Fremantle Media thinks parkour is the next big thing for television
by Jason Hughes, posted Aug 28th 2009 5:05PM
At first, I want to sit here and laugh at the idea that Fremantle Media thinks they can develop a TV series with parkour. It's just people running and jumping across the landscape. How's that a sport? And most of the coolest videos feature the idiots who think they can do it and fail beautifully.But I also laughed at the idea of bringing poker to television; it's just people sitting around playing cards. The lesson I've learned is that people will watch anything. And parkour is something. And it can look cool when done right, and even cooler when done wrong.
But Fremantle Media (American Idol) is hooking up with Motion, Inc. thinking they can develop league competitions and turn it into a global entertainment brand. Which makes me think of wrestling or The X-Games. Hell, parkour would fit in very well there. I don't deny that it takes an incredible athleticism to perform parkour, but I can't see myself sitting down and enjoying a competition for an hour or more. But then again, I can't watch poker either, so it'll probably be as huge as they think.

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