Plan9 Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 (edited) The NFL and other organized sports have been dealing with this issue for decades. I think there is enough data to assume that there might be an impact to ticket sales if the event was streamed live....I mean, that's kind of a Duh! So...consider a threshold for ticket sales and then "blackout" if they don't reach it. Otherwise, make a professional production out of it, charge a premium and let the world in. BTW, most of us DCPers don't recognize the wide interest in DCI internationally (afterall....DCI), so a well produced live feed COULD have enormous impact on fan base everyway. The competive component of this activity is key... and a live feed of finals is really the only way that DCI can profit from that component. Also, DVD has a very different audience and my sense is that live feed would not hurt those sales. In any case, it's worth trying instead of making the classic error of strangling access to the activity, assuming that's the only way to max profits. Oh.....one last thing.....MOVE FINALS AROUND ONCE IN A WHILE!!!!!!!!! Edited August 6, 2012 by Plan9 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecoats88 Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Ticket prices are a bit high (bit = too). The best seats are not available to the general public (the exclusivity is unacceptable) and the travel costs are to cost prohibitive for some these days. I am luck, the wife lets me go 'cause we live 3+ hours from INdy. I cant imagine I could go every year if I still lived in Reno. The best option, and best quality would be to charge a fair amount and stream it at the movie theatre's via Fathom Events (just like Prelims). What would be a fair cost? $50-$75 and get Rondo & DeLucia Commentary maybe? movie theaters are not going to give up prime saturday night viewing to a small niche product. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peel Paint Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 I'd love to see it, but I don't blame DCI for their caution, and I'm sure that now it has more to do with fear of cannibalizing Indy ticket and travel than disc sales which are in decline anyway. Part of DCI's problem is the same problem facing movie theaters: as the home theater experience gets better and better and is seen by many as about as good as going out to the movies or to finals for a lot less money, time, and hassle, attendance will drop. But I think eventually, probably in the near future, we'll see live finals streaming, and what we'll probably see first is it being bundled with a Blu-Ray or DVD purchase. If they're going to offer it to non-disc bundlers, I think it would be about the same price as the cost of the discs anyway. Pricing it cheap to attract new fans would produce less total revenue than was lost from the hard-core folks willing to spend a lot more. As to attendance being better when it was shown live and free on PBS, back then you could drive to finals with a family of four for maybe $300. Tickets topped out at $25, hotel rooms were $50 a night, and gas was a dollar a gallon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCVsopAaron Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 i can't afford to go to finals. Simple enough. Would I pay a little extra to watch it live? YES. Do I buy DVD's each year? No. Why? The Fan Network. I can wait a few months... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortAndFast Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 YES...Exactly! Look at Atlanta, the turnout for a regional was comparable to Finals. Remember the Rose Bowl? I know logistically it's easier to set the schedule each year to end at Indy, but it's not helping the activity grow in popularity having finals in the same place every year. Like many, I've decided that Indy in Finals doesn't make sense for me. It's too expensive to travel there, it's not a good family vacation destination, I don't like listening to shows in Lucas Oil, blah blah blah. But I assume it's a great financial move for DCI - if they're saving a ton on expenses, it will more than make up for the lost ticket sales. But I think streaming finals is a way to have their cake and eat it too. We can see from the numbers that 7000-10000 more people attended finals in locations like Pasadena, Denver & Madison. DCI probably won't talk those people into Indy, but it could probably sell many of them a finals stream. It's definitely an opportunity to get people like me to give DCI more $$. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pokiy Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 DCI proved that it would not cut into ticket sales this year by streaming live the Southeast regional and setting an attendance record in the GA dome. No, but it would cut into attendance and ticket sales. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCI-86 Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 But WGI shows it live and it can't affect their DVD or ticket sales. And what about those of us who are not in the US? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLD Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Let's face it, streaming or not, you are never EVER going to get a majority of the people interested in DCI to attend Indy. Geography alone prevents that for most so I can't really buy the "cutting into ticket sales" argument. If there's the right amount of money to be made from streaming, I'm sure they'll wise up and find a way eventually. Look forward to bloated prices though if they ever decide try that experiment. Of course, I'd pay it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 (edited) Ticket prices are a bit high (bit = too). The best seats are not available to the general public (the exclusivity is unacceptable) and the travel costs are to cost prohibitive for some these days. I am luck, the wife lets me go 'cause we live 3+ hours from INdy. I cant imagine I could go every year if I still lived in Reno. The best option, and best quality would be to charge a fair amount and stream it at the movie theatre's via Fathom Events (just like Prelims). What would be a fair cost? $50-$75 and get Rondo & DeLucia Commentary maybe? Exclusivity? Really? Is this another "fairness" issue propogated by a jealous 99%? "The best seats are not available to the general public..." because those seats are reserved for the fan base that pays above and beyond the price of tickets to get those seats, and that group provides DCI with a couple-hundred thousand dollars in contributions each year. The Friends program is available to anyone and seats are assigned based on the contribution level and the consecutive number of years at that level. In the '80's I had the choice to pay a huge amount to get a chance at good symphony tickets, or join Friends to get good seats to finals. I chose drum corps, and I've paid many times the price of admission in order to GUARANTEE that I get my choice of the best seats in the house. I'm not interested in giving them up just because some fans don't get the chance to sit in my seat. What's DCI to do, eliminate seating preference and lose the couple-six figure income just so fans who normally don't sit in those seats can do so without extra cost? Does that make sense? Yes, Friends is an exclusive club, but it's one you can join so no one is excluded. But it would take an additional 20 fans per Platinum Friends member, paying full-price for tickets to make up for the contribution that they'd lose by taking away this exclusivity. Life's not fair. Some make more than others and earn exclusivity that not all can afford. Instead of begrudging the exclusivity, I wish more fans would step up and commit to a lifetime of Friends support just because they love it enough to want to sit in the best seats. Most Friends members I know would probably sit anywhere; it's the support of the activity that gives them their jollies as much as the good seats. There's no entitlement mentality in drum corps scoring; there shouldn't be any in its fan support either. I suggest DCI live-stream finals for $125. Expensive? Yes, but those who choose this route save on travel, accomodations, food, etc costs even while they give up the live experience. Saving $125 to watch a live stream is a monthly commitment of $10 towards your drum corps enjoyment (BYOB). Surely, it's worth that to almost anyone who regularly visits these boards. Edited August 6, 2012 by garfield 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 The want to increase the public exposure to drum corps, then stream finals free - no membership, no tie-in to DVD sales - make it free. Fan network is still used for other content during the summer. The theater is still there for the big screen group experience. People who go to championship week shows will still go. There are all kinds of music and sporting events being streamed live on the Internet and they are used to reach an audience that cannot view the event in any other way. DCI should do the same. It does no good charging for or withholding a product that has limited acceptance from paying customers. Ask Facebook about having a decent business model but no methodology to capitalize and monetize it. Make it free? Really? Not until they figure out how to generate revenue from sources other than the gate, which they haven't done. The fact is that, the more succesful corps rely more on the gate than do lower-placing corps, and they recognize that "the gate" is (currently) the single-largest contributor to DCI, and corps, revenue. Giving away the product without some way to make up for the gate is pure suicide of the balance sheet. You hit the nail on the head: "...limited acceptance from paying customers.", but you presume that acceptance would increase if the product were free. I disagree. As in most other areas of life, you get what you pay for. DCI should charge $125 flat fee for finals live stream. Period. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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