The Wrestling Thread...I Thought You Were Dead

[Metallo]

Except WWE never gives people what they want. You'd get a pair of Maes panties too. And she'd probably be IN them.

 

[BlackLantern]

lol....plus its like a 45 minute drive to Stamford through crappy I-95 traffic

 

[Metallo]

lol....plus its like a 45 minute drive to Stamford through crappy I-95 traffic

Then Vince gets mad at you for being late and asks why your limo driver didn't drive faster. Like we all have limo drivers.

 

[Dr. Evil]

So, can the WWE get 7 years and 90 million on their next TV deal? Probably not, because that's how much the UFC got from Fox.

 

[TheIncredibleSk]

They probably could. WWE gets higher ratings then UFC shows.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Cancer fought Paul Orndorff and Cancer lost:

WWE Hall of Famer Paul Orndorff announced at the NWA Legends Fan Fest in Atlanta recently that he has won his battle with cancer. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Orndorff has lost lots of weight and has trouble swalling making it hard for him to eat.

 

[BlackLantern]

So, can the WWE get 7 years and 90 million on their next TV deal? Probably not, because that's how much the UFC got from Fox.

yea...master stroke by UFC....not go running after network TV like StrikeForce then overspend to get on network tv, let the deal come to you

and now UFC is on Versus(soon to be NBC Sports) and and live events on Fox...and Fox will give them all the air time they need

 

[Project862006]

They probably could. WWE gets higher ratings then UFC shows.

but not better ppv buyrates and wwe is on everyweek ufc is not

 

[TheIncredibleSk]

Yeah but TV executives care about ratings and Im pretty sure RAW and Smackdown are near the top in TV rating for their networks. They'll get a nice deal.

 

[Wylie Times]

but not better ppv buyrates and wwe is on everyweek ufc is not

What do PPV buyrates have to do with network TV deals?

 

[Metallo]

They probably could. WWE gets higher ratings then UFC shows.

No way they could get that. If they could don't you think they'd have it already? No broadcast network wants WWE that badly (if at all). Most of WWE's specials on NBC don't do the best ratings and the new SNME tanked even though WWE stacked it.

The WWF of 25 years ago could have gotten a sweet deal (comparatively speaking) like UFC but not now.

Besides its not just about ratings but demographics of those ratings and what could have the most mainstream appeal. WWE's been there and done that but UFC still has huge potential if its played right. Plus there is no stigma on MMA and I'd imagine advertisers and people looking to make endorsement deals like that.

 

[BlackLantern]

Yeah but TV executives care about ratings and Im pretty sure RAW and Smackdown are near the top in TV rating for their networks. They'll get a nice deal.

absolutely not....being the top rated show on Syfy is like being the porn star with the least amount of STDs and track marks

I remember the WWE lobbied Fox for a TV deal back during its heyday and Fox said 'No thanks'

and this was back when wrestling was pulling in 6+ million viewers weekly

 

[Project862006]

wwe is not seen cool or hip these days at all UFC on the other hands is

 

[Wylie Times]

absolutely not....being the top rated show on Syfy is like being the porn star with the least amount of STDs and track marks

I remember the WWE lobbied Fox for a TV deal back during its heyday and Fox said 'No thanks'

and this was back when wrestling was pulling in 6+ million viewers weekly

Part of it has to do with how some people perceive wrestling.

UFC has done a great job of making MMA seem more legitimate to mainstream consumers.

Wrestling is still viewed as the lowest of low brow television, so much so that even when the ratings and PPV buyrates are incredibly high certain sponsors want nothing to do with them.

 

[BlackLantern]

and "reality TV" has proven to be cheaper and 10x more successful....who cares about wrestling when American Idol pulls in 20+ million viewers weekly?

 

[Metallo]

Yeah but TV executives care about ratings and Im pretty sure RAW and Smackdown are near the top in TV rating for their networks. They'll get a nice deal.

WWE's ratings are a drop in the bucket compared to some other network shows.

And their ratings aren't going up to any large degree right now. They aren't even near their peaks of 25/12 years ago.

Like I said its not JUST ratings but the demographics of those ratings and who certain advertisers want to reach. Its also about the broadcast model the networks want. We saw how that went when the Turner networks turned up their nose at WCW and their ratings then were comparable to what WWE gets now.

If WWE COULD get a sweet deal like UFCs they'd have it already. Vince McMahon would never turn down that kind of money or mainstream exposure if he could.

He's taking what he can get and right now those NBC-Universal networks are the only ones REALLY biting and he has a good long term relationship with them.

Do you REALLY think they wanted Smackdown on SyFy? They would have been happy keeping it on terrestrial television but nobody wanted it...at least not badly enough that they offered Vince a deal he was happy with.

Rupert Murdock got SNME 20 years ago and it failed on Fox just like its failing on NBC in its second incarnation there.

Wrestling/WWE's not "hot" right now the way UFC is.

and "reality TV" has proven to be cheaper and 10x more successful....who cares about wrestling when American Idol pulls in 20+ million viewers weekly?

Exactly. WWE's ratings are a blip compared to shows like that that have a FAR more widespread appeal than wrestling's niche audience.

Its not even as big as the audience WWE had 12 years ago.

 

[Metallo]

Cancer fought Paul Orndorff and Cancer lost:

I guess now Cancer and Vader can console each other since they both took an a** whupping from Mr Wonderful.

 

[Project862006]

yeah people have to realize wrestling was hot in late 90's due to where society was at that point it was all about controversy with things like Woodstock/Marylin Manson,Jerry springer,Howard stern,it was how far you can take it and cutting edge material,etc.

society now is i don't know more safe lol

 

[BlackLantern]

it's just moved on...wrestling is a good diversion to the mainstream audience, not something you watch every week

 

[Dr. Evil]

and "reality TV" has proven to be cheaper and 10x more successful....who cares about wrestling when American Idol pulls in 20+ million viewers weekly?

American Idol doesn't pull those numbers in anymore, Dancing with the Stars does.

And when does the WWE TV deal expire anyways? I would think Comcast would have to re-evaluate the WWE deal when that contract expires, because most of the WWE's main supporters on NBC (Dick Ebersol, Jeff "I Screwed Conan O'Brien" Zucker) are gone. Bonnie Hammer is still there, but if she departs, then the future of the WWE on the networks of NBC may be bleak.

If Comcast doesn't want the WWE, then who does? And there are no plans for a WWE network anytime soon.

 

[BlackLantern]

I think the USA deal is up 2013....not sure about the Syfy deal

 

[TX85]

IF NBC drops WWE and Comcast&others ain't interested..I'm sure Vince will do whatever it takes to get a WWE Network as soon as the current deal with NBC ends though!

 

[Dr. Evil]

The UFC got themselves a good deal and they had leverage. The WWE has no leverage when the TV deal expires.

 

[Dr. Evil]

IF NBC drops WWE and Comcast&others ain't interested..I'm sure Vince will do whatever it takes to get a WWE Network as soon as the current deal with NBC ends though!

The WWE Network would get the same amount of access as the NFL Network, which isn't much compared to ESPN.

 

[BlackLantern]

Im thinking USA will keep them around but the future of SmackDown is far from certain....I think it could definitely lead to a restructuring/downsizing of the WWE