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paintballimpact.com / Print & Media / TV
Paintball on TV Television
Paintball on TV has long been hailed as the thing that will bring paintball to the next level. Leagues like the National X-Ball League have formatted their games specifically so that the game would present well on television. When creating the X-Ball League, they decided to combine the elements that made paintball popular with elements that have made the 4 major US sports popular. The 4 major sports, football, baseball, basketball, and hockey all enjoy a loyal TV audience, and teams near the countries biggest cities. Like football and basketball, X-Ball Games have 4 quarters and a point scoring system where the team with the most points at the end of the game wins the match.
The idea behind getting paintball on TV is that if paintball could attract a national television contract and a loyal viewer following, paintball leagues could increase the number of players and greater numbers means both revenue and political clout. The idea of paintball on television is to attract interest in major market areas, and to build an audience base and gather sponsorships with companies outside the paintball industry. As of 2005, the NXL was still in the process of developing a national television contract.
There are a selection of paintball leagues and teams whose events have been featured on network television. Paintball Sports Promotions, or PSP, has a professional division known as the NXL. NXL games have been broadcast on ESPN2, and has enjoyed some lucrative sponsorship deals. Sponsors for PSP televised events have included NXe Paintball, Shocktech ST, PMI, and Tippmann. PSP events are the biggest in the world, with over 300 team formats featured in these televised events include the Young Guns 5-man championships, division 4 5-man, Division 3 X-Ball, and the Open X-Ball. The Paintball Sports Promotions website has online order forms for registering for events like the Open X-Ball or Pro X-Ball, as well as links to event scores and season rankings.
In addition to PSP games broadcast on ESPN2, leagues like the Ultimate Arena Paintball League UAPL have a national television audience. UAPL games are shown Saturdays on the Superstation WGN. The UAPL is comprised of 24 teams near major market areas in Canada and the USA. UAPL games are broadcast every Saturday on the Superstation WGN. WAPL games feature 2 3 man teams. Each Saturday, 8 of the 24 teams compete against each other in a single elimination tournament. The 24 teams make up 3 conferences. In each single elimination tournament, two teams make it to a championship round, where they compete in a best of 7 championship. The arenas for these games feature a metal cage enclosing a 50 x 100 foot mesh net, so that a live audience can watch these games up close. Because these arenas are so small, max velocities run at 200 mph. The cage is small, so the players are up close to each other, and it doesn't take long for the paint to fly and people to be eliminated. The slogan for these games is "Do you have what it takes?" Paintball on TV has brought the game leagues and games that allow the best players and teams to compete on a regular basis.
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Paintball Guns 
