Stu Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 (edited) Jeff Ream introduced many of us here on DCP to the annual contest called Punkin Chunkin, which is broadcast nationally on the Discovery channel. I have actually been reading about their broadcast success and have an idea as to why they seem to secure national broadcast sponsorship while DCI was not able to do the same on ESPN2. Here is my contention: Punkin Chumkin actually follows the lead of the PGA in that most of their corporate proceeds from their World Championships are donated to charities such as St Jude, Bless our Children, Home of the Brave, Meals on Wheels, St. Baldrick's Foundation, Autism Foundation, etc... this in turn helps them secure broadcast sponsorships from ING Direct, Discover Card, Polaris, Waste Management Inc, United Rentals, etc... which in turn gets their championships broadcast on the Discovery channel every year. Added note: On many occasions since the G7 proposal was made public I have maintained that DCI would be wise to emulate the PGA in the way they are structured; apparently Punkin Chunkin did just that and they are on national TV while DCI is not getting any such exposure. Edited April 12, 2013 by Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 The pumpkin championship also has the draw that the entire premise of the show is to see things destroyed...pumpkins, centrifugal and catapult arms, egos... The closest DCI has come to that is when one of the "demons" tossed a horn across several yards of the stadium prior to Cadets' "Angels and Demons" show. People want to see stuff 'splode. If we could figure out a way of working in random staff members spontaneously combusting, I think we'd be on our way to a television deal that wouldn't cost us an arm and a leg...which are just a couple of the things that, if severed during a 280-beats-per-minute backwards company front rotation involving bass drums and trebuchets, could seriously drive viewership through the roof. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted April 12, 2013 Author Share Posted April 12, 2013 Boo: This is not about viewership; if it were then DCI would still be on ESPN2. DCI had an ever increasing market share each subsequent year on ESPN2, and it even had more share than many other sports programs on that network. This is about procuring sponsors 'to pay for the broadcast'; and I contend that Punkin Chunkin gets those sponsors in a big part due to them donating much of their proceeds to charities which in turn appeals to the public relations of the corporate sponsors (a trick learned from the way PGA is structured). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Boo: This is not about viewership; if it were then DCI would still be on ESPN2. DCI had an ever increasing market share each subsequent year on ESPN2, and it even had more share than many other sports programs on that network. This is about procuring sponsors 'to pay for the broadcast'; and I contend that Punkin Chunkin gets those sponsors in a big part due to them donating much of their proceeds to charities which in turn appeals to the public relations of the corporate sponsors (a trick learned from the way PGA is structured). True, but massive viewership also brings in corporate sponsors, and if we destroyed more things, we might be noticed more. (Insert your own joke here about some of the political stuff going on in the activity.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Other Mike Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 The pumpkin championship also has the draw that the entire premise of the show is to see things destroyed... So, people liked watching DCI destroy drum corps on TV for years and now are tired of it ? BOO, you DO make sense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted April 12, 2013 Author Share Posted April 12, 2013 (edited) True, but massive viewership also brings in corporate sponsors, and if we destroyed more things, we might be noticed more. Your statement does not hold water because Punkin does not get 'massive' viewership. I do believe it actually gets a smaller market share on the Discovery channel than DCI did the last year it was on ESPN2; and I still contend the sponsors are influenced by the public relations aspect of Punkin donating to charities which in turn makes the sponsors look good. Edited April 12, 2013 by Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Your statement does not hold water because Punkin does not get 'massive' viewership. I do believe it actually gets a smaller market share on the Discovery channel than DCI did the last year it was on ESPN2; and I still contend the sponsors are influenced by the public relations aspect of Punkin donating to charities which in turn makes the sponsors look good. I don't know the ESPN2 ratings. The 2010 "Punkin Chunkin" event brought it 4 million viewers and became Science Channel's highest rated program in their network's history. How did we compare with that. (I suspect 2011 and 2012 did as well, if not better, based on the number of ads the network ran promoting the event.) The program also got better ratings than a number of programs it went up against on traditional network television, including specials by Beyonce and Taylor Swift. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 (edited) . People want to see stuff 'splode. If we could figure out a way of working in random staff members spontaneously combusting, I think we'd be on our way to a television deal Are you asking us for a recommendation or two for the on field disappearing act of " random staff " via combustible explosion ? I have a couple for you in mind, but please don't make me have to publically provide the most suitable people on this for you, ok ? Edited April 12, 2013 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted April 12, 2013 Author Share Posted April 12, 2013 (edited) In 2002 the Chunkin was broadcast for the first time by the Discovery channel; and was apparently a broadcast flop because it did not return to broadcast in 2003. The Chunkin website reports that by 2007 the event was drawing more than 20,000 people and grossed more than $100,000, with more than $70,000 being distributed in scholarships and to a variety of community charity organizations; it was then picked up for broadcast in 2008 by the Science channel (and I contend that a main reason sponsors came on board to help with the broadcast this time was because 70% of the proceeds was going to charity and that made for good public relations). Then in 2010 the event was covered by, and hosted by, the Myth Busters, which actually accounts for the huge increase in viewership to over 4 million viewers in the simulcast that year. DCI had incresed their viewership each year on ESPN2, and in their last year on that network had increased their viewership to over 1 million viewers; which was about the same as the Chunkin prior to the Myth Busters getting involved. And I contend that if DCI followed the public relations path path of donating much of their proceeds to charity (ie PGA, ie Chunkin) DCI would also have procured enough broadcast sponsors to continue and thus also continued to increase their broadcast viewership just like the Chunkin. Edited April 12, 2013 by Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Punkin Chumkin actually follows the lead of the PGA in that most of their corporate proceeds from their World Championships are donated to charities such as St Jude, Bless our Children, Home of the Brave, Meals on Wheels, St. Baldrick's Foundation, Autism Foundation, etc... this in turn helps them secure broadcast sponsorships from ING Direct, Discover Card, Polaris, Waste Management Inc, United Rentals, etc... which in turn gets their championships broadcast on the Discovery channel every year. You do realize that this is almost exactly parallel to what DanRay has been promoting for years, don't you? Not that I disagree with it, but it is interesting that you are repeating one of his prime recommendations. Corporations sometimes need a "loss" on their balance sheet, and the sponsors claim that loss when their underwriting target is a non-profit recipient. Wait. Are YOU DanielRay? :ph34r:/> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.