An interesting find in the archives that someone just brought to life. It is currently posted on a German darts website. Hopefully it will stay up for awhile for everyone to view. I only saw the first few minutes so far, but from past stories from JK, it appears to be classic Bristow!

Arrows - A John Samson documentation about Eric Bristow (1979)

http://www.dartn.de/Bristow_Dokumentation_Arrows

Getting Your Act on Cable TV

 By L. David Irete  

copied from BullsEye News Volume VI,  Issue V  Sept/Oct 1986

David Irete, darts promoter and video producer, continues his series on helping darts break into the big time.

 Most US cities have some sort of cable television service.  According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations, these cable services are obligated to reserve a frequency channel for general public use. Hence the name “public access”.

Most cable companies offer public time slots ranging anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 hour.  The cost is normally about $25 per half hour. You supply them with tape, which is ordinarily ¾ inch U-matic video tape, and most cable outlets will provide producers, directors, etc., and will have a studio where your show will be taped. The cost for these services is extremely low and often free.

What does all this have to do with darts? EVERYTHING! Your club, association, dart team, or you-ham that you are-can expose the game of darts to thousands of people through Public Access programming.  You can appear on the existing shows or create your own.  The bottom line is to get on TV and tell people about our sport. Remember, you are entitled to that airtime. If you’re involved with a tournament, a charity shoot, or are on a promotions committee for your club, this could be a way of obtaining exposure.

So, what’s your first step?

Call your local cable company and inquire about their public access programming. In most cases, they will send you, by mail, the information you need. If you are in the dark about producing a show of your own, ask if there are producers available in-house (many are interns working for the experience only) who can help you develop a program or book you on a show already airing on cable.

Take the time to find out more about public access in your area as soon as you can. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to get new people interested in the sport of darts.

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End note, please remember that this article was published in 1986, and prices and details quoted will no doubt be much different and higher, but checking into Public Access programming might not be such a bad idea.

As an added note, for those that do not know the author of this article, for years David provided video footage of darting events in the US through the sale of video cassettes throughout the early to late 80’s. His last dart filming adventures were to film the final North American Open in 1999, and gather some highlights from the 2004 Las Vegas Open, in memory of the late Tom Fleetwood.   David has since moved on to bigger and more famous projects, as he is now on the production staff for Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. I know if he ever reads this, he will email me and yell at me because I once again have forgotten what his official title is!  But next time you watch the credits roll by, just look for the name L. David Irete.

Now let’s get calling those cable companies about Public Access Programming!