-has-anglers-most-pumped-about-bpt#.W7aVzhNKiL8

Before I read it I will guess they were tired of fishing for the other guys money. They might say other things but that's what drove this.

"870 hours of TV coverage on multiple networks" is going to be put competitive fishing on a whole new level of potential income for fishermen...
it may take a few years but my prediction is that MLF will be closely modeled after professional golf in that the fishermen will control the competition,the venue and most importantly the television,advertising and venue income....
tournament bass fishing is not a spectator sport in it's current form,actually on the lake spectators detract and sometimes alter the outcome of high level tournaments...MLF has overcome this by putting a camera in each boat and created excellent viewing for the fans....

could be wrong but IMHO, MLF has created a "better mousetrap"....

Of course us fisherman will watch. We were already watching. 870 hours will be more hours to the same audience. Non-fishermen will not watch.

None of them mentioned this and so far none of them seem to want to cut entry fees. They have that option.

Sounds like they were tired of being married to the same old, same old. Frustrated by years of lack of reception to requests/ideas; the new girl in town looks more attractive. The new girl isn�t as traditional and has her own flaws, but offers more possibilities and is more agreeable in some ways

They all mention it off the record. Then they say other things when on record. It's not that entry fees are too high. It's basically that they are fishing for the other guys entry fees. Look how the Elite Series paid out. Top half the field gets about twice their entry fee back. Only the few top spots get much more. Your primarily fishing for the other guys money. So on the average they were either making it off sponsors or they are starving.

They left for more money.

It's like when they win. Rarely any mention of the money. They hold the expected line. If you stuck them with the truth needle they would be saying, "it's great to get a big check, I was about to starve to death".

Did they leave for more money? If they were being offered cash to stay, no entry fees and better payouts with BASS but left anyway does that add up to you as leaving for more?

Sounds exciting! Can�t wait to see how much it �grows the sport!� I have non fishing friends that tell me their kids (like 4-5 year olds) get into watching bass tournaments on tv. This should appeal to all ages.

If they aren�t playing for each other�s money; I�m guessing that it�s for a slice of the TV contract (paid viewership package) + expo + sponsors money

With multiple sources of the payout finances, different scales/multiple marshals the anglers are in a difficult position as independent contractors

Another concern would be the slice of the paid viewership package
The younger generations (clearly targeted with this format) are very adept at vpn scrambling, streaming, and mirroring. I�d be concerned that the anglers payouts aren�t a true reflection of what they are worth

Im excited about the change. Sounds like a good deal

Wow...

Millions and millions of fisherman won't watch

Everybody talking about the tv exposure but the audience for bass fishing on tv ain't that big people like us are only ones watching

No more than 40 boats opens up a lot of lakes they could not fish before. With there being a BPS on Hubbard and one on Grapevine it would be cool if they had an event on either one of those lakes .

I'm starting a junior perch fishing competition at the park next year. I'll let you guys know what my YouTube channel will be.

I don�t know about everybody else but I�m not Gona be A fan of mlf or bpt or whatever it is I�d rather see a sack of big ones caught and weighed than a sack of 20 2 pounders

look no further than the growth rate of high school and college bass tournaments....more and more high schools are dropping football because kids are choosing not to play and fishing is a good venue to satisfy their competitive nature....not unusual in my area for there to be a high school tourney with over 100 boats in it.
in a few years those kids are gonna have wives and more children interested to tourney bass fishing....

television channels need programing 24 hours a day,365 days a year and there is a market for programming to fill those hours......I believe those 80 anglers had the foresight to follow the example of the PGA tour in which the golfers dictate the rules and the venue and more importantly,they receive the television,venue and sponsor income which they split among themselves instead of letting BASS or FLW take a percentage of the profits...

It will be interesting to see the boats they use.

Bassfan

Here is another pro's perspective. The thought about competing against the owners was interesting.

I think you are wrong on this for sure. My wife is a fair weather fisherman who's fished 4 tourneys with me but has never liked watching any fishing shows of any type until MLF started. She truly enjoys those shows and watches every one of them with me.

This one is the only one that really stood out to me.

Greg Hackney: "I've been very fortunate in my career to see some of the biggest changes that have happened in bass fishing and I truly believe this is the greatest opportunity I'm going to see in my lifetime. If there's any chance to take it mainstream, this is it."

I can remember a time, in a not so far away galaxy, when very few people watched Golf and very few people showed up to watch on the courses.

Then a young man came along named Tiger Woods and it changed the world of golf in ways that hadn't been seen since the late 60's and early 70's when Arnie's Army and Jack's Posse changed it.

I am not sure who the "Tiger" of the Bass Fishing World is or will be but if they find him (or her) the viewership will be changed "just us fishermen" to a whole new non-fishing group and possibly add more people to our fishing ranks.

Any time we can add large numbers of people to our Conservation efforts through hunting, fishing, and other outdoor adventures it is a good thing.

Of course the ones that made the move are gonna pump up the new venture, what else would they say?
And as far as tv, I don't think people plan their day around watching fishing like they would college football, super bowl, etc.
I don't get the "the guys were fed up with BASS" If that's the case, why did they stay? Were they forced to fish BASS? I know fishing
is what was paying their bills, but it's like any job..if you're that unhappy, go somewhere else.

I would be willing to bet the number of people that golf compared to the number of people who fish is 10 to 1.... maybe even higher. Yeah, Tiger definitely helped golf gain popularity among non-golfers, but I�d still bet something like 80% of PGA�s TV viewership plays golf or used to play golf. Most people I talk to about fishing that don�t fish think of fishing as �Sitting in a boat/on the bank with a beer in your hand watching a bobber�. We�re still a long ways from being where golf is IMO. But as a current fan, I�m thankful for more opportunities to watch the top level compete.

And also, in golf every shot matters, that�s why it�s a much better spectator sport and better for television. In fishing, it only matters when there�s a fish on the end of your line, making all the in between boring to a non-fishermen... or even someone who loves fishing.

I was a little skeptical at first but, like Hackney said, this has the best chance of taking fishing mainstream. Tournament fishing in it�s traditional state was only going so far. One reason is the fish care aspect. If this is as exciting as I think and easier to access than the pay per view MLF I think it�ll be a hit. This format in a best five would not be as interesting. (Although I think they should keep that stat and maybe give bonuses for heaviest five and big fish).

Kevin, I did a little google research. Approximately 60 million people participate in fishing in the U.S. Golf peaked around the year 2000 with 28.8 million golfers and has been in decline since. When I was in college (a long time ago) I remember recreation, park, and tourism class I had discussed participation of outdoor activities. If I remember correctly fishing was number one at the time. I think since then other activities have grown larger but, not because of a decline in fishing.

You would be wrong. The number of people watching may be higher but the number participating isn't and I'm not just talking about tournament angling.

Fishing ranks as the 4th most popular participation sport in the country, beating out bicycling, bowling, basketball, golf, jogging, baseball, softball, soccer, football and skiing. Only walking, swimming and camping are more popular � in fact, fishing is more popular than golf and tennis combined.

https://outdoorindustry.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2016-Special-Report-on-Fishing_FINAL_WEB1.pdf

^^^

Still doesn't mean they will watch it on tv.

The �sport� of fishing is NOWHERE the same as �Sport Fishing�. The vast majority of people �participating� in the �sport� of fishing are doing so leasurly. They are not full blast fishing, culling, flying from
Spot to spot. They are drinking and relaxing. Nothing like other sports that are participation sports. Soccer, even for fun, keeps a score. Golf, even for fun, keeps a score. Everything that is listed above, has some type of score that validates ones performance. Almost nobody culls bass and weighs em up. They either fish for whatever bites:....and I do mean anything. Or they fish to cook.

Bass tournament folks make up such a small percentage of the fishing public, that it�s basically
Non-existent.

We ain't talking bout how it ranks as participation sport we talking bout how many people gonna watch it on tv

Right. People�s interest in an activity has nothing to do with them having an interest in watching it on tv. Seriously though, this format is built to make this sport as entertaining as possible in my opinion. I don�t know much about media but, I think the folks at OSG do. If tournament fishing can reach the audience outside of what it normally does. I think what�s happening with BPT is far and away the best chance it�s ever had.

Bingo, they do and they'll do their thing with MLF just like they have the last 7 years and we can all sit back and armchair the deal.

Participation or interest in a sport has a lot to do with who watches it on TV.

I disagree to an extent. There's millions that fish all over the world. There are also millions that have no idea you can fish competitively for money. Nor have any clue about watching it on TV. Why do you think fishing shows get crappy time slots on channels.
Big differences in recreational fishing and tournament bass fishing.

Go ask a guy who catfishes if he has ever heard of Kevin VanDam or Mike Iaconelli. There's a reason the fishing industry spends so much on tournament bass fishing and it's not because they are only targeting tournament bass anglers.

I bet 80% (of catfishers) have never heard of KVD.

Try looking at it this way... Reality type shows and sports are a large percentage of what is aired now. From the major networks to the �cable channels� reality is dominating. I watch sports and a variety of reality almost exclusively if it�s not news. It�s not always about only fishermen watching fishing shows anymore. My dad watches the Tour De France every year and he�s probably been on a bike 3 times in the last fifty years. He does it because he likes the footage of the scenery. I may watch Fixer Upper with my wife. I�m not in the remodeling business. We�ve had several reality shows approach our business to do a show. They�re looking for personalities and entertainment. I�m not saying OSG is trying to create a hybrid sports/reality show but, there�s a reason they picked guys that have the total package. MLF has been entertaining and they�re about to take it to a whole new level. Of course it could flop. Business is risky. Then the nay sayers can say I told you so.

MANY millions of people who do not play football watch football. I personally don't play golf but watch every major religiously. Watching fishing on tv, live, has never been a thing. So to me the whole argument is apples and oranges. Until now. If MLF can figure out a way to broadcast to a wide audience live and make it interesting, then I think it would be fair to compare.

Maybe I worded it wrong. People that fish is VERY broad. How about this... the number of people that golf compared to the number of people that competitively fish for bass is probably 10 to 1. And I�d be willing to bet that most of professional bass fishing�s television viewership is people who competitively fish.

How many people are going to tune into the Outdoor Channel that don�t participate in outdoor activities? Heck, I don�t even have the Outdoor Channel. If they want it to go mainstream, it needs to be broadcasted on a mainstream network. I still feel like BASS has that advantage over MLF.

It will all play out in the coming year. Will be fun to watch.

I betcha if the PGA had done a participation report all those figures would change.

Golf will always be a more easy and appealing sport since it cost so much more less Play and be involved. If you want to get into bass tourney fishing you�ve got to it jerseys 5000 dollars worth of electronics 2 power poles at 5000 and a 50,000 dollar boat to look good. So not anyone can be able to look good or compete. With golf all you gotta have is a few clubs and beer

Yet my little brother fishes put of a 14'jon with no electronics and cashes checks..

That�s as about as spot on as you can get

Yes you can catch bass out of a John boat or a big ranger just the same. I�m just pointing out what bass fishing is or has become:

I would like to know what audience they are thinking they are going reach? Fisherman are fisherman. You aren't going to attract a new demographic just because you change the format of a sport that is very much a niche sport. It is still fishing. You are just trying to catch more smaller fish. The fan-base for BASS has grown bigger and better each year because they put on a show at all their events. That is how you get new fans. Young kids come to weigh-ins for games and lights and music. They care nothing about listening to Brent Ehler explain catching 35 one pounders on a drop shot. MLF is a great supplement to professional bass fishing in its current format. JMO.

They no longer care to be a supplement and therein lies your answer.

What an interesting perspective. Have you not witnessed the popularity of the YouTubers? Do you really not seen the growth of High School Bass fishing? The MLF format is fast paced and geared for this newer demographic. My wife, who never fishes, watches MLF with me. It's completely different than watching a "guru" on a private lake whack 7 pounders.

BASS and FLW might survive but this is coming and coming BIG. Johnny Morris doesn't go half speed.