WWE Network?

[djthefunkchris]

What if they digitally impose Hulk Hogan into the show as Col. Hogan.... that would mean instant ratings...

 

They have absolutely ton's of footage of Hogan, if they need it.

 

In fact, I kind of found it a bit cool that they have just completed another Hogan tape, right after he signed with TNA. It's like they are trying to support him or something.

[Johnny Fenoli]

They have absolutely ton's of footage of Hogan, if they need it.

 

In fact, I kind of found it a bit cool that they have just completed another Hogan tape, right after he signed with TNA. It's like they are trying to support him or something.

 

MAYBE... the WWE is secretly building up TNA, supporting them in a way... in the name of competition. Kinda like ECW back in the day.

 

 

Anyway... the network has access to 6 years of Nitro's they could start playing every Thursday night, before they have to start doing replays. They could just rerun full episodes of Nitro, Raw, Thunder, Heat, Smackdown, ECW, AWA, OVW... whatever... there SHOULD be enough tape to last forever... Not to mention documentaries, PPV's, best of countdowns, whatever.

 

The target audience has to be the "older" group... the guys who grew up with this nostalgic stuff and have the jobs now to pay for it. Not the current fan who's still in junior high school.

 

 

Edit: WWE Video Library: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Video_Library

[Bigpapa42]

MAYBE... the WWE is secretly building up TNA, supporting them in a way... in the name of competition. Kinda like ECW back in the day.

 

 

Anyway... the network has access to 6 years of Nitro's they could start playing every Thursday night, before they have to start doing replays. They could just rerun full episodes of Nitro, Raw, Thunder, Heat, Smackdown, ECW, AWA, OVW... whatever... there SHOULD be enough tape to last forever... Not to mention documentaries, PPV's, best of countdowns, whatever.

 

The target audience has to be the "older" group... the guys who grew up with this nostalgic stuff and have the jobs now to pay for it. Not the current fan who's still in junior high school.

 

 

Edit: WWE Video Library: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Video_Library

 

The simple problem is that how many of those older fans are still going to be interested enough to pay up on a monthly basis? I know a ton of guys who were pretty hardcore fans back in the Monday Night Wars and even into the start of this decade. Of all of those - who now have good jobs and can afford such luxuries, but who also have families, multiple demands on their down time, and other interests - I think one could be interested in this. Possibly. The rest wouldn't be. These are the kind of folks that you are exactly suggesting to target. And while I cannot claim my person example proves anything, I think its a symptomatic problem with this idea.

 

The video library should indeed have enough to stock such a channel. But if McMahon is unwilling to do anything that potentially shows the E in anything but the best light, do you think he's going to want to put those Nitro's on the air? And even if he did, how many people would that attract? I don't think the problem so much is having enough footage to fill the network, its having enough that McMahon is willing to put on the air and that will attract viewers enough to pay.

[Johnny Fenoli]

The simple problem is that how many of those older fans are still going to be interested enough to pay up on a monthly basis? I know a ton of guys who were pretty hardcore fans back in the Monday Night Wars and even into the start of this decade. Of all of those - who now have good jobs and can afford such luxuries, but who also have families, multiple demands on their down time, and other interests - I think one could be interested in this. Possibly. The rest wouldn't be. These are the kind of folks that you are exactly suggesting to target. And while I cannot claim my person example proves anything, I think its a symptomatic problem with this idea.

 

The video library should indeed have enough to stock such a channel. But if McMahon is unwilling to do anything that potentially shows the E in anything but the best light, do you think he's going to want to put those Nitro's on the air? And even if he did, how many people would that attract? I don't think the problem so much is having enough footage to fill the network, its having enough that McMahon is willing to put on the air and that will attract viewers enough to pay.

 

 

well, if it is going to be anything like the nfl network, for example... It's part of a packaged deal. you pay 5-10 bucks more you get these 10 channels... If it's goign the route of say HBO or other movie channels, then it's 5 bucks more for the channel... I personally pay 5 bucks more a month for that.

[The Masked Orange]

Umm, what? Lemme get this straight

 

You're equating a one-off purchase of $50 (the number of which is dropping precipitously every year) to a payment every month of $5-15? Given the talk about the economy, you'd have to be a pretty diehard fan to do that.

 

Besides, if you read the LA Times article, he's looking to get into the basic tier. Yeah, good luck with that. More than half of WWE's catalog isn't viewable prior to midnight in the US for channels on the basic tier (look it up). That means the PG programming is all you'd get during the bulk of the programming schedule. Yeah, that's a wonderful way to attract the 18-44 male demo.

 

Sorry, my bad, forgot to say that people are also dropping $$$ on other PPV's aswell more than 12 times a year.

 

Plus, if Mcmahon were to intergrate PPV's into the network (i.e have it so that you could buy it on the network, but for half the price, and then have three or four ad breaks throughout the entire thing, sorta like the superbowl, which less money off PPV but more ratings and ad revenue) he would get ratings instantly. Forget field of dreams we would be talking about the current amount of people that watch RAW on Mondays, the amopunt of people that watch Smackdown on Fridays, ECW on Tuesdays, PPv's on sunday's, add the amount of people that want to watch Nitro etc. and we are looking at millions of people willing to pay $10-$15 a month otherwise they would be stuck with TNA and possibly ROH, which aren't exactly basic tier themselves.

 

However from what Vince said, he would keep RAW on the USA network, if only to make sure that the show doesn't bomb like Smackdown is currently in danger of doing on MyNetworkTV. Which to me would need to be one of the things on the network in order for those big viewers to roll in.

 

But the potential is huge, Wrestling is the biggest sport in America (unless Louis Theroux lied to me) and if most of it is being shown on one network, then hell, they could control the market even more. But then TNA could gain some ground...

[Bippodrop]

Then again, I didn't (and still don't) think a Big Ten Network would fly (who the hell cares about anyone but Ohio State in the Big Ten? And who the hell cares about Big Ten sports besides football and basketball?) but there you go.

 

Hate to disagree, but there are MANY passionate Michigan and Penn State fans nationwide. SEC is my school's conference, and football is the predominant sport obviously. But I travel the U.S. a good bit and trust me Michigan fans are out there. In plenty. To say Ohio State is the only school in Big Ten worth mentioning is a little condescending.

 

On top of that, anything that robs viewers of ESPN, I am all for....

[Moderndaywarrior]

I am still not so sure....if he was content with wrestling he never would have tried branching out ever;but if you look Vince tried Bodybuilding(WBF) and it flopped....so he tries football(XFL) and it flopped...now he's trying movies(WWE Films)....to me that says he wants to,and is intent on, doing and being known for things other than wrestling, otherwise he would have stopped after the first side venture saw failure.

 

Sure,he has access to all that (W)WF/E footage,as well as ECW and most of the old regional libraries....but his track record has shown me he has a total disregard for the history of wrestling...he wants people (and conditions them)to think that there never was anything but the WWFE,so that makes me think that just like the top stars in the 80's,he bought things up just so noone else could have access to them,so I doubt you'd see alot of it except for maybe in the wee hours.

[Self]

Isn't the WWE Films department doing well? Could have sworn they were making a profit. Sure, their movies aren't clearing up in the box office, but I think DVD sales are doing well. The fact that they just switched to 'Straight To DVD' flicks backs that up, I reckon.

 

Kind of a tangent, but I'd seen it mentioned twice in the same sentence as the Bodybuilding and the XFL, so I thought I'd pipe up.

[djthefunkchris]

I am still not so sure....if he was content with wrestling he never would have tried branching out ever;but if you look Vince tried Bodybuilding(WBF) and it flopped....so he tries football(XFL) and it flopped...now he's trying movies(WWE Films)....to me that says he wants to,and is intent on, doing and being known for things other than wrestling, otherwise he would have stopped after the first side venture saw failure.

 

Sure,he has access to all that (W)WF/E footage,as well as ECW and most of the old regional libraries....but his track record has shown me he has a total disregard for the history of wrestling...he wants people (and conditions them)to think that there never was anything but the WWFE,so that makes me think that just like the top stars in the 80's,he bought things up just so noone else could have access to them,so I doubt you'd see alot of it except for maybe in the wee hours.

 

/nod I agree, but lets' be fair... That outfit is where it all began. Starting out with Toot's and them with the "Gold Dust Trio", then later the WWWF with Toot's and Daddy McMahan (who was a boxing promoter in the first place), then to Vince... Before the "Gold Dust Trio", there were no real promotions... just events.

[The Celt]

I think there's a major issue not being dealt with here.

 

No matter how much we hate to admit it, Kids are a major part, if not the majority, of the audience for wrestling.

 

As things stand WWE shows are thrown in with normal shows on normal networks in US. Thus a kid flicking through the channels can accidentally put on wrestling and go "WHAT IS THIS AWESOMENESS?!" easily. The kid then becomes a fan despite what their parent think pro or against. After a while they start wanting PPVs and they start asking their parents, and are more like to succeed if they have siblings.

 

That's sorta how it is in the US. In the UK and Ireland this is the story:

WWE is shown on Sky Sports 3, a channel that comes free with Sky Sports 1. People buy SS1 to get the best sports available, such as big Football matches. Thus, a lot of men get it for that very reason. Boom, one day the kid is channel flipping and thanks to that free station see's WWE. "WHAT IS THIS AWESOMENESS!" and so on. To drive that point on some PPVs are free in the UK. Now the kid is really into stuff.

 

Flip these stories: WWE becomes it's own channel in both the US and UK. People much now pay for the channel to see Smackdown, Raw, ECW and PPVs. No channel flicking This is stories now. Exposure will to the viewing audience is cut drastically. While parents were happy/ok/frustrated with their kids watching wrestling for free and maybe splashing out once in a while for PPVs, now they're facing with paying money every month. Mhh...not good.

 

And trust me, kids are only kind of into wrestling aren't going to be fighting their parents hard to get the WWE channel.

 

I know this logic is true because it's my own story.

 

I'm Irish and I got into wrestling through WCW. We happened to have Sky in the 90s but lost Sky Sports. WCW was on a free channel. Flicking though I found and loved it. My parents HATED IT. My mum even tried to destroy kayfabe for me and would tell me it was fake all the time. But hey, she wasn't paying for it specifically, so she couldn't really stop me watching it. Thus a life long wrestling fan was born.

 

Had wrestling been it's own channel, my odds of knowing what wrestling would have been VERY slim, which is pretty scary since I want to get into the business now

 

So think about that WWE.

[Self]

I'm sure they won't move all of their shows onto their network. For the exact reason you mention, exposure. They have shows in great positions on solid networks, and they're not going to jeopardize that on a potential failure. They might move one, maybe two of their 4 main shows over, but the others will still be out and about on larger networks, trying to hook casuals.

[The Masked Orange]

I'm sure they won't move all of their shows onto their network. For the exact reason you mention, exposure. They have shows in great positions on solid networks, and they're not going to jeopardize that on a potential failure. They might move one, maybe two of their 4 main shows over, but the others will still be out and about on larger networks, trying to hook casuals.

 

Exactly.

 

ATM, WWE Experience on Sky One is more likely to get children's attention then a peice of WWE programming on Sky Sports 3 late at night.

 

The E has always been good at getting itself exposed, the games are a big part of that. I got into wrestling mainly because of the No Mercy game my friend had. Since then I have watched AWA, WCW, WWE, TNA, ROH, CZW, CHIKARA, NWA, IWA, WWC, OVW, FCW, PWG, Dragons Gate etc.

 

The WWE is such a large franchise, it doesn't need to rely on Sky Sports 3 in order to get British and Irish viewers.

[Moderndaywarrior]

/nod I agree, but lets' be fair... That outfit is where it all began. Starting out with Toot's and them with the "Gold Dust Trio", then later the WWWF with Toot's and Daddy McMahan (who was a boxing promoter in the first place), then to Vince... Before the "Gold Dust Trio", there were no real promotions... just events.

 

Historically, i absolutely agree....if you watch the current shows though,Vince acknowledges little to nothing before the Hulk Hogan era(and even then not alot of that).Probably their most dominant and successful guy of all time,Bruno Sammartino,is lucky if he gets a two word mention every other year,same with guys like Billy Graham and Gorilla Monsoon....to me it's kind of like "heck he won't even acknowledge his own companies past,I can't honestly think he's gonna be airing his one time competitors and even acknowledge their existence".

 

You have to remember this is guy who for 20+ years now has sold the mainstream media on the story that wrestling was this dying business on the very verge of extinction,breathing it's last breath,until the great Vincent Kennedy McMahon,The Savior of Professional Wrestling and Greatest Genius Ever In The Business,imparted his wisdom and with his sheer genius,saved the day for the whole sport.....when in fact the truth is the regionals were strong and turning gates as good as they had ever been in their existence.

 

The real ironic thing is the mainstream media always kind of looked down on Pro wrestling fans as being these "Poor,simple folk who were too stupid to see it's not real,unlike us smart guys in the media who can't be suckered in".

 

Yet when Vince started expanding and courted the mainstream media with his version of "Pro Wrestling According To Vince", they took him at his word and bought into it just as much,if not more than, even the dumbest of marks....while the actual wrestling fans stood there saying "Jeez,stupid media is actually buying into Vince's bunch of BS,I just they just aren't smart enough to see how he is fooling them."

[Moderndaywarrior]

Isn't the WWE Films department doing well? Could have sworn they were making a profit. Sure, their movies aren't clearing up in the box office, but I think DVD sales are doing well. The fact that they just switched to 'Straight To DVD' flicks backs that up, I reckon.

 

Kind of a tangent, but I'd seen it mentioned twice in the same sentence as the Bodybuilding and the XFL, so I thought I'd pipe up.

 

I can't say for sure how well WWE Films is doing, that's why I just said he was trying out the movie business;the point I intended to make was that it is a venture outside of Pro Wrestling,just the same as the WBF and XFL were ventures outside of pro wrestling....hence I argue that Vince does not want to be known as "just a wrestling promoter", he wants to be a mainstream media mogul.

[ACCBiggz]

Hate to disagree, but there are MANY passionate Michigan and Penn State fans nationwide. SEC is my school's conference, and football is the predominant sport obviously. But I travel the U.S. a good bit and trust me Michigan fans are out there. In plenty. To say Ohio State is the only school in Big Ten worth mentioning is a little condescending.

 

On top of that, anything that robs viewers of ESPN, I am all for....

 

Agreed on the Michigan/PSU front, and in the next 10 years I expect Notre Dame to join the conference.

 

As for the second part, ESPN isn't exactly getting robbed of any viewers from the Big 10 Network. And why the disdain for the network?

 

 

 

As for a WWE Network: I think they have enough for a full network, and even more so in the future. Just as a hypothetical, why wouldn't the WWE put Raw, Smackdown, ECW, etc. on their own network once contracts ran out? A lot of programming. Each original airing followed by repeats, then a Saturday Marathon. Plus the mass of footage they own that could be ran at any given time. Their films and any other specials they could run.

 

Again, just a hypothetical. I don't exactly expect this to happen, but I think they have enough programming to make it work. It just comes down to the viability of the network and the other logistical problems that come along with it.

[tristram]

I think a WWE network would be great, and I for one look forward to it.

 

A daily schedule could feature:

 

Midnight to 2AM - WWE Lifestyle: Mark Henry and Mae Young's guide to parenthood

2AM to 3AM - Cajin Hour - The Red Rooster

3AM-7:30AM - The Love Doctor - Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley - Has a dead woman ever come between you and endless love?

7:30AM-12PM - Blind Love - Why DDP liked a horse face ahead of his own Playboy centrefold

12PM-3PM - Religious Miracles - The Death and Resurrection of Vince McMahon

3PM-6PM - African Safari - Akeem returns to his roots

6PM-9PM - Suspense Mastery - Who really was Giant Machine? An investigative expose that shows who was under the mask of Giant Machine

9PM-10PM - Wrestling Psychology 101 - The Ultimate Warrior tutors you on how a match should work

10PM-11PM - Taking it to the bank - The Incredible stories of Ultimate Warrior and Jeff Jarrett

11PM-Midnight - Pool Maintenance Hour hosted by TL Hopper - Is that a log in the bottom of my pool?

[Moderndaywarrior]

I think a WWE network would be great, and I for one look forward to it.

 

A daily schedule could feature:

 

Midnight to 2AM - WWE Lifestyle: Mark Henry and Mae Young's guide to parenthood

2AM to 3AM - Cajin Hour - The Red Rooster

3AM-7:30AM - The Love Doctor - Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley - Has a dead woman ever come between you and endless love?

7:30AM-12PM - Blind Love - Why DDP liked a horse face ahead of his own Playboy centrefold

12PM-3PM - Religious Miracles - The Death and Resurrection of Vince McMahon

3PM-6PM - African Safari - Akeem returns to his roots You forgot to mention guest star Saba Simba:)

6PM-9PM - Suspense Mastery - Who really was Giant Machine? An investigative expose that shows who was under the mask of Giant Machine

9PM-10PM - Wrestling Psychology 101 - The Ultimate Warrior tutors you on how a match should work

10PM-11PM - Taking it to the bank - The Incredible stories of Ultimate Warrior and Jeff Jarrett

11PM-Midnight - Pool Maintenance Hour hosted by TL Hopper - Is that a log in the bottom of my pool?

 

Now that's good stuff...maybe they could have a WWE Mystery Movie with TL Hopper as McClogged in "It's just a Baby Ruth.....or is it?"

 

There's so many more great options you could go with here:

 

Capt.Lou Eye For The Straight Guy...today's episode "Rubber Bands And You",then later The Road Warriors and all 3 members of Demolition discuss the proper way to apply to make up for that perfect look.

 

Art Donovan's very own talk show....."How Much Does Dis Guy Weigh?"

 

Cooking with Roddy Piper...."Today we're gonna make a little fruit salad"

 

The Real World starring The Odddities w/ special guest star Bastion Booger

 

Daily Sports Round Up featuring analysis by top professional athlethes Steve"Mongo" McMichael,The Goon,Abe"Knuckleball" Schwartz,and "Hole in One" Darsow along with The Coach.

 

The newest Japanese style game show.....Gobbledegooker Super Crazy Fun Challenge

 

Outspoken social commentator "Classy" Freddie Blassie gives his take on current events on "Shut Up,You Pencil Necked Geek!"

 

Brother Love's Gospel Hour

 

"The Bobby Heenan Show" Bobby The Brain goes a quest to find the mysteriously missing racy pics of Elizabeth in a revealing bikini with Ric Flair,then in the second hour challenges George Steele and Eugene to a contest to see who can count to 3 first.

 

This Old Locker Room...host "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes tackles a leaky toilet while "The Real Man's Man" Steve Regal replaces pitted copper flashing in the shower.

 

The entire Dudley clan (w/help from guest Jamie Noble) pimp out a mobile home on American Redneck.

[Bippodrop]

Agreed on the Michigan/PSU front, and in the next 10 years I expect Notre Dame to join the conference.

 

As for the second part, ESPN isn't exactly getting robbed of any viewers from the Big 10 Network. And why the disdain for the network?

 

Not necessarily a hate of ESPN, more of a wanting competition or alternative to what they offer. FoxSports, at least what I get via cable provider, is plain awful.

 

Really think ND is conference bound? That would require giving up so many of their guarantees and annual opponents. Not sure that will happen. Never know....

[ACCBiggz]

Really think ND is conference bound? That would require giving up so many of their guarantees and annual opponents. Not sure that will happen. Never know....

 

NBC is in the tank, they are probably being sold yet again. They'll want to cut out money. Notre Dame football, which hasn't been nationally competitive in a good while, is a likely choice to cut once the contract runs out. With no TV contract for their football team, and only then, they'll basically be forced to join a conference. The Big 10 is the obvious choice for them because of proximity, scheduling, and rivals (Michigan, MSU, Penn State, and the new occasional OSU game).

 

In fact, this has always been my personal plan for NBC, I would not renew Notre Dame and enter in to a Big 10 contract similar to CBS/SEC. One big game each Saturday. Notre Dame and Ohio State in one division, Michigan and Penn State in the other. You ensure yourself ND/MICH, OSU/MICH every year and potentially twice a year with the conference championship game. You would earn a lot more money that way, and extend your area coverage, than by just having a ND exclusive contract.

[Bippodrop]

NBC is in the tank, they are probably being sold yet again. They'll want to cut out money. Notre Dame football, which hasn't been nationally competitive in a good while, is a likely choice to cut once the contract runs out. With no TV contract for their football team, and only then, they'll basically be forced to join a conference. The Big 10 is the obvious choice for them because of proximity, scheduling, and rivals (Michigan, MSU, Penn State, and the new occasional OSU game).

 

In fact, this has always been my personal plan for NBC, I would not renew Notre Dame and enter in to a Big 10 contract similar to CBS/SEC. One big game each Saturday. Notre Dame and Ohio State in one division, Michigan and Penn State in the other. You ensure yourself ND/MICH, OSU/MICH every year and potentially twice a year with the conference championship game. You would earn a lot more money that way, and extend your area coverage, than by just having a ND exclusive contract.

 

While those may all be true arguments, I just don't see Notre Dame joining a conference anytime soon. I can be wrong....

[ACCBiggz]

Their contract is up again in 2010. Last time, in 2006 - when things were looking up, they only signed them to a four year extension. With Notre Dame having increasingly less interest, and NBC's financial woes, it's only a matter of time before they do not renew the contract - which will force them into a conference, where the Big Ten is the logical choice.