Theater versus Home Viewing Thursday

[Cappybara]

I bought the $99 package at the beginning of the season. I called DCI today and they said there would be no interruption to Prelims - I will be seeing ALL corps.

I will be really ticked off if that is not the case because there was never any indication of anything different.

And I think the tiny asterisk on the $79 package is deceptive to the consumer.

How is that deceptive? Asterisks are used ALL THE TIME both in paper contracts (such as house leases) as well as in many online forms and services. If the consumer finds that deceptive because they didn't notice it, the consumer needs to buy themselves some glasses.

[brichtimp]

So, when I purchased the $99 package at the beginning, I did not recall any asterisk in the description of live webcasts under that package; so it would seem likely that the full Prelims broadcast should stream for that package....at least, I hope so.

[CrownedSantaPhantom]

Will the Finals Night Awards Ceremony be streamed online live for free like last year?

[jasgre2000]

There was no asterisks at the beginning of the season when I paid $99. I remember because I specifically looked to see if all the Indy shows were included when I was deciding whether to pay the increased price this year. I sure hope they didn't change the terms after I paid for it.

[Fred Windish]

So, when I purchased the $99 package at the beginning, I did not recall any asterisk in the description of live webcasts under that package; so it would seem likely that the full Prelims broadcast should stream for that package....at least, I hope so.

I have a different memory of that early offer to purchase. I bought the $99 package VERY early. I did not expect to see the theater event. I went back on Google and found the original roll-out explanation as it appeared on the DCI website. It DID include the asterisk. The offer also states " the package includes all WEBCASTS." Further down it indicates the Prelims WEBCAST is limited to the first corps only. At no time did I consider the webcasts and the theater event as one and the same.

I consider the theater event to be a different item for sale, this other alternative offering the entire Prelims on a big screen, That's fair enough. When you think about it, to view Finals Only last year, I think it was $69. To now provide that, PLUS a savings of $18 over the cost of a theater ticket would mean all the rest of the webcast calendar would effectively cost just $12! Also recall, our $99 purchase didn't include that early Tuesday night theater event, back then.

NOTE: at this point of championships week, don't expect every answer from a phone operator to be 100% accurate. DCI brings in several volunteers for the week to man a telephone bank. You are not likely to get Dan Acheson on the line!

All that said . . . . . if I do get the entire Prelims on my webcast, I'm not about to call and complain!

Edited August 6, 2015 by Fred Windish

[soccerguy315]

I think the disclaimer was there when I ordered mine... I ordered in mid-June.

[brichtimp]

I think the value proposition changed a bit this year compared with 2014 where I seem to recall being able to view the top shows from Prelims on the Fan Network for a good chunk of time; so for those of us who could not get to a theater or who were in Indy (all 3 nights), it was great to be able to view after the fact. This year so far, it is live or nothing...which does place Prelim streaming in a different light.

[jasgre2000]

I have a different memory of that early offer to purchase. I bought the $99 package VERY early. I did not expect to see the theater event. I went back on Google and found the original roll-out explanation as it appeared on the DCI website. It DID include the asterisk. The offer also states " the package includes all WEBCASTS." Further down it indicates the Prelims WEBCAST is limited to the first corps only. At no time did I consider the webcasts and the theater event as one and the same.

I consider the theater event to be a different item for sale, this other alternative offering the entire Prelims on a big screen, That's fair enough. When you think about it, to view Finals Only last year, I think it was $69. To now provide that, PLUS a savings of $18 over the cost of a theater ticket would mean all the rest of the webcast calendar would effectively cost just $12! Also recall, our $99 purchase didn't include that early Tuesday night theater event, back then.

NOTE: at this point of championships week, don't expect every answer from a phone operator to be 100% accurate. DCI brings in several volunteers for the week to man a telephone bank. You are not likely to get Dan Acheson on the line!

All that said . . . . . if I do get the entire Prelims on my webcast, I'm not about to call and complain!

I realize that you like to defend DCI at all costs, which is a noble cause ... but the list of streamed events that was provided when I was evaluating whether to purchase the DCI Live! Subscription most definitely did NOT include any notice that the prelims stream would not include the Top 15 corps. In fact, the list still doesn't include any indication that the prelim webcast would not include the entire show:

http://www.dci.org/liveEvents/liveEvents.dbml?&&DB_OEM_ID=33500

You may be correct that there was some press release or something that may have included an asterisks at the beginning of the season, but that is not sufficient to inform all of your customers what the terms of their subscription are. It's really not that big of a deal to me, as I probably won't be able to get off work early enough to watch prelims anyways ... but DCI really needs to get its act together on this kind of stuff. It can have serious legal implications. It is this kind of sloppiness that likely caused us not to have the Fan Network archives this season, or the ability to purchase Blu-Rays from past seasons.

[flammaster]

Oh they are total jerkos about the whole thing this year!

They are pulling a comcast. They know they are the only game in town so the upped the price of our smack. punks!

[mbviking]

I realize that you like to defend DCI at all costs, which is a noble cause ... but the list of streamed events that was provided when I was evaluating whether to purchase the DCI Live! Subscription most definitely did NOT include any notice that the prelims stream would not include the Top 15 corps. In fact, the list still doesn't include any indication that the prelim webcast would not include the entire show:

http://www.dci.org/liveEvents/liveEvents.dbml?&&DB_OEM_ID=33500

You may be correct that there was some press release or something that may have included an asterisks at the beginning of the season, but that is not sufficient to inform all of your customers what the terms of their subscription are. It's really not that big of a deal to me, as I probably won't be able to get off work early enough to watch prelims anyways ... but DCI really needs to get its act together on this kind of stuff. It can have serious legal implications. It is this kind of sloppiness that likely caused us not to have the Fan Network archives this season, or the ability to purchase Blu-Rays from past seasons.

Have to agree with Fred here. I purchased the $99 package as soon as it was available, and after checking the "More Info" to see what was specifically included, it was very clear that the final 15 of the prelims was not included and in the theater only. If you didn't see it, it's your own fault.