Taking my fed from Newly Regional to Cult

[smartman]

I know all the basics about doing this having done it in numerous versions of the game, but I kind of in a different ballgame with my current game. This is for my basically BSC-lite fed in the excellent 2004 mod. I've just hit Regional in Mid-South with 32/5/5 pop as it so far ($36k profit first regional month).

 

Here are the issues:

 

1. I'm not specifically restricted from being on TV by my product though I have the no Afternoon-to-Primetime on some networks note (Heavy Risque product), but basically, I have one shot at TV when I reach 40 pop which is strictly Mid-South on the Sports Specific, Fox Sports Mid-South. The only expansion areas would possibly be in a couple of my 0 regions getting to 22 but they're mainstream networks.

 

2. There are, however, several Tiny/Very High risk PPV carriers that cover the entire US. And I'm making a fortune right now so weekly PPV (even if it was paying me nothing) would make me a profit (cough...signing everyone to new contracts first...cough) as I'm almost breaking even with each of my 2 shows I'm running now before all of the sponsorship revenue kicks in.

 

A)So, should I basically just keep going with my 2 Medium shows in my home region and hope for TV soonish?

 

B)Should I try to get pop in two of the other areas so I have 5 areas and get PPV? Is it even possible for me to get PPV (or TV) right now since the industry and economy are both in single digits (and haven't stopped falling yet ).

 

C)Should I jump to 3 or 4 shows a month in my home area and just focus on letting spillover take care of the 5 regions (think it hits at 45 pop for the 17 in the 2 main spillover regions and 5 in their spillover region)?

 

D)Should I possibly switch to Internet distribution (vs. the normal DVD model)? It's only $4k/month right now, and if it would give me a good pop bump across the board, that would be very good. I've just never used that option in the game.

[iruleall15]

I was in your shoes with my game. While I did cheat a bit an import some TV and PPV networks the easiest way for you is 2 run a brand split. Assuming your company is making good money take your lowest card guys who are very cheap and run shows in another region you wanna improve at. I was running a weekly live event due to no TV or PPV deal. After I was making big money each week I started a 2nd show which was my "B" show for my lower card cheap workers.

 

 

It was losing me money during my B show but the weekly money was still going up because of my A show. It was a bit rough booking 2 shows a month with a monthly "PPV" event which wasnt even a PPV. I ran pretty much a legit companies TV schedule with an A and B show with a PPV event monthly. All withotu the TV or PPV deal. After a few months you get really over really quick. I actually did an actual brand split also to avoid my top workers getting pissed off by not appearing on the "B" shows since its a jobber show.

[Lucas]

I usually use the Internet Distribution model, because that's what I would do IRL.

 

1. I'd avoid going on TV just yet, you will lose a fair bit of money doing so when you've first turned Regional without some product changes (IMO).

 

2. Easiest way is to just spam areas and you'll hit Cult in no time, but if you're looking to play the game more realistically and organically, I would stick to hosting shows in your own region, get that value as high as you can go before targeting another area.

 

There's a good reason for this, IMO. While it takes time it's going to help you a lot more in the long run, you can let spillover do most of the work for you without having to take too much of a hit on attendances.

 

Once you've reached the point where the pop is yo-yoing for your home region, then I'd start attacking the second region, you can still do a home region show at least once a month to get a good gate. Just be wary of your spend at this point, but hopefully the strategy will have left you with a nice cushion to soften the blow of any attendance losses from targeting the other region.

 

When you're at this point of targeting the second region, that's when I'd look at TV or PPV, go for a short run at first, give yourself some financial leeway to see how you get on for the first season of 12 episodes. You'll then have an idea where to expand after that.

 

As I said, the easiest road is to just edit yourself some money and spam areas, but its probably more rewarding not doing that and getting yourself there the hard (and intended ) way.

 

Good Luck.

[Letho]

A) From my personal experience, I'd say skip TV. If you're only making 36k a month without it, expect to be 100-150k in the red once you got to pay the TV show production costs.

 

B) Yes, I'd go for PPV as soon as possible. Even if you don't get a share in the PPV contract, the fact that you can now host PPV-sized Events will pay off big time. My money issues were gone instantly, because you get about twice as big audiences than before with PPV-sized events, plus a free popularity growth in the target areas. Your workers will also gain popularity much quicker which makes signing young and cheap talents and pushing them a possibility to save further money.

 

C) Hard to say. Check what income you generate with one show and compare it to the average costs you need to pay to your PPA workers. If that's a profit, do 4 maximum sized shows minimum. Once you're at cult and have written contracts, doing as many shows as you can handle is a must.

 

D) Personally, I've tried both and it didn't seem to make any difference at all. If it does, it's extremely tiny and not worth thinking about it.

 

As soon as you get a PPV deal, the key to success is signing young and cheap talents with good skills to long term contracts and push them on the major PPV events. You can get them up to Main Event within 6-12 shows if you plan it ahead, then you can fire your expensive wrestlers and make huge profits. Until you can sign them to written contracts, there's always the threat of them being stolen by bigger feds, so prepare to keep searching for new talent

[smartman]

I guess I left a couple of things out.

 

1. I have a massive roster, so those two shows I've been running have been split between my two brands. In fact, I just had to up them to two hours from 90 minutes each to fit everyone in. I could even jump to 3 brands without hiring anyone else (I'm at 42 wrestlers with 2 managers who could wrestle and wouldn't mind adding 8 more).

 

2. Based on that, I could, if I wanted to get extremely fiddly, run 4 shows per month without doubling any wrestler. That's the reason I was wanting to get to PPV as a weekly PPV wouldn't tax my roster (or increase their pop too fast).

 

3. Really, I guess I should have titled my post "Will using Internet distribution get me to PPV? And can I even get on PPV with the industry and economy in the toilet?". Because really, that's my main goal. If I need to run shows in the two main spillover areas to get to 17 so they spillover, I can do that even if it takes doubling up my cheaper wrestlers. Since it is an equal fed and all sex appeal matches and angles (well mostly), I'll be gaining 0.9 each show in those areas as my worst show ever was in the mid-50's.

 

4. The only fed that could even steal my wrestlers is WWE (who's been between National & Cult and released former Molly Holly, Stacy Kiebler, and Torrie Wilson already so they're not exactly hiring right now). This was before TNA started the Knockouts so there is literally no competition, and anyone that does do women's wrestling only have a few on their rosters and are regional or below (and not growing). So, outside of the two TNA workers and the former Molly Holly, no one has much pop outside of my home region (and that's mostly just spillover pop) so they shouldn't ever cost a lot until I run nationwide. Even then, they're asking for just under $2k/show right now, which is easily absorbed.

 

And honestly, I don't remember TV production costs being that ridiculously high. Though again, I wasn't likely going that way anyway. All it would do, since it is only in that region, is curb the wrestler pop boosts since wrestlers get way more pop from events vs TV. Useful, but not really crucial.