Mariah Black

BUS 370
Professor Bertin-Peterson
3 October 2014
Metropolitan Opera Case Study Response
Peter Gelbs Live in HD program for the Metropolitan Opera was a risky
venture that had the potential to alienate or disappoint loyal opera-goers and be an
economic failure. Its launch and initial performance demonstrated that it was a
calculated risk that would most likely pay off for the Metropolitan Opera. The first
simulcast was The Magic Flute on December 30, 2006. Gelb must be commended
on his choice of this particular opera. The Magic Flute is a simple show that some
may consider a beginners opera. While the Live in HD program was a completely
novel venture with great potential to fail, The Magic Flute is a light-hearted
production that has name recognition (even by non-opera aficionados) and is a
reliable crowd pleaser. This initial live show garnered 21,000 viewers across 100
theatres a success if you think that the average movie theatre probably seats
about 200. Under this assumption, every theatre that was screening The Magic Flute
sold the majority of their tickets. By the end of the first season the final show, Il
Trittico, garnered 50,000 viewers. This steady growth in its premiere season is a
positive sign for continued growth in future seasons and is certainly an indicator of
success. Live in HD was completely different from any of the Mets recent
programming, but its parallels to these radio broadcasts allowed for a pre-existing
plan that could be altered and implemented for todays society. I would not change
any part of Gelbs strategy.