Why is the DCI show on TV (PBS or ESPN2) set up in its current format?
Every year people ask many of the same questions about the televised version of DCI Championships. “Why don’t they show all the corps, and the whole show for The Cavaliers?” etc. etc. Here is some explanatory background: DCI does not make any money from these broadcasts. In fact, it costs DCI quite a bit to produce them and air time for ESPN2 is expensive. In 2001, PBS hinted STRONGLY that we needed to change the format of the program, as they were convinced that the 20 plus years of broadcasting full shows was stale and they were losing viewers (they think the LONG versions are boring and cause MORE surfing to occur). Back when we were on PBS, they found that when they ran pledge segments with DCI shows, they had more unfulfilled pledges with the DCI broadcast, than with ANY other pledge-based broadcast they aired – IN THEIR HISTORY…we must not be good with following through and sending our checks? ESPN wanted us once before, but only for one hour, on Thanksgiving morning and they w
