How many TVs do you need for your bar?

As I write this in late May, 2020, a lot of bars are still closed. But, more are opening every day. And, if you’re a bar owner, you should be thinking about how you’ll attract and keep customers. There’s a chance you’ll have to cut your occupancy numbers, and you’ll have to work hard to attract customers.

Now’s the time to be upgrading.

What keeps bar patrons drinking for hours?

As a bar owner, you know this. You know that the real key to profitability is customers ordering food and drinks over and over. This means they have to sit in that barstool for a while. And the way to do that is to give them something to occupy their time.

That means television.

Sports is going to come back.

It’s true that a lot of sports was suspended. But not all, and more is coming back as we speak. Sports channels have been adding new games from around the world, and people are waking up to the allure of eSports, where players of extremely complicated video games compete online. Honestly that stuff has gotten so good that it’s very hard to tell from the real thing.

When sports does come back, it’s a fair bet that stadiums will be operating at reduced capacity or will be closed to the public completely. That’s good news for you as a bar owner, because it means that customers who want to see the whole “wide world of sports” will need to come see you rather than going to see the game in person.

Time for a TV upgrade

Now is the perfect time to be honest with yourself about the TVs in your bar. Think about it. Are they over 5 years old? Are they under 50 inches? Even worse, are they starting to show issues with burn-in or stray colors? Things may have looked pretty state-of-the-art when you put those TVs in, but it’s time to rethink that position.

All of the TVs in your bar should be at least 60″ diagonal. They have to be impressive. A few should be over 80″ diagonal. And you are probably going to want more of them.

The nuts and bolts of this article

That’s the real question, right? How many televisions do you need in your bar? There’s no hard and fast formula, but there is a rule of thumb.

Every seat should have a direct view of at least three televisions and should be able to see three more if the patron turns their head.

One of those televisions should be a larger one, so that the “big” game” is always visible.

Does that sound like your bar? If you run a national franchise maybe, but as a smaller bar owner the chances are you don’t have that many TVs in that many places. I bet there are places in the bar where people can’t even see a single TV because their backs are to them.

If you want to keep people in their seats, you have to keep them watching. The way to do that is to flood their eyes with interesting things to look at. And that, friends, means big TVs.

You’ll have to put something interesting on each TV

If you have six TVs visible (in whole or part) from every seat you’ll need at least six different video sources. And remember, streaming still isn’t an option. You may think that they won’t find out that you’re streaming Disney+ from your bar. They will. The very nature of the internet means that those streaming providers know right where you are.

Television for bars means satellite television, plain and simple. And when you’re ready to outfit all those new TVs with satellite service, call the experts at Signal Connect. They’re the leaders in activating satellite service for businesses. You need a special level of expertise to work with commercial accounts, and those overseas call center employees just don’t have it. Signal Connect does. If you’re ready for that big upgrade… and you should definitely be thinking about it now… call the experts. The number is 888-233-7563. If it’s after East Coast business hours, fill out the form below.

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.