Theater Attendance Growth - 11 year record growth

[MikeN]

On a completely different note, my friend claims DCI fans are more fun and are easier to deal with than the Met Live in HD crowd. I guess Drum Corps nuts don't complain in public, only on a DCP.

Never been to a Met theater event but have always been curious - I wonder what the attendance is like for those?

Mike

[perc2100]

For accuracy sake. I think its reasonable to conclude that FAR than 21,000 ( and another 1,000 or so via computer ) watched DCI Finals live in the 70's, 80's when DCI had a working relationship with PBS to carry the show live ( then later on tape delay in later years ). My guess, DCI probably had well over 100,000 that tuned in to the DCI Finals telecast BITD that was pretty much telecast in all 50 states, as well as shown in many parts of Canada.

This would be a longer time frame comparison than the much shorter, more recent time frame used here by DCI in their press release comparison. Just sayin'

1. Maybe. But I also think it's reasonable to conclude that FAR more people saw Prelims, Semis, Finals, and DCI regionals live, FN, and/or theater broadcast BITD

2. I dunno if it is reasonable to conclude "well over 100k" tuned into DCI Finals telecast. Do we even have a real count of how many PBS stations picked up DCI Finals, let alone viewership?

3. PBS broadcast brought in zero direct dollars to DCI. FN + theater broadcast brings in more money from fans who otherwise were not buying tickets. So DCI is likely making more $$ now than BITD with PBS, even if viewership was more at PBS height of ratings

I think if your counterpoint is DCI had a lot more people viewing finals BITD compared to now+FN+theaters, I think there is zero factual data to backup that assertion and even DCI's advertised attendance pre-mid 90's is guesstimates at best and made-up at worst. Anecdotes and guesstimates don't mean much, especially if you're trying to argue success now vs then.

I'm just excited DCI is utilizing technology and it is seemingly benefiting both viewership and (probably) financially as well: they're now actually making money off of fans not in the stadium at shows, and that's a great thing. Even better, they're reaching more people than they did a decade ago!

[MikeD]

on the flip side, movie theaters make very little off of ticket sales and most of their revenue off of concession stands. An all day/night event like DCI semifinals could mean significant concessions sold: especially on an early August Thursday

Especially if...."Oops...sorry folks, the AC unit broke, but we are selling lots of cold drinks and ice cream at the concessions stands!".

[MikeD]

3. PBS broadcast brought in zero direct dollars to DCI. FN + theater broadcast brings in more money from fans who otherwise were not buying tickets. So DCI is likely making more $$ now than BITD with PBS, even if viewership was more at PBS height of ratings

Actually, if they made $1.00 profit it is more than they made with the PBS show.

[Tim K]

Never been to a Met theater event but have always been curious - I wonder what the attendance is like for those?

Mike

A very mixed crowd. There are young people in attendance, as well as middle aged and older. So e arrive dressed to the nines as if they are at the Met and get annoyed with people eating, some simply enjoying themselves. There can be heated debates during intermission. With my schedule there are few shows I can attend, so I really enjoy going.

[Tim K]

Actually, if they made $1.00 profit it is more than they made with the PBS show.

PBS did not make a great deal on it either, and I believe there have been threads on this topic, with some stating PBS was burned, but that was many years back and as of late, PBS has found great niche artists who owe a great deal of their success to PBS: Celtic Thunder, Celtic Women, Libera, Andre Rieu, etc. they run the shows at fundraiser time and do well. Since PBS would not have to do the taping, that kind of show could potentially be successful, but it probably would not happen.

[Jeff Ream]

For accuracy sake. I think its reasonable to conclude that FAR than 21,000 ( and another 1,000 or so via computer ) watched DCI Finals live in the 70's, 80's when DCI had a working relationship with PBS to carry the show live ( then later on tape delay in later years ). My guess, DCI probably had well over 100,000 that tuned in to the DCI Finals telecast BITD that was pretty much telecast in all 50 states, as well as shown in many parts of Canada.

This would be a longer time frame comparison than the much shorter, more recent time frame used here by DCI in their press release comparison. Just sayin'

not all PBS markets carried it live. Many carried it on tape delay

[Jeff Ream]

So many thousands more watching on PBS in the 80s, and you know what? Drum corps were folding at a record rate. Olympic Stadium in Montreal has to seat them in the endzone and backfield it's so crowded at finals in 1981, and you know what? Lots of them never came to finals again - maybe never saw a drum corps show again because fans were walking away in the 80s.

These constant reminders of past drum corps glory always seem to miss the most important difference between now and a generation ago. It's not electronics or voice or Bb. It's that today's drum corps is reasonably stable and might even be growing its audience - particularly when you account for digital delivery of drum corps media. That's a stark contrast from the 70s, 80s and 90s when drum corps watched its ranks of both corps and spectators whither.

Growth in the theater audience is a positive for DCI and for drum corps. Only the warped melodramatics of DCP could see it differently.

HH

[dcsnare93]

I didn't say it was good. I asked how much it costs DCI. Presumably, as drumcorpsfever says, they wouldn't have added theatres if it was costing them more, but that's just a guess. What was the price for a "Big, Loud, and Live" ticket? Was it $18? If that's right, and assuming for the sake of simplifying the math that the price didn't change (and ignoring inflation, too), with 17,603 attendees in 2004, that works out to $316,854, while with 49,168 attendees in 2014, that works out to $885,024. But if it costs DCI, let's just say, $500 per theatre (I have no idea what the real number is), then their costs for 44 theatres in 2004 were $22,000 and their costs for 634 theatres in 2014 were $317,000. That gives a net of $294,854 in 2004 and $568,024 in 2014. Clearly worth it. If the cost per theatre exceeds $963, then (at $18/ticket), then it would be less profitable for DCI in 2014 than in 2004.

From what I understand, theatre circuits decide which fathom events they want to carry, and in which theatres, based on local market demand. Some theatres continue to carry the event, other's don't presumably due to lack of sales. The increase in theatres since launch is likely due to more theatres being able to carry the event. In 2004 there weren't many theatres within fathom events' cinema network. Now, there are over 750 such theatres.

Edited November 14, 2014 by dcsnare93

[ibexpercussion]

Don't know how much it costs the theaters to run it, and how much DCI splits with them, but the approximate take for each theater would be about $1,200 in gross sales.