Wizard appears to be cutting shows from their schedule

[VintageComics]

Looks like Greenville has been cut.

 

Good bye to:

Indianapolis

San Antonio

Ft Lauderdale

San Jose

China

Greenville

 

Oh man! China has been cut??!!!

 

I heard that show wasn't so great. Harley Yee was going to do it as he has Asian customers and he cut the show. If Harley isn't doing a show, well...

[mysterio]

The rest of this month could be interesting in terms of seeing whether both Tulsa and Austin will be kept on the schedule, and whether Austin will get back to three days.

[AKA Rick]

There's only so many shows that the carnival of B and C level celebrities can travel to.

 

Wizard World used to be a great show, just like Creation Conventions used to be.

 

Once the organizers started to focus on the nostalgia of celebrity signings and photo ops, the shows started to feel like odd with the stench of desperation (actors hawking their goods including photo ops now), a little bit of pathetic immaturity (those fans who refuse to grow up and pine over stars of yesteryear) and overall a big hustle.

 

The shows that promote relevant celebrities and who are able to either flip the bill or negotiate with them or the studios for promotional appearances seem to be far and few between. It used to be, shows like the LA Comic Book and Sci Fi would get A list celebrities to appear for free, sign for free and even give out promotional premiums for free. You'd see big names like Jackie Chan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Woo, Christian Bale, Seth McFarlane, Kristin Stewart, etc all doing a meet and greet with fans. Sure, there was a line to wait in, but it didn't feel like being worked over as an attendee.

 

Wizard World should invest in reverting to that model, maybe increasing their admission fees in part to cover any overhead, or figure out a way to make their shows a fun experience and not just feature the guy from Battlestar Galactica, Lou Ferigno, Baby Boba Fett, Star Trek's Gorn, random cosplay models and a whole lot of retro celebrities.

 

I will say kudos to the fans who are so gracious to support these unemployed actors and their fanatic behavior that probably can brighten anyone's day that most certainly does wonders to the egos and wallets of the celebrities. I do see there is a demand, thus the supply, but it seems a bit too frequent and overwhelming at times.

 

Wizard Magazine used to be a good read, then it became a rag with no substance.

 

The Wizard brand used to mean something, and something positive. I think the brand now is actually a detrimental moniker with a poor reputation associated with the name.

[mysterio]

Wizard stock has been hammered again over the past few days. Tulsa got a 2016 date, I'll be curious to see how Austin does and whether or not they keep the show. I'm thinking not.

[AKA Rick]

Wizard stock may seem like a good deal with opportunity upside, maybe even to be acquired, but truth be told there's no substance to the company nor business model other than a brand name which has been tarnished and lacks relevance.

 

Wizard needs to focus on maybe 4 big shows next year, or even just one epic one, make them/it quality, and figure out what type of company they are in terms of the content of the show and audience they're trying to draw.

 

They suffer from the "jack of all trades, master of none" approach where their show is lackluster to cosplayers, comic collectors, art fans, autograph hounds, etc. - - no focus, all mediocrity.

 

It's not that hard to figure out when your overhead expenditures exceeds your gate and revenue that you've got to stop the bleeding and it's not about branding a hidden secret hoping more support will develop by viral word of mouth when most comments are negatively critical.

 

 

[Dale Roberts]

Wizard stock may seem like a good deal with opportunity upside, maybe even to be acquired, but truth be told there's no substance to the company nor business model other than a brand name which has been tarnished and lacks relevance.

 

Wizard needs to focus on maybe 4 big shows next year, or even just one epic one, make them/it quality, and figure out what type of company they are in terms of the content of the show and audience they're trying to draw.

 

They suffer from the "jack of all trades, master of none" approach where their show is lackluster to cosplayers, comic collectors, art fans, autograph hounds, etc. - - no focus, all mediocrity.

 

It's not that hard to figure out when your overhead expenditures exceeds your gate and revenue that you've got to stop the bleeding and it's not about branding a hidden secret hoping more support will develop by viral word of mouth when most comments are negatively critical.

 

 

That's not what they are doing though.

 

At Tulsa at the exhibitors meeting, Peter was very forthcoming. He said basically when Wizard started, there were 35 conventions a year, now there are over 900. He said Wizard is in for the long haul and that means improving their conventions. He said we had a bad September (Columbus/Pitts, etc), but they are making changes to improve. Tulsa was evidence of this. Not only was it a very nice crowd, but it was all over the place in media (newspapers, tv, what to do in Tulsa guides, etc). He said they are jacking up the guests for their conventions, better and more. He said they have done a massive increase on advertising expenditure for every show. He also said that some markets are not strong enough to support a show every year and that some shows are cannibalizing others (Pittsburgh/Columbus for example) and they would go to a show every other year in those markets. He said there were no new shows for 2016, and they are now doing a 24 month schedule which was on the website.

 

Everything he said sounded great. Now lets see if they can pull it off.

[yoddler]

Wizard stock has been hammered again over the past few days. Tulsa got a 2016 date, I'll be curious to see how Austin does and whether or not they keep the show. I'm thinking not.

 

The torrential rain in Austin this morning isn't helping.

[Meeklo]

Wizard stock has been hammered again over the past few days. Tulsa got a 2016 date, I'll be curious to see how Austin does and whether or not they keep the show. I'm thinking not.

 

The torrential rain in Austin this morning isn't helping.

 

I'm going to cosplay as Sub-Mariner or Aquaman and just swim there!

[mysterio]

Wizard stock may seem like a good deal with opportunity upside, maybe even to be acquired, but truth be told there's no substance to the company nor business model other than a brand name which has been tarnished and lacks relevance.

 

Wizard needs to focus on maybe 4 big shows next year, or even just one epic one, make them/it quality, and figure out what type of company they are in terms of the content of the show and audience they're trying to draw.

 

They suffer from the "jack of all trades, master of none" approach where their show is lackluster to cosplayers, comic collectors, art fans, autograph hounds, etc. - - no focus, all mediocrity.

 

It's not that hard to figure out when your overhead expenditures exceeds your gate and revenue that you've got to stop the bleeding and it's not about branding a hidden secret hoping more support will develop by viral word of mouth when most comments are negatively critical.

 

 

That's not what they are doing though.

 

At Tulsa at the exhibitors meeting, Peter was very forthcoming. He said basically when Wizard started, there were 35 conventions a year, now there are over 900. He said Wizard is in for the long haul and that means improving their conventions. He said we had a bad September (Columbus/Pitts, etc), but they are making changes to improve. Tulsa was evidence of this. Not only was it a very nice crowd, but it was all over the place in media (newspapers, tv, what to do in Tulsa guides, etc). He said they are jacking up the guests for their conventions, better and more. He said they have done a massive increase on advertising expenditure for every show. He also said that some markets are not strong enough to support a show every year and that some shows are cannibalizing others (Pittsburgh/Columbus for example) and they would go to a show every other year in those markets. He said there were no new shows for 2016, and they are now doing a 24 month schedule which was on the website.

 

Everything he said sounded great. Now lets see if they can pull it off.

 

This all sounds good, if they can reconfigure and do so at a cost that is palatable to dealers and ticket buyers. Jacking up various budgets for guests and advertising may not help much if they raise booth and ticket prices to match. Their booth prices have gone up for 2016, and they are not yet tiering prices based on the size of the metro area. It still costs roughly the same per day to do Des Moines in 2016 as it does to do Chicago.

 

Tulsa is generally going to be a pretty good crowd because there aren't too many shows in that immediate area to cannibalize. OKC is only about 90 minutes away, while the Dallas shows are 3-4 hours from OKC and 5 from Tulsa. So they've got a nice built-in market.

 

Both Pittsburgh and Columbus are back on the schedule for 2016, but at least they are separated by a few months. They've done a better job of moving cons around to different times, but Madison, Minneapolis, and Des Moines are right in a row and will likely cannibalize each other to an extent.

 

I'm still just seeing a 12 month calendar, but if you know where the 24 month is located please send me the link.

[Robot Man]

There's only so many shows that the carnival of B and C level celebrities can travel to.

 

Wizard World used to be a great show, just like Creation Conventions used to be.

 

Once the organizers started to focus on the nostalgia of celebrity signings and photo ops, the shows started to feel like odd with the stench of desperation (actors hawking their goods including photo ops now), a little bit of pathetic immaturity (those fans who refuse to grow up and pine over stars of yesteryear) and overall a big hustle.

 

The shows that promote relevant celebrities and who are able to either flip the bill or negotiate with them or the studios for promotional appearances seem to be far and few between. It used to be, shows like the LA Comic Book and Sci Fi would get A list celebrities to appear for free, sign for free and even give out promotional premiums for free. You'd see big names like Jackie Chan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Woo, Christian Bale, Seth McFarlane, Kristin Stewart, etc all doing a meet and greet with fans. Sure, there was a line to wait in, but it didn't feel like being worked over as an attendee.

 

Wizard World should invest in reverting to that model, maybe increasing their admission fees in part to cover any overhead, or figure out a way to make their shows a fun experience and not just feature the guy from Battlestar Galactica, Lou Ferigno, Baby Boba Fett, Star Trek's Gorn, random cosplay models and a whole lot of retro celebrities.

 

I will say kudos to the fans who are so gracious to support these unemployed actors and their fanatic behavior that probably can brighten anyone's day that most certainly does wonders to the egos and wallets of the celebrities. I do see there is a demand, thus the supply, but it seems a bit too frequent and overwhelming at times.

 

Wizard Magazine used to be a good read, then it became a rag with no substance.

 

The Wizard brand used to mean something, and something positive. I think the brand now is actually a detrimental moniker with a poor reputation associated with the name.

 

It's always so sad to walk by the old B and C "celebrities" and see no one talking to them. I really wonder why a lot of them show up at all. Wizard seems to just want to "fill the room" so they can charge $50. a day.

[1Cool]

It also seems strange the Pittsburgh Con coming up in a bit gets a ton more celebrities then the Wizard show. You would think someone like Danny Glover would do well at a Wizard show.

[mysterio]

It also seems strange the Pittsburgh Con coming up in a bit gets a ton more celebrities then the Wizard show. You would think someone like Danny Glover would do well at a Wizard show.

 

They may get a better deal from other shows, especially if Wizard is pushing multi-show "tours" that they may not want to do, plus a non-compete clause that many have talked about.

[1Cool]

It will definitely be interesting to see if Wizard World Cleveland has another great year. I'm thinking it may be a one time thing unless they can get some better celebrities but people are starved for something to do in the crappy winter.

[mysterio]

It will definitely be interesting to see if Wizard World Cleveland has another great year. I'm thinking it may be a one time thing unless they can get some better celebrities but people are starved for something to do in the crappy winter.

 

I'm curious if they can really keep both Cleveland and Columbus, even if they are several months apart.

[comicalgems]

The celebrities chilling by themselves did seem a bit odd to me. I kinda wanted to go chit chat but I know they're there to sell autographs and it doesn't seem right to just go stand around BSing.

 

Dale Roberts had the best comic selection in Tulsa. Hell I look forward to the show just to stand next to an AF 15 for a few minutes while BSing with the man.

[mysterio]

Atlanta has been rebranded as a gaming show according to the home page...

[mysterio]

Louisville has not been rescheduled for 2016, and it's spot was removed from the home page schedule. As of now, Wizard has 19 scheduled shows for 2016, 20 if Reno gets a date.

[Pike's Comics]

What's up with them scheduling Orlando the same weekend as the Tampa Bay Comic Con? Do they like failing?

[TupennyConan]

Wizard's Orlando show vanished.

[mysterio]

Wizard's Orlando show vanished.

 

Looks like they pushed it into 2017, like what they kept doing with San Antonio until it quietly disappeared for good.

 

Madison has no 2017 date yet either.