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Comment by watwut | Hacker News Reader

The athlete is in a no way a product a dude behind the tv bought. Tv watching guy is not a customer of the artist. Like, first of all, the dude behind the tv did not paid the athlete nor the athlete employer.

> but they aren’t out of line for complaining about their experience with the product.

They are just as asshole, as much valid as me mocking random people on the street.

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I agree with that last part but the people watching the athlete are definitely the customer. The athlete gets paid because people watch them on tv (and in person). If no one watched them on tv, then they quite literally would not get paid. Their employer is selling their talent and abilities (the product) to the watchers (the customers). The watchers are literally paying the athlete and the athletes employer, if not through subscriptions or tickets, then just by watching the ads on tv.

1.) It is not even true that all athletes you watch on TV would be professionals. A lot of them are supposed amateurs, not getting actual salary at all.

2.) Like common, it is even fairly common for people to pay literally nothing to anyone and watch professional sports for free.

3.) Those who are paid are NOT paid by the watchers at all. Not even by the TV itself. Their actual employers are multiple steps away from broadcaster.

> if not through subscriptions or tickets, then just by watching the ads on tv.

That makes them products themselves. They are not paying by watching ads, their time is sold to the real customer who is whoever paid for ads.

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