BattleBots sees demise, creators say it should be presented as a sport
It is the end of BattleBots according to this New York Times story (registration required). After a promising start in 2000 on Comedy Central with an average of 1.5 million viewers tuning in, the audience was down to an average of 500,000 which sealed its demise:
"BattleBots" was not the first forum for mechanized melees. But it was the most popular, spawning toys, video games and dozens of imitators, both on television and off. Will Wright, creator of the computer-game megahit The Sims, and Michael L. Mauldin, one of the founders of the search engine company Lycos, were among the best-known builders of BattleBots....
"We completely appreciate what Comedy Central did for us by giving us that exposure, and making us a household name," Mr. Munson [one of the creators] said. "But in the last season or two, it became less of a sport and more of an entertainment vehicle. And the show needs to be presented as a sport."
Mr. Munson and his partner, Trey Roski, hope to persuade another network to carry "BattleBots." They would like to see the show's new home help build the robot-making teams into marketable sports stars that viewers can relate to.