What would YOU pay?

[quegrawks]

I think it's $30 for an entire day of streaming all Finals classes, maybe $20 for prelims.

Of course, they sell-out their arena (Percussion finals, at least) regularly. This week I got an email sent out to directors saying that even though registration for groups going to Championships is Feb. 22 they are already at capacity, due to a 10%ish growth of groups. They're allowing for groups who haven't registered to contact them ASAP so they can evaluate if WGI needs to get another venue for prelims in order to accommodate.

DCI doesn't have that amount of fans (constant sellouts for Finals), so I think that it is kind of not exactly a fair comparison. Of course I would love for DCI to do things similar to WGI (for example, I've been asking DCI for years to sell 'on demand' mix-type DVD's, where you can choose up to 6 or 8 shows of any year DCI has available), but it's kind of apples/oranges.

You also have to realize that Dayton Arena has far fewer seats than Lucas Oil stadium. selling out Dayton Arena is about 13,000 seats for the entire arena (about 1/2 of which are unused because of curtains), so about 7,000 seats available vs 63,00 seats in Lucas Oil (estimating about 20,000 seats or 1/3 front sideline from end-zone to end-zone).

Anyway, what I was asking regarding numbers is how many people subscribe to WGI fan network. Has it hurt ticket sales? How has it impacted DVD sales and video download sales? those numbers.

[troon8]

1. What would you pay?

$29.99 - $34.99.

The fact that this is lower than the $50 that many have thrown out there is much more indicative of how my current financial situation intersects with my desire to watch Finals on my computer than my excitement about DCI Finals in general.

2. Will this lead to a smaller live attendance?

I feel that if it did, the numbers would be negligible. <1000. Possibly only a few hundred, because as mentioned by others, many who want to go will likely go anyway. Regardless, I think the numbers would be low enough that it'd be difficult to say with any sort of certainty that the dip was only caused by this.

3. Would the availability of a live broadcast NOW result in a cancellation of your plans to make the trip in person?

Wasn't planning to go this year, but if I were, it wouldn't change my plans, even if offered for considerably under $50.

3. How many would actually buy into a broadcast like this?

I'm more pessimistic about these numbers then some. For the first year, maybe 5,000 at the very top end. I'd expect this to raise as time went on, especially if word got out that the broadcast was done well, with minimal glitches, was an excellent experience overall, and a great value.

4. Will this hurt DVD sales?

If anything, I think it could slightly help them. If after watching, I saw that I loved many shows this year, I'd be a lot MORE likely to spend on the DVD's, not less.

5. Is it time to attempt this, given the economy, financial stability of corps, etc.?

Most certainly! If anything, it should've been started some years ago!

...but that's just me.

[whitedawn]

Only if their data says that a significant amount of people do not go to Finals specifically because of the live stream.

Yep. I think most people who go to finals go to see some person/people (either their kid who is marching, or their friends who did march) than to watch the shows. Everyone in the world was at the beer tent afterward. The show seems kind of secondary to the hang, honestly.

[NYCFan]

Personally, I decided, after over 25 years of continuous Finals attendance, NOT to get tickets this year. After seeing Allentown then 4 days later sitting in the Oil Drum, I simply could not justify the diminished experience, due to a lack of ability to HEAR anything at all.

It was pathetic, despite DCI's attempts to mollify this, with their sound-deadening curtains, etc.

So, yes, I would pay $50 to see it on a pay-per-view setup.

AJMHO

[mingusmonk]

Everyone in the world was at the beer tent afterward. The show seems kind of secondary to the hang, honestly.

This.

Some of us were at the beer tent (Baseys) before during and after finals.

[jjeffeory]

My answers in bold.

1. What would you pay?

Under $50.

2. Will this lead to a smaller live attendance?

Possibly, but not by much. It seems that most people go to finals for the experience of being there live and being around others.

3. Would the availability of a live broadcast NOW result in a cancellation of your plans to make the trip in person?

No. I was not planning to go anyway.

3. How many would actually buy into a broadcast like this?

My guess is that 5,000- 10,000 would do this. The first year results would likely be lower until the broadcast is proven.

4. Will this hurt DVD sales?

My guess would be no, not if you package it in a way designed not to hurt them, such as giving an option to bundle.

As an IT professional with an awareness of where ISPs want to go with internet usage caps for our homes and mobile devices, I personally want a BD/DVD copy of finals ( even though it's so last century) & I want the ability to stream content when and where I want. Flexibility and availability are both important to me.

Streaming everything may be our future, but it's not quite the present yet. I want the ISPs to work out their pricing model before I become completely beholden to them by giving up my physical media and streaming everything, thanks...

5. Is it time to attempt this, given the economy, financial stability of corps, etc.?

Yes. All we have now are a bunch of different guesses about what it will do. Something should be done to see if PPV streaming makes sense. Who knows, maybe some more Canadians and people from other parts of the world who have no other way to partake in finals will sign on?

Edited February 2, 2013 by jjeffeory

[Jeff Ream]

Here the same thing about Indy around DCP too.

DCI has a larger pool to draw from, but Indy isn't exactly setting the world on fire attendance wise

[Jeff Ream]

You also have to realize that Dayton Arena has far fewer seats than Lucas Oil stadium. selling out Dayton Arena is about 13,000 seats for the entire arena (about 1/2 of which are unused because of curtains), so about 7,000 seats available vs 63,00 seats in Lucas Oil (estimating about 20,000 seats or 1/3 front sideline from end-zone to end-zone).

Anyway, what I was asking regarding numbers is how many people subscribe to WGI fan network. Has it hurt ticket sales? How has it impacted DVD sales and video download sales? those numbers.

I doubt it has hurt WGI, tho I have seen no numbers. Having been there for percussion, I don't think it hurt numbers at all.

it's like DCI....you want to be there, or can be there, you will be there

[Fred Windish]

As this topic begins to run its full course, I recognize some patterns from our little sample of responses . . .

Maximum price for a one-time pay-per-view is $50 .

There is concern about the quality and value of a pay-per-view if one is limited to a laptop screen.

There is a strong suggestion to attempt this now.

I am surprised by the number of respondents who indicate they were NOT planning to attend Indy anyway.

Finally, it seems there is no lack of interest in the entertainment itself, just in matters like the expense of travel, distance, venue, and host city. Seems to me, a pay-per-view option can serve as an effective hedge against uncaptured revenue in relying only on physical presence in the grandstand. Would this event be moved to, say, downtown Camden, NJ, I would expect interest in a pay-per-view would skyrocket. It's conceivable, with pay-per-view, even a Camden Finals can make money.

[skywhopper]

I am surprised by the number of respondents who indicate they were NOT planning to attend Indy anyway.

I'd guess the vast majority of DCI fans have never attended Finals. Certainly most of the 43,000 people at the prelims cinecast last year were there because the show was available to them, whereas the actual live event was out of their reach for any of a hundred reasons.