Why are 90% of natural shows 2nd rate productions

[HowieW]

I think anyone who knows me realizes I am against much of the extreme drug use seen today on pro and national level bodybuilders. However, for some reason, most natural events are poorly promoted with small crowds and obscure publicity. The NPC team U is about the best one . The musclemania worlds and superbodies have some incredible bodybuilders in them but it fails to draw much of a crowd.
Why?

[liberty]

LAst years Olympia was a second rate production if ya ask me
I have to agree though that most natural shows are very small
The musclemania atlantic is a pretty big show though
Over 120 competitors last year

[Lynchie]

Because bodybuilding is not a real sport. The shows only get attended by a small minority of fans, gays, and the rest family members and friends of competitors. Oh, and the hilarious small amount of wannabe's. Y'all know what I mean, the 85lbs "bodybuilders" dressed in bomber jackets stuffed with anything they can find to make 'em look bigger.

[pushinweightwi]

I sponsor a small natural show (The Mr. and Ms. WI State Fair).  We run the show the very well and I have received complements from people that are not BB fans that have watched the show. They tell me that they were surprised at how smoothly things went.  I will say this you see how a show with a budget like the Mr. O can suck it's really easy to screw up and look half ass when you got zero cash at your disposal.

[Prime]

to be honest the worst run and most poorly attended shows i have seen have been non tested shows, do draw from that what you like.

[dr.chimps]

Nobody pays to see the average person pose on stage..

Exactly right!!! When you see a show you want to see freaks. When I hit the stadium to see a ballgame, I wanna see the guys who are the best at the game, not some guy who plays like me. Frickin' no brainer.

[pushinweightwi]

You are right about paying to see the Freaks.  Our show is free to anyone who has purchased a ticket to the Fair.  We usually have about 1000-1500 people in attendance.  I doubt we would have 1/4 that amount if we wanted $20+ a head.

[timfogarty]

The WNBF/INBF does pretty well.  They sold out their World Championships in NYC at the Manhattan Center's Hammerstein Ballroom when I attended a few years back.  That's about 2500 people.

[youandme]

What are you talking about?   90% of IFBB shows are 2nd-rate productions. 

True, I remember when I went to my first pro show, I expected better announcer, better lights, and sound control it was just like a NPC contests except the guys on stage were bigger and I thought they deserved better

[lonewolf]

Companies tend not to invest sponsorship money into events which do not generally give much of a return on their investment. This is due to a lack of exposure in magazines and recognition that this is what bodybuilding is supposed to be. Be aware that there are pro shows that are also second rate productions. The New York Pro event comes to mind immediately.

[dlee]

I guess the natural shows I have seen are part of the 10% of the natural shows. For instance, Nancy Andrews runs two INBF shows each year. Each has over 100 competitors and the audience is always a large one. People in New England know about her shows and yet she also has competitors who fly in. As natural shows, they do not attract the freaks to compete, but the goal is to appeal to those natural competitors who want to qualify for the WNBF so as to compete with the likes of herself, Angela Mraz, Robert Hope and Rodney Hilaire.