Finals Live Stream

[Cardman]

I really wish they would stream finals live, this year especially. I will have to work Thursday and Friday nights, so watching Quarters or Semis is totally out. Oh well...at least I will have finals the next day via VOD since I pre-ordered the blurays...

[thirdcoast]

Wouldn't it be great if they made a last minute announcement after the cinema or Fan Network broadcast that finals would be streamed LIVE?

Not holding my breath though on this one...

That would be big! HUGE!

[emc2]

I do this every year, and it's about that time so...

I think it's time DCI streams Finals live via Fan Network. I'm sitting at home all week and DCI is not making a dime off of me! The simple reasons why DCI can be making more money off of Finals week by live streaming finals:

1) High cam only. This will keep the incentive to buy the DVD's/Blu-rays, as most fans will undoubtedly want better quality & multi-cam options.

or...

2) Offer the live stream option when buying DVD's. Charge the standard DVD price PLUS an extra premium to live stream Finals. That way people are already buying the DVD's. This would be like 'double dipping' in a sense, but I think a lot of fans would pay extra to watch finals live via computer. This premium can be slightly discounted than....

3) Extra Fan Network Premium for Finals. Make it so EVERYONE has to pay extra for the Finals Stream (i.e. not part of the Fan Network package). Maybe you can give FN subscribers a discount (still not as good as the DVD buyers discount), but if you charge an Pay-Per-View type fee for Finals Stream you'll increase your revenue.

The Fee structure could be something like: $60 for non-FN subscribers; $50 for FN subscribers; $45 for DVD buyers (including FN DVD options). This seems fair, and DCI could possibly charge more (I don't know what ticket prices for Finals are)

4) 'Black Out' a specific region where Finals is held. Just like the MLB package, you can see the games if your area is blacked out. If DCI does this they can ensure that they don't lose fans at Indy (or at least don't lose local fans who might be more apt to not go to finals if they can stream it). I don't know what a fair region would be, but I think DCI can figure it out: maybe based on zip code of billing address.

I'm not sure what their revenue is for Fan Network, but I'm confident that it would increase if they did the extra Finals live stream. They clearly have the means (since they essentially do it Thursday & Friday nights), and they would be able to make more revenue for Championships than they currently do.

The only downside I can think of is potentially losing revenue for the movie theater venture. You could justify this with DCI keeping more revenue from the Finals live stream since they wouldn't be 'sharing' it with theaters.

I know DCI is probably nervous about losing money on their biggest event of the season. But I don't think there are many drum corps fans who would opt to watch finals via a computer vs seeing it live, and if you keep the price at, say, the average ticket cost I think the majority of people who would go to finals would choose to see it live (if streaming cost = comparable to ticket price). While I undoubtedly have 'selfish' reasons as a drum corps fan for DCI to do this (I want to see finals live), I think that this could be a great way for DCI to make even more money than they normally would. Like I said, I'm sitting in Southern California, and DCI isn't getting a penny from me this week. If FN streamed Finals, they would DEFINITELY be making money from me, and I imagine they'd be making money from others. And who knows: with that extra bit of excitement, people might be more apt to go online at intermission or after the show and buy other souvies from corps or DCI.

What do you all think?

I think it is a great idea with the high cam. There is a lot of people in drum corp land that would love to see this done. And for those people that got rain out this year. Also it would be a chance for DCI to give back something to the people that have supported this great activity for all these years. It would also be nice to charge the same as they do at the theaters. This would open up the younger viewing audience and people that can not afford the $$ in these times. Have a great day Mike and thanks for supporting this great activity. Go Boston.

[mingusmonk]

I can understand that, but WGI & BOA booth offer live streaming of Finals. Heck, BOA offers live streaming IN THE SAME CITY/STADIUM as DCI, so I don't think this is a deal breaker. This might be a factor, but there is already precedence for this with BOA so I can't believe it's the main factor.

As easy as it is to compare DCI and BOA, especially given shared resources and location, the audience/crowd make-up is very different. BOA is a handful of bando fans and a constantly revolving door (literally and figuratively) of band boosters ... parents ... many of which are travelling with the band, regardless. DCI's crowd is much more mature, in the sense of connection to the activity. So at DCI, there is definitely a higher risk of cutting into your "butts in the seats."

Now, that being said, there are countless drum corps parents that never make the trip to finals. These are people that you are likely to pickup $$ from via live stream, that you are not getting the $$ from today.

Also, how many times was all of DCI finals broadcast, in entirety, live in PBS? Just curious.

Edited August 10, 2011 by mingusmonk

[Jeff Ream]

Yeah, that would be ideal, and maybe I'm way over-thinking things. But if DCI is hesitant I think it's fair for them to hold back some of the bling, so to speak, to still entice people to buy the DVD's/Blu-rays. If I had to bet I would stipulate that their biggest concerns are:

1) losing Finals ticket buys/attendance

2) losing DVD/Blu-ray sales

If the price-point is comparable to Finals, that might be at worst a wash as far as "would've bought a ticket, instead bought the stream," and at best people like me, "I would never have bought a Finals ticket but now I'm buying the live stream."

As for the DVD/Blu-ray sales, the only concession I can think of (besides the GIGANTIC leap in quality from stream-DVD/Blu-ray) would be to make the live stream just high-cam (which would also potentially be less of a hassle for DCI). Maybe if they ONLY included the live stream as an add-on for buying the DVD's or Blu-rays (for example, $99 for Top 12 DVD's, or $159 for DVD + live stream), then since everyone watching the live stream has already bought the DVD's they could maybe show the multi-cam.

Just ideas. Finals week I always tend to get desperate, so my strategy for DCI's live stream always seem to favor DCI, in order to make it as much of a no-lose situation for them as possible.

if you're going to jack up the prices just for finals, you need multi cam. Many people don't care about the drill loves view. I watched SA this year on highcam, and I found myself bored, asdid all but one person with us. You miss so much GE stuff and the intensity of the performers on high cam.

Honestly....I dont think a live stream is going to hurt attendance nearly as much as the length of time in Indy and an enclosed stadium will. If anything, I see it bringing in MORE revenue for DCI as now many people who can't go would purchase.

Say you charge $30 for one time buys and 3000 people buy. That's 90k in revenue. Now say for FN subscribers who get the package pay $20 extra and you had 2500 of them. Say half of those don't go so thats $25k in extra revenue. That's $115k in revenue, with far less costs than the cinecast has attached to it.

There is nothing like being live for finals, and I can't see people skipping finals just to watch on their Hi Def big screen without other underlying issues ( money, the venue). i just started a new job and have seen my finances take a hit the last 2 years. I justflatout can't afford to go. But i guarantee you I'd fork out $30 to watch

[Jeff Ream]

How many people are sitting in their homes tonight paying NOTHING to DCI when they would gladly be paying to see their kids perform in the Open Class Finals in Michigan City? I would happily pay the best seat price, heck, even TWICE the price, to see my son perform with his corp, and would be just as happy to watch every other Open Class performance as well. As it is, we can't travel to the championships. We have a farm. The last time we got to see our kids on the field was an exhibition put on free of charge because our corp couldn't afford to pay DCI to put on our own show this year. Does anyone know when DCI will make the performances of today available on the VOD area of the Fan Network? And by the way, I emailed, wrote, made phone calls last year suggesting pay-per-view streaming with multi-cam option and all responses were discouraging. They almost made me feel like I was the only parent who purchased all three DVD's the years they were made available. Was I? All I want to know is ... when will I be able to watch the final performances of every corp in competition tonight?

agreed. OC should be shown too.

Hell show prelims until the break before the cinecast.

[Grandpa]

I'm in. OC as well.

[Jeff Ream]

I think another thing to consider is this:

while there is nothing like being live for finals, the fans have spoken on Indy and the venue. I have heard from several people there, and from watching the cinecast and webcast that the crowd looks smaller than last year.

here is a way for DCI to make up money lost in ticket sales. Especially with this economy, even $50 for finals is more affordable to people than the cost of travel and tickets to the show.

it's time DCI.

[Rare_Candy]

You know DCI would screw this up and charge $40-50 per person for the same low quality feed. "But that's still cheaper than tickets!" - yeah, but it doesn't work that way. This is about exposure and the CASUAL FAN EXPERIENCE. HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE KIDS. $20 maximum. Yes I could pay more but it is not about me....I love the corps and am an FN subscriber...it is about everyone else.

To suggest that this would eat into ticket sales at all, is so 1960s.

Edited August 13, 2011 by Rare_Candy

[perc2100]

You know DCI would screw this up and charge $40-50 per person for the same low quality feed. "But that's still cheaper than tickets!" - yeah, but it doesn't work that way. This is about exposure and the CASUAL FAN EXPERIENCE. HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE KIDS. $20 maximum. Yes I could pay more but it is not about me....I love the corps and am an FN subscriber...it is about everyone else.

To suggest that this would eat into ticket sales at all, is so 1960s.

I've got news for you: casual fan experience = clinics, parades, and small local shows. World Championships is typically geared towards the 'die hard' type fans. It would be ludicrous for DCI to under-price themselves, and I'm pretty sure they learned from similar mistakes in the past, like when you get get tickets for Finals for $5/$10 (in the 1990's!). DCI needs to maximize their resources in order to net maximum gain: charging less than $20 for Finals would not maximize gains potential, IMO.

* for example, Semifinals cost $30 for a one-time-only live stream (i.e. the non-subscription rate). By DCI's "charge a little more for each later season show" philosophy they've had with FN the last several years, it would makes sense for DCI to charge at least $40 for Finals stream

Edited August 13, 2011 by perc2100