Wednesday, September 04, 2002 - 4:54 PM
Bill,As one of the directors of one of the corps that is "responsible for this mess..."
we looked into pay-per-view a few years back (my memory is hazy, perhaps we should try it again) and it leaked that we were looking at it...just looking at it....and a lot of folks went crazy on us....just like they do now (you REALLY can't win for losing in this activity...what's that saying? "You can't please all the people...blah, blah....)ANYWAY....
We did try a small trial of it and it was pretty much a miserable failure....groups lost money....connections were screwed up.....people were not happy....so I'll bet it would be a long time before we go there.......again.....
perhaps DCI should throw millions (which we don't have) into webcast technology...someday...that's where it will probably be best. But until that technology gets MUCH better.....we're not ready to commit to doing that either......
and since PBS is calling the shots on HOW MUCH TIME WE GET....WHEN THEIR PLEDGE DRIVES ARE.....WHAT THEY "WOULD LIKE TO SEE US DO"......(are people reading between the lines here....??????)....we're kind of stuck...because THEY see us as a small niche activity that doesn't do too much to impact their coffers....they HAVE to do some public service...(remember, it's the PUBLIC BROADCASTING COMPANY)...maybe that's why they serve us, we're all American(ish), we probably look good when Congress reviews their budget, they give us a little bit of money to help with our production costs....at least we try to get some bucks from them.....not much....less than 10% of the broadcast costs...not their fault, they're limited too.....
sorry a little sarcastic here, not really directed at you or anyone in particular, getting off the soap box now....I'm probably in trouble as it is.....
jeff
PS....by the way, somebody asked me in an Email what I thought of the broadcast.....I LOVED IT!!!!
Could it be better? YES
Good first effort? YES
Could some things be explained a bit better? YES
Do we need to see ALL of any of the shows?
NO (my opinion), it's not a made for TV activity...we're trying to get folks interested, give them a taste (obviously if you liked it or not...it gave you a taste of the Championship evening, as well as the entire summer from three or four perspectives)
Are we ever going to get everything right? NO
Will everyone ever be happy? NO
DID you wince when the Chicago hosts said BAND? I laughed AND winced a little bit...
How come DCI didn't promote itself more with products and the web address?
PBS does not allow other web addresses to appear (we snuck it in, in 2001!)...in Chicago they hyped DCI products for pledgers....some stations just showed it straight...no breaks no pledge drives.....
Am I reading everything everyone is posting on this forum about the broadcast?...YES, I am....
Do I appreciate the comments of those people whose philosophy on the broadcast differ from mine?
YES, I attempt to understand their perspective....I thought the gentleman from California with the family who just wanted to see the Blue Devil changes was great!!!! He even made me laugh and I truly felt sympathy for his plight.....
gotta go!
