Apparently, the WWE has asked NBC (parent of USA/SyFy) for a lot more money and, so far, NBC is saying no. Kind of interesting - wonder if the WWE Network announcement is hurting them here:
http://nypost.com/2014/02/08/valentines-breakup-nbcuniversal-and-wwe-may-split-up/
Yeah, I personally would be SHOCKED if Vince's strategy of bragging about tripling his rights fees and then launching his own competing network somehow hurt his chances of getting more money out of USA. I think when all is said and done they'll still end up back with USA again for slightly more money, just because it's too much of a boondoggle for either side to give up that security and try something new.
2 weeks until the Network. Then RAW can fuck off and die, unless they make Daniel Bryan champion. If not, I'll be happy watching shows from the 1980s all day.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize until I sent that email to Scott that their rights with NBC/USA were being negotiated right now.
ReplyDeleteWhy not wait until after you get the guaranteed money to launch the Network? The timing is so strange.
An interesting footnote is that NBC wants to build a real Hall of Fame for the WWE at Universal Studios and the WWE doesn't care.
And Vince will have your money anyway, which is what he cares about.
ReplyDeleteNothing to see here. Just negotiations.
ReplyDeleteHow I see this playing out:
ReplyDeleteUSA offers slightly more.
Spike offers more than USA.
WWE asks USA for more, they say no.
WWE returns to Spike.
TNA dies.
If Raw ever went back to Spike, 3 hours of Raw will really feel like an eternity then.
ReplyDeleteFOX Sports would be smart to make an offer here, methinks. Rasslin' mutants are less likely to watch Monday Night Football than other dudes, so they can oppose MNF with fewer worries.
ReplyDeleteThe rights are probably being renegotiated because they've reached some point of time in the contract that allows for it. I obviously don't know the details of their contract, but generally speaking I think these contracts need to be in effect for a certain period of time. From NBC/Universal's perspective, any negotiation has to take the TV schedule into effect. If things go sour, they need enough time to get new programming. There's probably a penalty in play if WWE decides to end the contract too late in the timeline.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the HOF, I'd guess that if WWE is interested in building a physical hall of fame, they want it to be their hall of fame and theirs alone, and not part of a larger amusement park. They want it to be an attraction in and of itself. And of course, they probably don't want to tie their show to one network. What happens to the HOF if 5 or 10 years down the line they jump to Spike?
Not quite as simple as that. They still have vested interest in RAW and will remain having one for a long time. They still need people watching the current product.
ReplyDeleteIf I were WWE I'd go with a "Yeah, well, what if we offer to play all the commercials advertisers bought for Raw ON the App when people watch the replay".
ReplyDeleteI like it if they replace Cole and Lawler with Jay and Dan.
ReplyDeleteExactly!
ReplyDeleteKane is... en fuego.
ReplyDelete[Castigates self\
And they will. Old wrestling is not exactly the holy grail, its easy to find if you want it. Thats not stopping people from currently watching. The only difference is Vince has figured out a way to get everybody's money now.
ReplyDeleteI can't in my right mind see how someone would want to watch 3 hours of this watered down product when they have access to some 1990 WCW Saturday Night or 1998 RAW
ReplyDeleteOh, I personally agree with you. I'm just saying that is not necessarily what the WWE wants. They want people watching those old shows on the Network in addition to watching RAW. They don't want people to en masse turn off RAW and watch the Network instead, even though that is what many of us will likely be doing.
ReplyDeleteThey'll always have people watching the current product. If TNA can maintain an audience, the WWE will.
ReplyDeleteYep. When you're a part of the old school audience, the idea of watching a WCW Saturday Night marathon is awesome, but the average fan nowadays would rather have their fingernails removed with pliers.
ReplyDeleteOh god...the same 4 commercials...over and over and OVER again for 3 hours. I'd be like Vince tugging on his ear to stay conscious.
ReplyDeleteIs there some sort of law that says that two wrestling company's programs can't be shown on the same network?
ReplyDeleteLol watch them go and block ALL old material during RAW's 3 hour timeslot
ReplyDeleteVince's Law of Competition. See: ECW on TNN. Or his expansion in the 80's.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to remove a few bodyparts from the "modern average fan"... and not just wrestling fans, either.
ReplyDeleteStupidity is as universal as matter.
No way the WWE goes to Spike if TNA is still on the air. They are not sharing anything. Look at what they are doing in Santa Clara next year for WrestleMania where they are barring any other wrestling shows from taking place in the city during the event.
ReplyDeleteIf it wouldn't likely bankrupt an indy, I'd love to see one of them sue the fuck out of WWE for "monopolistic practices" there... they'd have enough of a case to get a nice settlement at minimum, I bet.
ReplyDeleteEh, I don't know if legally they'd have much of a case. It's basically a no-compete agreement and the city signed on the dotted line. Granted, I'm not a lawyer, but I imagine it could hold up. Then again, this is the WWE legal team we're talking about....
ReplyDeleteIf anything, the city's opened itself to being a co-defendant. Oh, and IANAL, either.
ReplyDeleteIts more a game of chicken. After Friday, anyone can bid. NBC is basically telling Vince...no one is going to pay you that much.
ReplyDeleteI like the "TNA dies" part.
ReplyDeleteWWE: "We are bringing you are highly rated wrestling program, but we want to be the only wrestling program on your network."
ReplyDeleteSpike: "Well, we want to be the only network your highly rated wrestling program airs on."
WWE: "Okay."
It's not a law, it's what the parties would want.
There were networks that aired WWF and WCW programming I believe. At least in my area.
ReplyDeleteAlthought that might have been in the early-mid 90s.
That would be a HUGE mistake. There's no way a WWE hall of fame is going to be a draw on it's own. It's going to have to be part of a larger amusment park. Also, it would help lock them into that network for a longer time (or maybe at least, make WWE more hesitant to break the relationship).
ReplyDeleteAnd no matter where the location of the Hall is, the attractions in the hall would still be long to WWE.
Why should Spike or WWE care about another wrestling program airing on a different day?
ReplyDeleteIs it a problem for Spike to have another show pulling in a 1.0+ rating? Is it a problem for WWE for Spike to air a completely different product on a time and date that WWE has zero use for?
To your bottom questions:
ReplyDeleteNo, YES.
The only thing WWE cares about TNA is that they are not direct competition. If the programs are not showing at the same time, then there is nothing for WWE to lose, and possibly something for both to gain.
ReplyDeleteExplain why.
ReplyDeleteSo the conversation goes like this, then:
ReplyDeleteWWE: "We are bringing you are highly rated wrestling program, but we want to be the only wrestling program on your network."
Spike: "Well, we really like the 1.0 TNA Wrestling gets us."
WWE: "Hmmm, that's OK. TBS and TNT really miss the ratings live wrestling used to get them on Mondays and Thursdays. They'd love for us to air Raw on TNT for three hours and Smackdown on Thursdays for 2 hours."
I believe one of the things WWE wants is Smackdown live and back on Thursdays. If it's not on Spike, how fast a death does TNA die, anyway?
Because Vince cannot play well with others. It's either his way, and his way alone, or no way.
ReplyDeleteI gave the examples below. But I'll go deeper on one specific example:
1984: Vince and the expanding WWF have solid footholds everywhere but in the Southeast, through buying up timeslots on channels where local promotions had been airing before. TBS has Georgia Championship Wrestling in the famed Saturday Night slot, and Vince attempts to get his product on TBS, but is rebuffed.
So, Plan B: Buy out the Briscoes' share of GCW (Which is why Gerald Brisco had a job in Vince's office for so long), and take over their TBS slot. It succeeds, and on July 14, 1984, WWF programming debuts on TBS, to a HATED response. Part of this is Vince's product being anathema to the audience, and part of it is Vince's refusal to air matches filmed at Center Stage in Atlanta.
Eventually, Turner gets tired of the fan backlash, and gives Bill Watts and Mid-South a slot on Sunday afternoon. Watts beats the hell out of McMahon in ratings, to the point where Turner also gives a slot to Ole Anderson's Championship Wrestling From Georgia. Oh, and it also beats Vince easily.
Solution: Vince sells the slot to Crockett (price: $1 Million), and returns to USA, who gives him a second show.
What part of Vince McMahon's history makes you think he wouldn't do something to hurt the competition JUST TO HURT the competition?
ReplyDelete"Rasslin' mutants are less likely to watch Monday Night Football than other dudes"
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm in the minority of wrestling fan that's more inclined to watch MNF depending on the matchup.
TBS would NOT take WWE... when Time Warner dumped WCW, they got rid of wrestling FOR GOOD. And there's no Ted Turner to support it now... not that Ted would support Vince anyway.
ReplyDeletePublic: "TNA is not and will not be competiton"
ReplyDeletePrivate: "KILL TNA! KILL IT WITH FIRE AND DEATH!"
Which pisses me off greatly.
ReplyDeleteThat weekend is gonna take more traveling than should be necessary.
Fine, use whatever networks you want. The bottom line is there's no way Spike wouldn't cancel TNA if it meant getting WWE back.
ReplyDeleteIf it's a good game I'll flip back and forth, but after 10 hours of football on Sunday I'll watch Raw.
ReplyDeleteYour first example is the beginning and end of that discussion... Spike "trades up" from a <1.0 on Thursday to a 3.0 on Monday and 2.0 on Thursday. They take it in a heartbeat, and tell Dixie to not let the door hit her in Brooke's ass on the way out.
ReplyDeleteI could see Fox going after it, just for FX/FXX/FS1 programming.
I can see your point, I just think that a good MNF matchup as a ending to a great weekend of football is way more attractive to me than 3 hours of mediocrity.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, I know it. There's no way it wouldn't get that far. If Spike wants Vince they know they have to get rid of TNA, and they wouldn't give a shit. It's not like TNA is even close to successful.
ReplyDeleteI think FXX could be a player in this, but I am not sure how they're deal with UFC would impact the discussions.
ReplyDeleteAnd why wouldn't TBS and TNT be a player here? TBS especially pursues original programming, and the executive who killed wrestling on the Turner networks is long gone.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that he's never done that. He's destroyed other promotions to take their business, but there is no business from TNA to take.
ReplyDeleteIs this possible? Not saying they aren't trying, but would it just be that easy?
ReplyDeleteNope, the exact same situation, network and wrestling promotion already took place. ECW was playing on TNN (what Spike used to be), Wwe made a deal with TNN for RAW and TNN turfed ECW. Same thing would happen here.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, if you're bored during RAW, check out Paul Heymans shoot on ECW TV on this issue. Great stuff.
I think with the syndicated shows, the network airing them can do as they please, but the national shows like Raw would tend to be exclusive.
ReplyDeleteThree hours of Total Divas and Legends House.
ReplyDeleteIt's a matter of preference. I would never want to watch Gotch/Hackenschmidt because I wasn't ALIVE for that era and have no connection to the material. The same is true of the 80s and the majority of modern fans.
ReplyDeleteIf Vince made Raw available to Spike at a price that worked for both, Spike would pull the plug on TNA before Vince's signature dried.
ReplyDeleteIf you were WWE I would start watching real sports
ReplyDelete