Why PBS Dropped DCI Broadcast - Other Thought

[JimF-LowBari]

This has been gone over a few times but a thought finally hit me and might as well start a new thread if any discussion results. The usual reason given for PBS dropping the broadcasts is "People were making fake pledges and PBS got tired of being burned". Never dealt with fund raising so maybe someone here has the knowledge but this don't sound totally square with me. With fund raising there are always bad pledges, bounced checks, etc but way I see it as long as the fund raiser is making the greatest amount of money (with good pledges) they will continue what they are doing. IOW - PBS was getting burned by some but DCI was still drawing in the money as wanted.

The as interest in DC went down the pledges went down. PBS and their stations being pro-active looked for other ways to bring in the pledge bucks. As PBS did find pledge night programming that brougt in more money, DCI was dropped.

Bottom line (IMO) - it wasn't the bad pledges that turned PBS against using DCI. It was that PBS found better options. Especially since the amount of good pledges was going down.

[TroopAlum12]

Did the audiences decrease though? Audience attendance at the theater broadcasts has been going up steadily for the past 11 years (as we've seen from the recent posts). If anything, I think interest in drum corps is making a comeback as it becomes more integrated with music education, and as participation in marching bands becomes more mainstream.

[JimF-LowBari]

Good question. I should have mentioned my PBS broadcast experience was in Central PA with the Hershey station. Central PA was a Sr corps area with a bunch of local corps. During the late 70s/early 80s locally the number of corps, local shows and attendance was in a decline so interest in corps was going down. Have second hand info from someoen who worked at the station who said the interest in a corps broadcast "just isn't there" but that was probably said mid to late 80s.

Edited November 14, 2014 by JimF-LowBari

[MikeD]

This has been gone over a few times but a thought finally hit me and might as well start a new thread if any discussion results. The usual reason given for PBS dropping the broadcasts is "People were making fake pledges and PBS got tired of being burned". Never dealt with fund raising so maybe someone here has the knowledge but this don't sound totally square with me. With fund raising there are always bad pledges, bounced checks, etc but way I see it as long as the fund raiser is making the greatest amount of money (with good pledges) they will continue what they are doing. IOW - PBS was getting burned by some but DCI was still drawing in the money as wanted.

The as interest in DC went down the pledges went down. PBS and their stations being pro-active looked for other ways to bring in the pledge bucks. As PBS did find pledge night programming that brougt in more money, DCI was dropped.

Bottom line (IMO) - it wasn't the bad pledges that turned PBS against using DCI. It was that PBS found better options. Especially since the amount of good pledges was going down.

Jim,

You raise a good question.

To me, and I too am not a fund-raising person, the bottom line to PBS is how much cash they bring in during pledge drives, which is used to find their other activities.

1) A consistent number of people make pledges, but fewer actually send in the $$$ to honor/cover those pledges...revenue declines for PBS.

2) Fewer people make pledges, resulting in fewer payments even if the percentage stays the same...revenue decline for PBS.

From anecdotal information posted here over they years, DCI supporters called their local PBS affiliates when they dropped the DCI broadcast, even if taped, and the answer they were given was basically...yes, people made pledges, but a lower percentage actually honored those pledges (along the lines of item 1 above)...at least as compared to other types of shows that generated higher returns for PBS.

Either way, a revenue decline for PBS would make dropping the DCI show a no-brainer. Whatever the scenario with PBS showing or not showing DCI...DCI made $0 on the PBS show...Today's method brings in some amount of revenue to DCI.

There is another scenario...even if revenue stayed the same with DCI, but showing a doo-wop show or a Broadway musical would bring in more...what would PBS pick?

Edited November 14, 2014 by MikeD

[JimF-LowBari]

Your last sentence ($$ from Doo-Wop vs $ from DCI) explained my whole point Mike. Thanks for being more concise.

And just to be clear I wasn't thinking about the money DCI made from PBS (none). Way I see it DCI got publicity for DCI. I'd say publicity for the activity but Reliable Rondo always said "after 21, they can't march corps anymore".

Trying to remember the year PBS tried a live broadcast of the Red Green character doing a network wide pledge drive... never to be mentioned again.....

Haven't noticed what Hershey uses anymore but we went from Doo-Wop to 60s groups. So that must be the big $$$$ giving demographic in Central PA.

Edited November 14, 2014 by JimF-LowBari

[BRASSO]

The undeniable fact is that PBS and DCI DID have a long time mutually beneficial relationship in which promised returns of financial pledges came as promised from DCI program watchers at levels that satisfied PBS each season for the continuation of its relationship with DCI and for its continued televised DCI telecast for the following year....And at satisfactory contributory levels from watchers for close to 2 decades too.

But then viewership declined... and BOTH promised pledges, and fulfilled pledges declined.... at levels that finally had PBS make their broadcasting decision to drop the programming from its annual broadcasting. The " why " of the viewership and contributions decline is of course open to specualtion, debate, discussion however.

[Tim K]

I somewhat alluded to this another thread, PBS has a wider audience now. "Downton Abbey" has a huge audience with people who love dramas. Concerts by classic rock stars are now shown on a station that at one time was strictly classical with a smothering of jazz. PBS also offered local broadcasting and WGBH's connection with the early broadcasts was due in large part to an employee who loved drum corps which yielded the 27th Lancers documentary of 1976 and the subsequent finals broadcast. As a matter of fact, I think WGBH originally wanted to broadcast CYO Nationals and may have persuaded to do DCI.

It's interesting, a few weeks ago PBS broadcast a show called "Mariachi High" which featured a Texas high school that competed in Mariachi competitions. While the musical style was different, the spirit, hard work and dedication of the kids reminded me of drum corps, and since the BOA championships are taking place this weekend, band kids too. Don't know what the ratings were, but my guess is this crowd--music lovers who appreciate the efforts of young people, would enjoy DCI.

[garfield]

The undeniable fact is that PBS and DCI DID have a long time mutually beneficial relationship in which promised returns of financial pledges came as promised from DCI program watchers at levels that satisfied PBS each season for the continuation of its relationship with DCI and for its continued televised DCI telecast for the following year....And at satisfactory contributory levels from watchers for close to 2 decades too.

But then viewership declined... and BOTH promised pledges, and fulfilled pledges declined.... at levels that finally had PBS make their broadcasting decision to drop the programming from its annual broadcasting. The " why " of the viewership and contributions decline is of course open to specualtion, debate, discussion however.

Man, this is NOTHING like my understanding of DCI's relationships with PBS. I've looked at lots of financial docs in archive from BITD, and had many discussion whom I believe were actual parties at the time.

The best, most concise explanation that I've received is that DCI pulled the plug when they realized they couldn't afford the expense of producing the broadcast.

Quite different from your explanation that PBS pulled the plug.

[BRASSO]

Man, this is NOTHING like my understanding of DCI's relationships with PBS. I've looked at lots of financial docs in archive from BITD, and had many discussion whom I believe were actual parties at the time.

The best, most concise explanation that I've received is that DCI pulled the plug when they realized they couldn't afford the expense of producing the broadcast.

Quite different from your explanation that PBS pulled the plug.

Where is your cite that DCI decided to take their DCI young performers off TV at PBS because ( as you claim ) " the DCI expense of producing the continuation of the broadcast " was something that DCI could no longer ( your claim ) " afford the expense " of doing so ? My understanding was that PBS decided to pull the plug on the DCI Finals telecast essentially because the pledges declined, and the promised pledges that did come in, began to renege on those promises to a level that PBS could no longer live with.

Are you perhaps confusing the Finals loss at PBS with that of ESPN ? It is my understanding that DCI put out the word that the expense of putting the Finals on ESPN ( as a short replacement to the PBS venture ) could no longer be afforded by DCI to make it a financially worthwhile venture for DCI moving forward. But if you heard that DCI also unilaterally pulled the plug with PBS as well because of the same reason they did at ESPN ( as you claim ) thats certainly new news to me.

Edited November 15, 2014 by BRASSO

[JimF-LowBari]

As background to the younger set, PBS had the DCI Finals live feed and it was up to the individual stations if they showed it or not. Hershey cut broadcasting one night in the middle of the show to go to the state capitol for a live vote on the PA budget (overdue). Irony was Crossmen (only PA corps that year) was coming to the starting line as the feed was cut.

My memory is stations dropped the broadcast on their own until not that many were showing the live broadcast. After a while PBS quit having a live feed all together and went to that horrible 2 hour chopped up crap. What years were DCI producing the broadcast and what format was it during that time? DCI certainly didn't have the resources in the early years (at latest 1975 if not before).

Edited November 15, 2014 by JimF-LowBari