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Old 10-12-2004, 12:16 PM   #1
Xero
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Viacom and WWE to split?
I'm not sure of the orignal source, I found this at WrestleZone.com...

======================


WWE shopping around for new cable partner
by Andrew Wallenstein

Wrestling magnate Vince McMahon is searching for a new tag-team partner in television.

McMahon's World Wrestling Entertainment recently held preliminary discussions with cable groups including Turner Broadcasting, NBC Universal and FX Networks, according to sources, about relocating top-rated weekly program "WWE Raw" and its other series from Spike TV when their contract expires in September [2005].

Ironically, one of the front-runners to land the WWE is said to be NBC Uni's USA Network, the WWE's cable home before Spike TV. Their split sparked a bitter legal battle between USA Network and WWE in early 2000 when USA was then controlled by Barry Diller's USA Networks Inc.

Kurt Schneider, executive vp marketing at WWE, confirmed the wrestling empire might enter the ring with a different channel but characterized the talks as pro forma.

"We still have a mutually beneficial relationship with Spike TV, and we're looking for a longer-term one with them," he said. "But for us, we think we have an obligation as a public company to our shareholders to seek the best deal out there that we can get."

But the uncertainty of the WWE's TV deal extends further than Spike TV. It may also signal the beginning of the end of WWE's relationship with Viacom, which signed a five-year strategic alliance in 2000 with WWE. That deal, announced hours after a Delaware judge threw out USA's lawsuit against WWE seeking to block its move to Spike TV (then known as TNN), was intended to cross-pollinate the companies' vast content holdings. But it has yet to bear much fruit for the WWE other than the wrestling TV programs and a handful of WWE-related books for Viacom's Simon & Schuster unit.

What's at stake for the WWE is 260 hours of programming delivered 52 weeks per year, most prominently in the two-hour "Raw" block that airs Monday nights on Spike TV. Three additional hours air each weekend: "Heat," "Velocity" and "Experience."

Securing the rights to the WWE's brand of bone-crunching entertainment was seen as a make-or-break proposition for Viacom executives when they were first plotting a new course for TNN, the former Nashville Network that became part of the Viacom family of cable outlets with Viacom's 2000 acquisition of CBS. But with wrestling ratings declining and Spike TV propping up its primetime schedule with expensive repeats of the CBS hit drama "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," industry observers say that both WWE and Spike TV may be ready to go their separate ways.

The WWE is "desperate to get out of there," said one executive familiar with WWE's negotiations.

"WWE is an important franchise for Spike TV," Jim Burns, senior vp sports and specials, said in a statement.

Sources say Spike TV pays WWE an annual license fee of about $28 million for the entire package. WWE is said to be seeking a renewal at a cost upward of $40 million. WWE also has two years remaining on its separate pact with UPN for Thursday night's "WWE SmackDown!" showcase, which had long been UPN's most-watched show since its debut on the network in fall 1999, but last season it fell to No. 2 behind the reality hit "America's Next Top Model."

In his new cable contract, McMahon will likely seek to retain control over advertising sales, a responsibility he ceded to Viacom in last year's renewal of "SmackDown," which is said to cost UPN about $28 million per year. Negotiations regarding the fate of "Raw" are already under way because WWE wants to have a new channel nailed down before the cable upfront advertising sales marketplace breaks in the spring.

On the surface, Spike TV and WWE would seem to be a match made in TV heaven. What better place could there be for wrestling than a channel targeting young men? So it was hardly surprising that "Raw" and other wrestling shows remained on the schedule last year after MTV Networks mounted a major relaunch last summer campaign to rechristen TNN as the guy's guy channel Spike TV.

With a weekly audience of 3.5 million viewers, "Raw" has been cable's most consistent top draw since the program's inception in 1993. But since switching from USA Network in 2000, the audience for "Raw" has aged dramatically -- the median age of its viewership base has grown by seven years to 34. The aggregate ratings for all of Spike's wrestling shows are less than half of what they were four years ago.

WWE's downturn hasn't helped Spike TV, which saw its primetime ratings drop 14% in its target demographic, males 18-34, in the third quarter compared with third quarter 2004, according to Nielsen Media Research. Spike TV's median age for the quarter, 39.7, has increased by more than two years.

Since its rebranding, Spike TV has produced little breakout original programming. It generated a little heat with its reality spoof "The Joe Schmo Show" last year, but the second season of "Schmo" flopped.

What is working for Spike TV is off-network repeats of "CSI," which began running Monday-Friday in primetime last month. With a pricey new foundation for its schedule, Spike TV has less use for "Raw," which has long scared off blue-chip advertisers with its violent and often racy content.

But despite its downmarket image and sluggish ratings, no one considers WWE down for a three-count: Many consider wrestling a cyclical business that rises and falls on the comet-like emergence of marquee champions. The arrival of another star on the order of Hulk Hogan or the Rock could adrenalize the franchise again.

Still, WWE will find a very different cable landscape than the last time it had programming on the open market. The general entertainment networks that once offered broad programming options have now carefully cultivated their brands in ways that clash with wrestling's smash-mouth sensibility. Its cheeseball charm probably wouldn't mesh with the new high-end drama sheen of FX, nor does it fit the genre-specific thrust of drama-heavy TNT and comedy-themed TBS.

Despite the legal wrangling of four years ago, USA Network is said to be staying open-minded about a potential reunion with WWE, even though USA's new owner, NBC Uni, has its own history with McMahon and the short-lived XFL football league that NBC launched with WWE in 2001. Wrestling historians will also recall that USA's new president, Bonnie Hammer, was instrumental in rejuvenating "Raw" during the WWE's last major slump in the early 1990s.

Meanwhile, the grand plans for WWE's broader collaboration with various Viacom divisions seems to have all but evaporated.
Viacom sold back the small equity stake it had in WWE a few years after buying it. A TV series development deal between WWE and UPN fizzled. Two WWE-produced feature films in the works are being distributed not by Paramount, but by Lions Gate Films and 20th Century Fox, while Sony handles WWE's massive home video business. And MTV recently declined to order another season of a sixth WWE series, "Tough Enough."

If the WWE does wind up in serious talks with USA Network, the irony of that rapprochement could grow even richer. If WWE should decide to bolt Spike TV for another network, Spike retains the right to match whatever payday WWE manages to wrangle. A similar contractual clause was the crux of the dispute between WWE and USA in 2000.


======================

WWE better not go to a lesser distributed channel... I hope they either stay with Spike or go to USA...

Imagin WWE on a Turner channel...

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Old 10-12-2004, 12:31 PM   #2
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They should go to FOX.

Massive ratings there.
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Old 10-12-2004, 12:46 PM   #3
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Shadow got the bus to Rep Town and repped it up real bad at the rep shop (100,000+)Shadow got the bus to Rep Town and repped it up real bad at the rep shop (100,000+)Shadow got the bus to Rep Town and repped it up real bad at the rep shop (100,000+)Shadow got the bus to Rep Town and repped it up real bad at the rep shop (100,000+)Shadow got the bus to Rep Town and repped it up real bad at the rep shop (100,000+)Shadow got the bus to Rep Town and repped it up real bad at the rep shop (100,000+)Shadow got the bus to Rep Town and repped it up real bad at the rep shop (100,000+)Shadow got the bus to Rep Town and repped it up real bad at the rep shop (100,000+)Shadow got the bus to Rep Town and repped it up real bad at the rep shop (100,000+)Shadow got the bus to Rep Town and repped it up real bad at the rep shop (100,000+)Shadow got the bus to Rep Town and repped it up real bad at the rep shop (100,000+)Shadow got the bus to Rep Town and repped it up real bad at the rep shop (100,000+)
Yeah...just look at TNA's. Dynamite.
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Old 10-12-2004, 01:39 PM   #4
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Man, if Spike TV won't take 'em, I can't imagine many other channels, outside of USA Network, that would. They shouldn't give up on FX, though. That channel flip-flops its strategy every two years. Remember when it was sort of a femmy channel (it was all talk shows and ... uh ... pet shows) way back when? Then they were some sort of nostalgia network, playing shows like "Batman" and "Green Hornet". And then they became the "man's channel" with their Toughman shows. They're drama now, but if you wait a couple of years...
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Old 10-12-2004, 01:51 PM   #5
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they should stick with Spike, like hell if RAW is gonna be preempted by that damn dog show again.
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Old 10-12-2004, 02:14 PM   #6
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Gouda has a good deal of rep (10,000+)Gouda has a good deal of rep (10,000+)Gouda has a good deal of rep (10,000+)Gouda has a good deal of rep (10,000+)Gouda has a good deal of rep (10,000+)Gouda has a good deal of rep (10,000+)
Ah well... chances are it'll stay put on TSN over here.
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Old 10-12-2004, 02:23 PM   #7
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samichna has a relatively large amount of rep (50,000+)samichna has a relatively large amount of rep (50,000+)samichna has a relatively large amount of rep (50,000+)samichna has a relatively large amount of rep (50,000+)samichna has a relatively large amount of rep (50,000+)samichna has a relatively large amount of rep (50,000+)samichna has a relatively large amount of rep (50,000+)samichna has a relatively large amount of rep (50,000+)samichna has a relatively large amount of rep (50,000+)samichna has a relatively large amount of rep (50,000+)
Yeah I think TSN has a long-term deal with WWE Canada.
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Old 10-12-2004, 03:21 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Innovator
they should stick with Spike, like hell if RAW is gonna be preempted by that damn dog show again.


If WWE wants better deals, maybe they should start putting out a better product. The article claims that the next "big thing" could reverse the downward trend WWE is experiencing, but that's the sort of cop out Vince would believe. The truth is that if they would better utilize the talent they already have, their ratings wouldn't be going lower and lower. Even Patterson tried, and appearently failed, to get Vince to realize this.
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Old 10-12-2004, 04:17 PM   #9
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How reliable is wrestlezone? I won't really take it seriously until it's confirmed by a reliable site.

Also, the way that article is writtten makes me want to saw off the author's fingers with a rusty spoon.
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Old 10-12-2004, 04:52 PM   #10
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i say go back to usa, when they were there they never went into ads in a middle of a match. the dag show was only once a year.
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Old 10-12-2004, 04:54 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Funky Fly
How reliable is wrestlezone? I won't really take it seriously until it's confirmed by a reliable site.

Also, the way that article is writtten makes me want to saw off the author's fingers with a rusty spoon.
I just checked and it's on Reuters.com... So it's gotta be legit...

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.j...toryID=6474680
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Old 10-12-2004, 06:44 PM   #12
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Their ratings have fallen for a long while. What the hell are they thinking trying to RAISE their fees????

Hell, how about Vince gets NO tv deal, gets totally fucked over, and goes bankrupt?

I care nothing about Vince right now, especially after reading about Patterson and how not ass kissing basically cost him his job.
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Old 10-13-2004, 12:10 AM   #13
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About WWE on USA, it wasn't only the dog shows, but also tennis. That crap pissed me off for years.

Should any of this be right, the best bet for WWE is to stay put or if anything, go to FX. Although they tend to switch and play musical chairs using their shows, they DO stay dedicated to their shows and the censors wouldn't have a problem since they already have 'Nip/Tuck' and 'The Shield'.
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