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Here is a thought on broadcasting shows


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On 8/22/2019 at 4:49 PM, oldbandguy said:

You just lost me here.  You cannot get a solid drum corps viewing experience with a phone!!!!  

in all honesty....on WGI percussion week, ive had better coverage on my phone than other alternatives

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On 8/22/2019 at 8:20 PM, Glenn426 said:

Read above to what I refer to as interns.

The DCI fan network (perhaps you're too young to remember) was a high cam shot from the press box all summer long, and everyone was happy. Finals of course is a different story and I would still want Tom Blair to produce that, but everything else was a high cam.

We all know the multitude of Drum corps videos on YT. Every single one of those videos was shot on an iPhone or similar smart phone. Many of these videos had better quality than most FLO streams throughout the summer. Better sound, better overall experience. Now imagine that quality from the press box with a good vantage point all summer long.. 

I remember several multi cam shows on the old fan network

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On 8/22/2019 at 8:24 PM, Glenn426 said:

And what is stopping DCI from using the wealth of Amazon's streaming service? Anyone and I mean anyone with a smartphone or a computer with a webcam can stream on twitch free of cost. 

Amazon doesnt want to pay for it would be a good start

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Some of you guys think DCI is much larger than it actually is. From someone that has worked in network television and now works on the digital side, there just isn't a large enough audience to appeal to a digital provider to make it worth their effort. In fact there is potential for financial risk involved with pursuing something like this. These kinds of deals are all about relevant market share, something which DCI still does not have. Believe it or not, Flo is probably the best venue to host DCI broadcasts, and the most well suited to do so at the economic level that DCI can participate. 

And for those that forget, DCI has tried the main stream broadcast game before in its ESPN broadcasts about 13 years ago, and they absolutely flopped (not to mention cost DCI a ton of money). The experiment was a tremendous flop, with DCI paying an extraordinary amount of money for a small audience. They just didn't get the ROI they were looking to get. 

Let's not forget the monkey in the room... licensing fees for music. Adding television broadcasting to the licensing agreements would be even more expensive. 

So the big question is, knowing the hurdles that DCI would face (mostly financial) is it worth to invest the money that would be needed just to purchase a couple of hours of broadcast time. The answer is most definitely no. 

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On 8/22/2019 at 8:20 PM, Glenn426 said:

Read above to what I refer to as interns.

The DCI fan network (perhaps you're too young to remember) was a high cam shot from the press box all summer long, and everyone was happy. Finals of course is a different story and I would still want Tom Blair to produce that, but everything else was a high cam.

We all know the multitude of Drum corps videos on YT. Every single one of those videos was shot on an iPhone or similar smart phone. Many of these videos had better quality than most FLO streams throughout the summer. Better sound, better overall experience. Now imagine that quality from the press box with a good vantage point all summer long.. 

Dude, that's not how any of this works. A couple of points:

  • FloMarching cannot be compared with the size and strength of mega companies like YouTube, Netflix, etc. We're talking about massive, high powered servers that would shred what FloSports has in less than a second. That's how YouTube and Netflix videos look so good. As a television production professional with over 20 years of experience working at the network level (Fox, CBS, ABC) I can testify to the fact that there is NOTHING wrong with the actual production from Flo. If you think this stuff is easy, you go try to do it. 
  • What everyone is upset about is the transmission of the signal into your device, not the actual production (these are two completely different things). I bet you probably noticed that on finals night the signal was kinda crappy... we'll that's what happens when your bandwidth starts to get maxed. This is probably an issue that is going to cost more money to fix, and as with any business, Flo has to weigh the cost of adding additional servers to cover the needed bandwidth vs other business priorities.

So what would I do if i were DCI? For starters, nothing drastic. I would re-up my contract with Flo and continue to work with them to make the experience better.  There is no quick fix, and nothing that can bedone to make everyone happy. Trying to go to a major broadcast network or inline outlet would be incredibly expensive and not be beneficial to DCI or its sponsors from a financial perspective. Add to that you have one of the most recognized broadcast professionals in the industry in Tom Blair guiding the production and broadcast strategy, so it's not like DCI doesn't know what they're doing. The broadcast is in good hands.

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52 minutes ago, Newseditor44 said:

Some of you guys think DCI is much larger than it actually is. From someone that has worked in network television and now works on the digital side, there just isn't a large enough audience to appeal to a digital provider to make it worth their effort. In fact there is potential for financial risk involved with pursuing something like this. These kinds of deals are all about relevant market share, something which DCI still does not have. Believe it or not, Flo is probably the best venue to host DCI broadcasts, and the most well suited to do so at the economic level that DCI can participate. 

And for those that forget, DCI has tried the main stream broadcast game before in its ESPN broadcasts about 13 years ago, and they absolutely flopped (not to mention cost DCI a ton of money). The experiment was a tremendous flop, with DCI paying an extraordinary amount of money for a small audience. They just didn't get the ROI they were looking to get. 

Let's not forget the monkey in the room... licensing fees for music. Adding television broadcasting to the licensing agreements would be even more expensive. 

So the big question is, knowing the hurdles that DCI would face (mostly financial) is it worth to invest the money that would be needed just to purchase a couple of hours of broadcast time. The answer is most definitely no. 

#### your actual business logic

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Flo just doesn’t provision enough bandwidth.  Yeah their “directors” mostly suck but the quality is actually ok until it’s a BIG show. You need to be willing to pay for capacity that you may not use in order to ensure quality streaming.  Eventually you get pretty good at anticipating demand but you should always over provision. 

Edited by karuna
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8 hours ago, Newseditor44 said:

As a television production professional with over 20 years of experience working at the network level (Fox, CBS, ABC) I can testify to the fact that there is NOTHING wrong with the actual production from Flo.

Care to restate that?

I imagine you were only referring to the bandwidth issues.  Meanwhile:

  • numerous Flo broadcasts had "high cam" switching cameras, or "multi cam" on high camera only for an entire corps
  • commercials can be 30 dB louder than the corps
  • a chiron remained blocking the lower left quadrant of the screen for the entire finals performance of Phantom Regiment

I never see mistakes like that on network television.

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On 8/24/2019 at 12:19 AM, Jeff Ream said:

I remember several multi cam shows on the old fan network

Regionals yes, Local Tuesday night show in Iowa, no.

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Newseditor44 makes excellent points, clearly from a knowledge-based work experience.

Shaky performance during portions of the Finals broadcast is not sufficient reason to toss participation  with Flo Marching Arts Channel.  Yes, the Flo management team made a huge mistake in preparation for Finals night, but the overall benefits from Flo remain very high. Flo brings together an audience of like-minded potential viewers to every covered DCI event. Those who subscribed for all the BOA and WGI events are just a ‘click away’ from experiencing what DCI has to offer. That’s a huge benefit!

Additional investment in delivery of DCI on Flo will happen, I’m confident. 

 

 

Edited by Fred Windish
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