On Nov 18, 5:55 pm, Tom Wolper <[email protected]> wrote:
> Speaking specifically to WWE, I don't know what a Friday night network
> spot gets them that a cable channel won't. Putting Smackdown on
> WGNAmerica or TBS seems to reach the same audience as NBC. I think the
> natural difference, people interested in wrestling who don't have
> cable/satellite, is negligible, as the people without cable/satellite
> aren't already providing viewers to the broadcast networks. And
> without any evidence I'll assert that WWE makes most of its money on
> live event tickets and PPV and isn't particularly worried about
> revenue from its TV outlets.
WGN America still doesn't have anywhere near the clearance of NBC (or
even USA) - Comcast STILL doesn't carry the SD feed in my area. TBS
(actually, all Turner networks) are on record as having no interest in
wrestling after the fall of WCW, and Jamie Kellner (who was in charge
of Turner Networks at the end of the WCW era) was largely responsible
for dropping "Smackdown" from the CW.
More to the point, Vince McMahon sees broadcast television as
something of a badge of honor - especially since no other national
wrestling or MMA promotion has weekly OTA clearance. The move to
MyNet was a result of the old UPN commitment running out and Smackdown
not fitting into the CW's teenage girl-centric lineup, but OTA is OTA,
even if MyNet's clearance is subpar. To McMahon, being on network TV
= being successful.
Remember too that WWE is already in bed with NBC-Uni ("Raw" on USA and
"ECW" on SyFy, plus the occasional SNME specials on NBC), and McMahon
is supposedly tight with Dick Embersol. And WWE has pretty much
proven that the Smackdown audience will follow the show - even after
the move to Friday nights and 2 network changes, the show still does
between 2.0 and 2.5 on a regular basis on MyNet. (Even if they only
average a 1.9, that's still better than reruns + Leno.) Plus, NBC can
offer WWE 100% national clearance and no local sports preemptions
(except for during the Olympics) - the ratings on UPN/CW/MyNet would
take a regular hit because local sports contracts would have Smackdown
air out of daypart.
The final factor is that, for all of the other WWE programming to
work, Smackdown HAS to air at the end of the week. USA & SyFy both
have solid Friday lineups (ratings-wise), and WWE programming doesn't
fit on Bravo. If NBC's really looking to eliminate new programming
from 8-10 on Fridays, it seems like a no-brainer to pay for Smackdown
(assuming they keep the bulk of the ad revenue, which I believe was
the deal during the last UPN/CW contract.
--
TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People!
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "TV or Not TV" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected]
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
[email protected]
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
