mookeighana Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 BSkyB runs a very successful 'On Demand' service, which is simple, quick and reliable to use. Is there any suggestion that the WWE Network could appear via Sky themselves? That would be a fantastic deal for both parties - Sky have the infrastructure, WWE would get that reach of the existing consumer base and presumably a fair amount of free advertising. They already have deals to handle 'On Demand' libraries for ITV, BBC and other major content providers. I heartily doubt it. I don't think WWE wants to mix their WWE Network infrastructure with any cable/dish operators. They don't want to split the monthly subscription fees and that they want to prove that over-the-top is the future. I can't imagine they'd mix their WWE Network over-the-top with a traditional operator at this point. If Network is going belly up, I can see them crawling back, but right now absolutely not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Dave's take on last night's Raw review/mailbag was that it'll come down to number of bidders and that if they go past 2/15 without accepting NBCU's exclusive offer, it's not looking good for WWE to stay on NBCU. I would be shocked if Raw moves; I could see Smackdown flipping to another entity. However, I only have baseless conjecture to go off of, so really the sky's the limit for what may and will and should and won't and could happen. One gets the feeling that Vince would like to put the entire package with one company, given the plan to line all the deals in the US up at once. The WWE isn't exactly the NFL or NBA where there are a slew of people wanting to get a taste of it, and are willing to take less than the full thing. With the WWE, Raw is the prize, and it seems like Vince is trying to leverage it, with the added ability to say, "Hey... SmackDown does 'okay' too." and toss in that they did some numbers with Divas. I don't think anyone is putting massive stock in Divas being able to sustain numbers over the life of the new contract, but it's a small bone that the WWE can point to claiming that they can develop content in addition to Raw and SD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyonthewall2983 Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 WWE’s ‘Raw’ and ‘Smackdown’ Poised to Switch TV Networks “WWE’s exclusive negotiating period with NBCU for our flagship television programs, ‘Raw’ and ‘Smackdown,’ has now expired,” WWE said in a statement to TheWrap. “While we were unable to reach an agreement with NBCU during this period, we have certainly appreciated our long and productive partnership,” the company continued. “With year-round, live programming that is highly coveted by programmers, distributors and advertisers, we are extremely excited about our future. We look forward to engaging with potential partners who recognize the value of having the No. 1 show on cable and live content delivered 52 weeks a year.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 So Comcast thought the WWE was overvaluing the programing. Not a good sign for Uncle Vince. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 Didn't Comcast just buy Time Warner Cable too? Like $45 billion or something crazy. I think it still has to be approved by the Federal Government but I haven't been keeping close tabs. It's going to be a crazy time for television, that's for sure. I imagine my cable bill will go up even higher, WWE is going to be switching stations & a lot of their stuff, thanks to the network, won't even be on TV! If it wasn't for sports, I'm not sure I would pay for TV anymore. Maybe this year will be the year where I can't justify it anymore when I already pay for internet too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Boricua Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 After years and years of stating they are not sport but entertainment like soap operas and tv shows, of trying to distance themselves at all costs from being thought of as a sporting event, now they expect to get paid as if they are a sporting event. After so much time spent on trying to bury that identity association at all costs, it's not going to happen. They can't have it both ways now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbo Slice Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 Comcast holds all the cards anyways. They can call their shots. Vince doesn't expect it to get paid as if they are a sporting event. The major pro sports work in multi-billion dollar contracts. Vince even thinking about $280M is pretty hilarious, and the ad revenue that can be expected from pro wrestling is limited anyways, especially given that's how show values are generated. For the production costs, Vince has to continuously ask for a number that high in order to keep his profit margins where he wants them. That's why the questions about the revenue garnered by the Network are such a huge deal. If Vince is assuming a yearly revenue generator that can offset what his live programming will garner, there's a major issue considering the first year of the Network will most likely be in the red. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicious&delicious Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 It seems like a failure for WWE to come to a deal with NBCU during the negotiating window was expected. WWE wants a lot more money than what is currently being paid. As NBCU has the right to match any deal, they have no incentive to give the WWE what they want without seeing if someone else will do it first. The only downside to NBCU is a bidding war. While, they have a long established relationship, Raw on USA doesn't make much sense anymore. It is a premier television show on a network that really has little use for it. None of its other programming appeals to WWE viewers and vice versa. I also can't imagine USA is getting significantly higher cable rights fees because they carry WWE programming. So they're not getting much value out of the programming. What makes the most sense is for a FXX station to step in and make a run at Raw. A station that has dreams of being a big time player in cable who overnight will be able to charge higher rights fees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bix Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 That article doesn't say anything new. WWE was always going to let the exclusive window close without a deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Migs Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 It seems like a failure for WWE to come to a deal with NBCU during the negotiating window was expected. WWE wants a lot more money than what is currently being paid. As NBCU has the right to match any deal, they have no incentive to give the WWE what they want without seeing if someone else will do it first. The only downside to NBCU is a bidding war. While, they have a long established relationship, Raw on USA doesn't make much sense anymore. It is a premier television show on a network that really has little use for it. None of its other programming appeals to WWE viewers and vice versa. I also can't imagine USA is getting significantly higher cable rights fees because they carry WWE programming. So they're not getting much value out of the programming. What makes the most sense is for a FXX station to step in and make a run at Raw. A station that has dreams of being a big time player in cable who overnight will be able to charge higher rights fees. FXX is actually a pretty interesting call. They've had trouble getting clearances; and linking Raw with Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia and the League makes sense from a demographic perspective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 It seems like a failure for WWE to come to a deal with NBCU during the negotiating window was expected. WWE wants a lot more money than what is currently being paid. As NBCU has the right to match any deal, they have no incentive to give the WWE what they want without seeing if someone else will do it first. The only downside to NBCU is a bidding war. Does Comcast have the contractual right to match any offer and keep the package? I don't recall reading that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steenalized Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 I've never heard any mention of a matching right, but equivalent deals between them and a different partner, say Spike, would probably default to Comcast/NBCU. Dave certainly thinks as much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 That article doesn't say anything new. WWE was always going to let the exclusive window close without a deal. Which is an interesting contrast to a number of the sports packages have been handled. Seriously don't think this is a great sign for the WWE. If it was a really valuable property for Comcast, they would have wrapped it up before it got on the open market... especially if they thought there was someone else who might swipe it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyonthewall2983 Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 FXX would seem ideal, considering they are in a sort of similar position to where what is now known as Spike was when they jumped before. I'm just wondering if the WWE Network is going to make any possible buyers balk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 What makes the most sense is for a FXX station to step in and make a run at Raw. A station that has dreams of being a big time player in cable who overnight will be able to charge higher rights fees. FXX is actually a pretty interesting call. They've had trouble getting clearances; and linking Raw with Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia and the League makes sense from a demographic perspective. USA is in 98M homes. FXX is allegedly in 74M homes, up from the 53M that Fox Soccer was in... though I take that 74M with a little grain of salt. One does have to wonder if the WWE wants to move to fewer homes, or risk a channel that might become non-basic, at a time when Raw and SmackDown are going to be the primary advertising platform for the WWE Network. It's a tough balance for the WWE. They can take more money on a weaker channel, or take less on a better channel to that allows them to grow their long term revenue stream (the WWE Network). John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 It will be really sad if Daniel Bryan is so short and ugly that he causes their TV rights value to go down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 I'm just wondering if the WWE Network is going to make any possible buyers balk. It might have been a late issue for Comcast might because of PPV and long term over-the-top opportunities. That's not an issue with the other big channel empires as they don't have that ying-yang between content (their networks) and carriage (their cable/dish/telecom) halves. One also wonders if the one way Comcast might get their merger with TWC through is by divesting / splitting off their entire content empire. Time Warner / TWC split, though TWC has recently gone into the Channel business with their massive deals with the Dodgers and Lakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 It will be really sad if Daniel Bryan is so short and ugly that he causes their TV rights value to go down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 It will be really sad if Daniel Bryan is so short and ugly that he causes their TV rights value to go down. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0512590/ I await the Daniel Bryan: GOAT FULL OF DYNAMITE shirt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicious&delicious Posted February 20, 2014 Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 I'm just waiting for Vince to throw Bryan under the bus again at the next conference call. "Pushing Bryan was a swing and a miss. Now Raw is on the Food Network after Rachel Ray." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted February 20, 2014 Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 After reading the front-page story in today's Observer, I can't see how WWE has any chance of getting a big increase in rights fees. - Ad rates for WWE programming are low (Raw has the lowest ad rate per viewer on the USA Network). - WWE's viewers don't watch other shows on the networks that carry the programming. - It will be difficult to find someone who will give them four primetime TV slots, considering the fact that it is wrestling. The real value of Raw to USA is that it ensures the network is the highest rated cable channel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Jiz Posted February 20, 2014 Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 After reading the front-page story in today's Observer, I can't see how WWE has any chance of getting a big increase in rights fees. - Ad rates for WWE programming are low (Raw has the lowest ad rate per viewer on the USA Network). - WWE's viewers don't watch other shows on the networks that carry the programming. - It will be difficult to find someone who will give them four primetime TV slots, considering the fact that it is wrestling. The real value of Raw to USA is that it ensures the network is the highest rated cable channel. I haven't read the latest WON, but what I can say is WWE is so undervalued relative to the ratings it draws that it'd be hard to believe it wouldn't get a massive TV rights increase just because they're already so underpaid. The problem WWE has is so few bidders out there mean it lacks the necessary negotiating power to get a serious increase in fees. I mean, seriously, who are they going to go with realistically if not the USA Network? Spike? That might be it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bix Posted February 20, 2014 Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 Spike would be dumb not to bid. It would literally kill TNA and the Jarrett/Keith effort and that would be bad for wrestlers, but they'd get very compatible programming on a strong network and maybe Viacom could throw Total Divas on VH1 or something. I'm not sure we'd get live Smackdown on Spike, though, becuase it's best used as a lead-in to Bellator and I can't see them moving the taping or Spike moving Bellator to Tuesdays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyonthewall2983 Posted February 20, 2014 Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 They'd be dumb not to do it, unless like Time Warner before them, they're tired of wrestling. But in this case it's not too hard to see why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbo Slice Posted February 20, 2014 Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 Spike's biggest ratings are in the 1s. This would give them ratings in the 3s, but the question is how much the investment would be. They have the narrow advertising that fits into the pro wrestling landscape, they're well known...it seems like the perfect fit. Jarrett's show gets ratings but isn't a money maker. This would give them both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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