Each year I look forward to the television broadcast of the DCI Championships. Over the years the length of the broadcast has dwindled, with fewer performances and more documentary materials being added. I always enjoy watching the show and encourage my students to watch it at home with their families, but I still long for the days when we could see all of the top twelve corps without commercials on PBS. Things are getting too commercial in my opinion, but sadly I guess that is the way things are going to continue to move. Read on to find out more about the date and time of this year's broadcast of the DCI World Championships on ESPN2.
CARLSBAD, Calif., August 28, 2007—NAMM, the trade association of the
international music products industry, announced today that it will
run six televised public service announcements during the broadcast
of the Drum Corps International (DCI) World Championships, which will
air on ESPN2 on Sept. 5, 2007, at 10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time/7
p.m. Pacific Standard Time.
The broadcast, which received higher-than-expected Nielsen ratings in
2006, is expected to draw more than one million ESPN2 viewers, and it
will feature excerpts from this year’s 2007 DCI World Championships,
which was held the second week of August at the historic Rose Bowl
Stadium in Pasadena, Calif. The television event will be the third
prime-time broadcast of the program on ESPN2 since 2005, and will be
available to more than 88 million households.
“NAMM’s partnership with DCI addresses two major issues facing our
industry,” said Morgan Ringwald, director of market development at
NAMM. “First, it allows us to promote and support the music industry
as a whole by providing an avenue for thousands of young musicians to
participate in a very structured summer program. Just as important,
it allows us to highlight the positive aspects of making music not
only to those who attend DCI events throughout the summer, but also
to a traditionally non-musical audience made up of the millions of
ESPN2 viewers that tune in to see this exciting event.”
Each of the six thirty-second public service announcements produced by
NAMM are intended to motivate viewers to keep music education
programs strong in their communities by using the free community
tools and resources available at www.SupportMusic.com. The Web site
is a public service effort supported by NAMM and MENC, The National
Association for Music Education. DCI is a national affiliate of the
SupportMusic Coalition, now representing more than 140 organizations
united to support a complete education that includes music and the
arts for all children.
During the broadcast on Sept. 5, featured segments will be drawn from
the competitive performances of the 12 elite corps that competed for
the coveted Drum Corps International championship trophy. The
telecast also will include "behind-the-scenes" features providing
captivating insights, profiles and perspectives of this highly
competitive display of world-class athleticism and extraordinary
musical talent.
The yearly World Championships event also offers exposure and
networking opportunities for music products dealers. According to
DCI, 72 percent of the corps members are full-time college students,
of which nearly 60 percent are pursuing music education degrees. In
addition, the combined World Championship event audiences near
60,000, and millions follow the corps of DCI by attending
competitions, participating in DCI-sponsored educational programs and
events, purchasing merchandise, and following the exploits of their
favorite corps in ways reminiscent of the Grateful Dead’s “Deadheads.”
Over the years, DCI has received long-term support from several NAMM
Member companies including Pearl, Yamaha and Zildjian.
This year, NAMM offered a number of marketing opportunities for its
Members to get directly involved in the summertime DCI events via
market development opt-ins, including tickets to local and regional
events for in-store giveaways and VIP behind-the-scenes tour
opportunities. For more information about DCI, interested parties can
log on to www.dci.org.
About Drum Corps International
From modest beginnings more than three decades ago, Drum Corps
International has developed into a powerful, nonprofit, global youth
activity with far-reaching artistic, educational and organizational
influence. Through the annual Summer Music Games Tour and more than
35 World Championships in 16 North American cities, Drum Corps
International provides entertainment to millions through live
performances and nationally-televised events, now presented on ESPN2.
Drum Corps International is Marching Music’s Major League™.