The reality television era has dominated the airwaves over the past five years. Over 100 of these types of shows have come into being, with many more on the way. Networks have conceived unique concepts and turned them into unscripted dramas, about everything from singing competitions to celebrity lives. This season, sports were added to the mix.

Although it is too early to pass a final judgement, it appears that the marriage of sports and reality television is struggling. The CBC’s hockey reality series Making the Cut has, ironically, struggled to make the cut after a much-anticipated debut.

The show is about 68 players vying for six roster spots at an NHL training camp. Ratings have steadied around 400,000 viewers per episode, which is 25% below expectations. Since the first episode, ratings have steadily declined, and public awareness of the show is near non-existent.

This was supposed to be the show everyone was talking about. I was predicting this show would be a huge addition to the diversified world of reality programming and that it would be guaranteed to be milked for a sequel, or two, or three. However, the show has been unsuccessful in attracting casual hockey fans, which has been a surprise in this hockey-mad country.

Making the Cut is one of the more expensive productions in Canadian television history and was hoped to be one of the more popular. But to make of a great reality series requires more than a big budget. Viewers need to become emotionally attached to the characters. Sub-plots and themes need to ensnare viewers and keep them tuning in weekly.

Reality fans have become fascinated with romance, alliances, back-stabbing, and unexpected behaviour. Shows like Survivor and The Apprentice embody the success of reality television. Every great show will only go as far as the characters take it, whatever the backdrop.

. Making the Cut cannot fill the void for live games, or offer reality fans the hype they have come to expect. Making the Cut focuses too much on the sport, and not enough on the characters and the emotion. The sport needs to be the backdrop and the characters must be the focal point of any successful reality show

South of the border, both FOX and NBC are going at each other with competing boxing reality shows. FOX’s boxing reality series Next Great Champ, featuring Oscar de la Hoya, offers one boxer a shot at a one-year contract with de la Hoya’s promotional company.

The show was booted off of network television and placed on cable sports outlets after getting horrible ratings in it’s first three weeks.

“In the end, it belongs on an outlet better suited to serve the boxing fan”, said FOX President Gail Berman in a statement.

This show was a disaster from the start and was only pushed to the air to offset NBC’s boxing series. The characters lacked appeal and talent, which caused the show to be disappointing even to hardcore boxing fans. Each episode culminated in a boxing match with the loser being eliminated. While many of these fights were entertaining, they were not enough to interest casual viewers.

With the abysmal ratings of Next Great Champ, NBC got cold feet and chose to delay the debut of The Contender until early January. The Contender is about the lives of 16 boxers seeking a prize of $1 million

The producer and director of the show is Mark Burnett, the creator of Survivor and The Apprentice. Hosted by Sylvester Stallone, and unlike Next Great Champ, The Contender features top-notch boxing prospects with promising futures.

“The Contender is not just a show about boxers or boxing; it is a show about people and the dreams, hopes, desires, and fears that motivate all of us in our battles big or small. The backdrop may be boxing, but the show will reveal emotion, humor and personal drama that the viewer can relate to. The Contender will give us a chance to meet 16 amazing boxers while becoming a part of their life”, said Burnett in a statement.

Look for The Contender to set the benchmark for sports reality shows. This show should do a much better job of keeping the sport as the backdrop and allowing viewers to relate to the characters and emotions on their quest for $1 million

It’s all about balance, just like life.