http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/96-wwe/34488-wwe-looking-for-bidding-on-all-of-its-shows-possibly-moving-smackdown
They're playing for a big money increase here, although I will be sad if NXT leaves Hulu, assuming the new network isn't available in Canada. Although live Smackdown on Tuesdays is the LAST thing that the burned out writers need.
They're playing for a big money increase here, although I will be sad if NXT leaves Hulu, assuming the new network isn't available in Canada. Although live Smackdown on Tuesdays is the LAST thing that the burned out writers need.
My favorite line in the article is at the end.
ReplyDelete"the story noted WWE wanting its perception changed from soap opera to
sport, because rights fees for sports are going through the roof."
*facepalm*
My FAVORITE thing about this is the WWE now trying to claim it's a sport again, since sports rights are through the roof and scripted shows are (largely) falling.
ReplyDeleteI still believe the WWE is crazy if they think they'll double their rights fees. More of the 18-49 audience watches Love & Hip Hop on Monday nights than WWE. I'm thinking VH1 isn't forking over $200 million per year for Love & Hip Hop. Just a hunch.
If this gets them going more in a "sports" philosophy as opposed to the "entertainment/soap opera" philosophy they can be on any fucking channel they want for all I care.
ReplyDeleteI want my perception changed to "Fortune 500 CEO" because the salary for them is through the roof right now.
ReplyDeleteI miss the days where you had all kinds of physiques in wrestling - the muscle guys, the fat guys, the "beer drinking truck driving uncle" guys, etc. Rose and Somers could go in the ring for two guys who looked like they never visited a weight room.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for WWE programming to premier on ESPN 8!
ReplyDeleteThe burned out writers? How about the burned out performers?
ReplyDeleteWe know this isn't going to happen.
ReplyDeleteThe Ocho?
ReplyDeleteSeriously. They aren't a sport when the athletic commission comes calling, but they are when it comes time to bid for networks.
ReplyDeleteI want to kick this company in its collective nuts sometimes.
Instead of the dog show, it'll be pushed to Saturday for the Dodgeball World Championships.
ReplyDeleteThey're not talking about a change in philosophy. It's just about shopping themselves around to other networks.
ReplyDeleteOf course here's what any network that's actually interested in sports would say - "wait, you're a sport and you want to have your primary show be on Monday nights opposite the NFL? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
I'm sure this will be a silly question to many, but why are live shows so much more difficult for the writers than taped? Still one episode of Smackdown a week... just curious.
ReplyDeleteAn opening promo between John Cena and HHH.....on the Disney Channel.
ReplyDeleteGo ahead Doomers. Joke away,
FOX Sports 1 could and should buy RAW. WWE already do huge business with SKY Sports.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Sky Sports in the UK and Foxtel in Australia, no reason why Fox couldn't push for a global stranglehold on it.
ReplyDeleteIt's possible they can get a nice bump in revenues although tripling their TV deal like Vince was talking about a few months ago is some grade A lunacy and I don't think anyone takes that seriously.
ReplyDeleteIf they want to shop themselves as a sport there are a lot of desperate sports networks out there that could use some appointment programming. I imagine that if you have cable, you have the CBS Sports Network. I also imagine that you haven't ever tuned to CBS-S on purpose in all the time you've had the channel. If we didn't have a lot of hockey fans on the blog I'd say the same thing about NBC Sports. Nobody's watching Fox Sports 1 other than UFC fans and it seems like after UFC events they all immediately tune out and go back to ESPN for all their sports news.
This is a huge opportunity for WWE and the best case scenario is sparking a bidding war between the major networks who want 5-7 hours of programming that outdraws basically anything on the minor sports networks other than MNF and Miami Heat games.
Yeah they ain't changing a thing about being "entertainment" over sports...they are just changing the marketing and branding to non-fans.
ReplyDeleteYea, my hope was that maybe they'd tweak their philosophy a little to match the re branding. I have 0 illusions of this happening
ReplyDeleteIt should be interesting to see how these negotiations shake out for WWE. The easy answer is to look at a network like CBS or FOX Sports 1. I think the latter would be a better opportunity but harder to get on to as a whole. For starters, it is trying to compete with ESPN so it could use the viewers but may want to only compete with sporting events. Additionally, on Monday nights they might insist the WWE go off at 11 so their highlights show can start right at 11 instead of losing viewers to ESPN.
ReplyDeleteFox might be a good partner as well in that they could use anything to help boost their FXX channel and they could turn a bunch of time there over to WWE and then rely on the WWE machine to help get them more clearance on cable systems and help raise awareness of the channel.
A dark horse network might be the old Turner networks getting involved as a whole. TBS made some nice gains the past year in the 18-34 demographic and actually finished with 2.07 million viewers average to USA's 2.75 million viewers. Adding something like WWE could help switch them to the top in place of USA and would give them a great lead in to Conan on Monday and Tuesday nights- if they moved the latter back to Tuesday nights. They could also put Saturday Morning Slam on Cartoon Network and Total Divas on truTV.
However, in the end I would bet they end up back on NBC Universal under a sweet deal.
#1)People barely know where Fox Sports 1 is on their cable system. That's if they have it -- it isn't available in all basic markets like USA. It would be a step down.
ReplyDelete#2) I doubt Vince wants to share a channel with UFC.
I thought Donald trump owned raw
ReplyDeleteFor most systems it is a part of the sports tier so it is not like it would be a huge find for them. Plus considering it was Fuel (I believe) it has a pretty big clearance right now. I think it has a better profile than a CBS Sports Network.
ReplyDeleteThis match! Heat is off the charts.
ReplyDeleteWin-win for FS1 and WWE - wrestling fans will make sure FS1 gets into more homes.
ReplyDeleteYou meant Disney Junior.
ReplyDeleteBecause at least with taped Smackdown they can go back and re-tape or re-edit things in post if there's any particularly troublesome spots or things that need clarifying by the announcers towards advancing the plot and such.
ReplyDeleteDisney XD.
ReplyDeleteCM Punk is on his last legs, man.
ReplyDeleteIt won't got to Fox Networks because Vince does not want to be on the same networks as UFC. Viacom Networks (Spike, MTV, etc) are out of the question because of the falling out that caused WWE to go back to NBC Networks.
ReplyDeleteUnless they stay with NBC Networks the only viable place they could go, if interested, is Time Warner (TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, HBO)
It would be ABC Family.
ReplyDeleteI'd imagine that at this stage of the game, Dana White wouldn't want his product too close to wrestling. He needed the lead in for TUF once upon a time, but he doesn't now. The last thing he needs is being associated with his predetermined counterpart.
ReplyDeleteI don't watch "real sports" and I don't want to have to subscribe to an extra tier of programming just for WWE to air on Fox Sports 1.
ReplyDeleteThey need to just stay on USA or maybe go back to Spike or some other basic cable channel.
If it went to Fox, Raw would be on FX. Smackdown would end up on FS1 or FS2 depending on what is showing on whatever day they decide to show it.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't on a special tier actually. It is part of a standard digital package on cable systems as far as I know.
ReplyDeleteWho knows? I guess in part it depends on what HHH wants - and how successful he is in moving Vince in that direction (assuming that's the direction HHH is interested in).
ReplyDeleteI'm convinced that Time Warner won't be interested in wrestling until the end of 2015 when both Conan's TBS contract and Letterman's CBS contract are ending and it's pretty damn obvious that Conan is going to be Dave's replacement when he finally retires which means that once they lose Conan then TBS isn't going to have anything viable on their schedule, after all you can't rely on Family Guy reruns forever, it will be then that they will be interested in carrying wrestling again.
ReplyDeleteThat means 2 things.
ReplyDeleteThe girls from Shake It Up and ANT Farm join the cast of Total Divas.
ReplyDeleteYeah Rockers-Somers/Rose was like the last great AWA feud.
ReplyDeleteIt's on the Digital Sports Package at my local cable company. The local Fox Sports channel is on basic cable here, but it's completely different from FS1.
ReplyDeleteThe irony of WWE programming ending up on Turner networks would be just too rich
ReplyDeleteI get the feeling also if the WWE stays on NBC Networks, that Smackdown is getting moved to Esquire. SyFy already has their own set audience, and Esquire is a new network it can take an established show like Smackdown, get the WWE audience, and make them aware of the programming.
ReplyDeleteMain Event just seems lost in the shuffle. I assume if will find a home on NBC Sports.