Enter the 'Dralion'

Tim Clark

Following its first run with Cirque de Soleil's Quidam last fall, TVN will toss its promoter's hat back into the ring with the troupe's latest show, Dralion, beginning in mid-September.

The 88-minute event debuts Sept. 15 and carries a suggested price tag of $19.95. It will benefit from an extended window, repeating through Oct. 14. "We have a great relationship with Cirque de Soleil, and we wanted to bring this new show to pay-per-view," says Steve Rockabrand, SVP-new programming, development and distribution.

"Cirque de Soleil is only in 10 to 12 cities across the country," says Rockabrand, describing why the troupe has vast appeal. The marketing challenge for Quidam, according to Rockabrand, was to create five to six "high-impact" video spots. "It was our suggestion that cable run the spots two weeks out in addition to our pre-show," he says. "The response we got from that marketing effort was beyond our expectations. It performed very well on pay-per-view."

This year, TVN plans a similar marketing game plan for Dralion, one that relies heavily on the high-impact commercials. TVN, which will distribute the event along with In Demand, EchoStar and DirecTV, is offering operators a 50/50 split of the revenues. Its marketing plan keys on running 300 cross-channel spots in the two weeks before the event.

Barker channels will mention the show at least two minutes per hour during the three weeks before the show. Two weeks out, they'll menion the show four minutes per hour. Finally, barkers will hype the show for six minutes an hour during the week preceding the telecast.

Enthusiasm from DBS providers also paved the way for Dralion's PPV debut. "The response we got on Quidam from DBS was terrific," says Rockabrand. "People understood we were bringing something new and unique to pay-per-view, something beyond wrestling and boxing."

Sources estimate that Quidam garnered between 25,000-30,000 buys over its extended run last year. A two-hour Dec. 9 telecast also played well on Bravo last year, securing a 0.73 rating. Bravo recently scored a three-year, $20 million strategic alliance with Cirque and plans a Dralion special of its own in December.