Bonneville Distribution, the company behind the broadcast of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ Semiannual General Conference, announced bankruptcy on Monday.
“We just couldn’t pay the bills anymore. People aren’t watching our broadcasts, and our BYU-Idaho interns broke all of our cameras. Unfortunately, we have to pull out of General Conference this year,” said Mark Williams, president of the company.
At a press conference on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Church announced that in order to broadcast the conference to every single country in the world, they needed extra support.
Red Bull, the famed energy drink, agreed to step in. According to the press release, there will be changes to General Conference. All speakers will wear suits or jackets showing the Red Bull logo in some fashion. The Red Bull girls will pass out drinks to patrons during all commercial breaks. The Red Bull girls will also be the keynote speakers at the Women’s Session.
VIP tickets to General Conference will be available starting Wednesday. VIPs will be allowed to view Conference from the special Red Bull lounge, where they will enjoy complementary Red Bull, and have a special photo opportunity with general authorities and the Red Bull girls. There are only 20 tickets available, and they cost $500 each. Tickets can be purchased at lds.org/redbullvip.
This change has been met with enthusiasm for some members of the Church.
“I’ll finally be able to stay awake through the whole thing,” said David Jones, bishop of the Provo 1,000,000th Ward.
General Conference will be available on every major network on Saturday, October 5th and Sunday, October 6th.