Respectfully, I am not hating on the handlers either. Brook Thomason, Tony Torres and Rolando Vicente are all good people who, do their part to set up matches and get Efren the action he's looking for. But in the case of the matches we have streamed with Efren playing, 90% of them were all booked by POV and approved by both Efren, Brook, Tony. Granted, some of them were a little tough for Efren like Teyachea, Lassek and Pettipiece however, we filled the house with spectators and random players wanting to line up and play Efren because of it. POV does not get paid by the house, either.
I am not upset with Efren for his decision to hold off on this approach. I'm just frustrated that somebody would advocate to Efren that we are somehow taking money out of his pocket. To us it's a fair trade and we have always welcomed Efren to showcase any of his sponsors as well. In the case that somebody wants to play Efren 'off camera' we also respect this request, even during the promotional period that we announce his stay. When we announce these events, we never promise that EVERY match will be streamed or that it will be some kind of blockbuster broadcast. Efren or his opponents are always allowed to take their match to a table that's not being streamed. And, by the way, Bradley Fleming asked that his match with Efren not be put on YouTube and he asked me for a copy, which I gave him.
Also, in the case that any of you feel that Efren has ownership rights to our intellectual property and our broadcasts, this is not completely correct. In the case of further monetization, the talent does have some rights, but it's not really ownership. We do however, respect the request of Puyat Sports, Efren Reyes and his 'handlers' by NOT seeking any additional monetization or distribution of assets outside of YouTube. If this were the case, POV would go to great lengths to structure a royalty agreement with not only Efren but also with their opponent on camera. This is actually going to be the case with the upcoming Busty/Chohan match in Las Vegas. Besides the fact that Busty and Chohan are being paid to appear for this exclusive Pay Per View event, POV is agreeing to hold this match back from YouTube and we will structure a royalty agreement to the players when we sell this match months later. This being said, our viewers should not assume that they should miss this event, expecting it to be seen on YouTube later because it wont be available.
Promotional Note:
Watching Busty vs Chohan LIVE, gives viewers the added benefit of receiving one of our free gifts and being entered into a Tiger Classic 2 Cue drawing. I would also like to point out that, events such as these are few and far between for us and we are doing what we can to give back to the players, the rooms and to the viewers in every case. Please support our Pay Per View event, by visiting:
www.POVPOOL.com/Action
To sum up my thoughts, in the past 5 years POVPool has done a successful job in promoting our sport, the rooms, many players and various games and companies. We have not been perfect in this endeavor and we do not profess to be. The business of streaming and broadcast rights are still at issue when it comes to the internet. Some have suggested that POV become transparent and report our earnings to the world but honestly, I believe this is a private matter that would only misguide the public anyway (Especially some pool players, who have no business acumen). I thoroughly believe that players like Efren will come back to work with us and I still consider him a friend and mentor of the sport. I actually appreciate his point of view because it gives me food for thought, "Why not position POV Pool to make more money instead of settling for peanuts?" In this manner, maybe POV can structure some agreeable deals with the players and rooms. I just have solve or overcome a little riddle here: "It takes money to make money."
Best to All and Keep Loving Pool!