DCI Offers Survey On ESPN2 Broadcast...

[bawker]

http://dci.org/news/news.cfm?news_id=013be...b9-f3d350ee3584

[crfrey71]

My thoughts were this:

1. How many times did "drum corps changed my life" or "without drum corps..." or if I can do this [drum corps] I can do anything..." bits did we need to have?

2. Major KUDOs for finally not showing laundry day or kids sleeping on the gym floor!!!

3. For all the props that corps got at the concolusion of the broadcast, no mention of The Academy's first time at finals and they win it all! I thought that was very bad to leave The Academy out of this entirely. I think this would show newbies or potential newbies, that you don't have to be in BD, cavies, Phantom, Cadets, SCV, etc... to be successful.

4. I agree that being a marching activity, there was no bit about marching styles. Very odd. To me, I think a piece on, "how do they march and how do they know where to march?" would have been nice.

5. It was better than last year's ESPN broadcast.

[zachariaswmb]

Let's not forget a little bit of love for the 13-22 corps out there! I was saddened not to see any of those corps get at least a mention...

[MN DCI Fan]

What do you have against Pioneer? :P

[Randy Treffer]

<**> Way too much fluff. While I know it would be cost prohibitive I loved the early PBS live shows. fluff just does not do it justice. The former BD Babe was nice to look at.

[shortn'stern]

Hmmm, besides being the founder of the Florida Wave; Rondo's main job is being an anchorman. Correct? After all these years of seeing him on the DCI broadcasts, this year has to rank up there as one of the most humorous. Why? I believe this was his use of grammar, "worser and worser," or something he stated to that effect. Yeeeeesh...

[Jeff Ream]

ya know, DCI could not ask a ###### thing.

at least they are asking for input.

[musiqman205]

i originally only caught cavie and BD because of band practice but my band director recorded it and i think that some of the segments dont need to be there but when they pointed out BKs form mistake it helped young people like myself realize that not all corps are are as clean as they look assuming they watched it for more than the cavaliers

oh and imho scv should have beaten cadets and crown should have beaten bk

[stxmoose32]

Ran to the pub on campus after work. Had to watch it with the other TV in the background playing Rocky in Spanish. Yeah, not the best viewing environment, but I was with two friends (one first-timers) and had some beer. It all worked out. Here are my thoughts:

1) DCI needs to really think about the balance of selling the product vs. selling the activity. I think the goal is to sell the activity, but it seems people on this board think that decisions are being made based on what will sell DvDs.

2) The message I got from the broadcast was "drum corps is hard." Yeah, OK, now once you get over your need to justify being on ESPN, let's think about a better message to send to viewers. How about "drum corps is unique" "drum corps is educational" "drum corps is fun" "drum corps is exciting" I think telling potential members "drum corps is hard" does not entice them to do it

3) No "day in the life" segment = shame. I think that is one of the most interesting and unique aspects of the activity

4) They need to sell the fact that there are drum corps in your own backyard. Bring up map of US and Canada. "Here is the location of DCI Div I corps" overlays with "and here are the location of Division II/III corps" overlays with "and the location of DCA's senoir corps" For more information about joining a corps go to.....

5) Also, I got nooooooo sense of the following of the activity. We need some social proof here. Yes, there are hundreds of thousands of fans worldwide that follow this activity. Yes, there are scores of shows, some of which mights have been in your hometown. Let people know there is a fan experience beyond this ESPN show

6) Where were the real storylines? The ones the fans follow. I mean, I love the spotlight pieces, but I think most fans get excited about placement changes and big picture stuff. The battle for fourth place. The steady rise of Phantom Regiment in recent years. The "dynasty" of the Cavaliers. The regional placement changes. These are worth more that a brief mention right before the clips. These are what fans (even new ones) appreciate. Tell me the stories of the SEASON.

7) No mention of Div II/III? Or 13+ Div I? Not smart, if you want kids to join corps. Most who "stumble across" this will not have the chops to march Div I finalist. Why are we making this hard??

8) Jessica Allen just pains me. Not even sure if the interviews are necessary. I mean, I know we are trying to go sporty with this, but there are better ways to do this.

9) Too few ballads (would have loved PR's ballad, esp instead of Cadets)

10) I would love to see this adopt a format closer to the World Series of Poker. Have multiple episodes that give you a little more time to address the important stuff. Leading up to the "final table" (Top 4/5 at Finals) Have your base content (how to join, how its judged, how close to home it may be) the same for each episode but have different chunk of corps (6-9, 10-12) and different storylines for each episode. Keep it interesting. Once again the broadcast cant be successful without appropriate narrative context.

11) I'd love to see the "instrumentation and equiptment" segments reduced to one segment.

OK enough complaining. What was good?

Judging segments = very well done

"Instant Replay" was fun and helpful

Rondy and Deluctown were great

Starting the Cavies clip at the elasticorps part = best call of the night

Pep talks from corps directors are always fun

My final comment is this. DCI needs to get past justifying itself. If people are staying on the channel, that means there is something they like, and you dont have to prove your worthiness. We dont need to keep saying "its hard" or "were athletic" or trying to sell it as a sport. Guess what? It's already on ESPN2. If you show people the shows, they can make the connection. Besides, we are wasting valuable message time (which should be "You can do it" or "You can see it live" or "You can learn more about it") on making a point that goes nowhere. It's athletic. So what? How does that make us any closer to achieving the long-term goals of the growth of this activity. Pick a productive message and make it stick!

[kmansdrummin]

I think the whole thing is one big commercial, or more like a Drum Corps Informercial! I didn't watch it or tape it or TIVO it because I figured it would be just like last year's broadcast. DCI doesn't want to give us whole corps shows, not even one, or even a sense of what finals felt like - they want us to buy the DVD. In fact, I think DCI believes it can market Finals DVDs to people who are tuing into drum corps for the first time. Too bad - I miss PBS! Last year it felt like they were busy interviewing corps members and "selling" the idea of what it is like to be in a top 12 corps rather than showing us the result. I think the ESPN broadcast as it it produced today fails to stir up interest in the activity.

I tend to agree.

If DCI continues to disrespect us (alumni), then they might find out what happens when we stop shelling out the money to help support them. Granted, what the telecast is now, is a supposed great recruiting tool, but not showing a full performance is not a fair representation of drum corps as a whole (performance wise), and a slap in the face of alumni, IMO.

I'm saying this so DCI can fix what's wrong with this telecast. You don't have to be a Rocket Scientist, or a Brain Surgeon to figure it out. But like some big corporations, or the government, they have to learn from making mistakes for a while, see that a change is needed, wait longer, then possibly make a positive change.

I hope it happens. I love the Quarterfinal Telecast, but am reluctant to buy the DVD's. The last time I saw a fantastic top four, or five was 2004.

How about showing FINALS at the theatre, and charge around 20, or 25 dollars. It would be great. I know it's a Saturday, but you could get the people, and then the TV telecast could be for recruiting. Because it sure isn't for Alumni.

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