Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

WWE Network... It's Here


goodhelmet

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 6.1k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Did anyone watch the 22-minute documentary "Heaven" about 16-year-old female amateur wrestler Heaven Fitch? It's the first WWE documentary that tackles a topic outside pro wrestling - in this case, amateur wrestling. (Even if you've cancelled your Network subscription, like I have, it's on the free tier - and also on YouTube, which I'll link to below.)

If you can get past the self-congratulatory Stephanie McMahon introduction and the shoehorned WWE references, such as Heaven Fitch admiring Beth Phoenix (who also narrates), it's not bad.

However, it doesn't pack the same punch most WWE docs do - which is now making me wonder if we've been overrating them this whole time. Because we feel a connection to Mark Henry, for example, that comes across as so heartfelt, touching, and amazing. But the same approach being taken with this girl we've never heard of falls a little bit flat in comparison.

It's still a pretty decent watch, don't get me wrong, but it probably needed to be longer to give us more time to get to really know Heaven, her family, and her story - 22 minutes isn't nearly enough. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, CarpetCrawler said:

Fucking oof.

 

6 hours ago, sek69 said:

This is shaping up to be a disaster. Peacock is going to be overrun with angry wrestling fans and they will have no idea why.

6 hours ago, DMJ said:

Its definitely a huge downgrade and as sek69 said above, it will be met with uproar from wrestling fans.

But because this is the WWE (and NBC, for that matter), that uproar will be met with a shrug and a "They'll get over it" attitude.  

All of this was pretty much known ahead of time though - Peacock's user interface and features (or lack thereof) haven't exactly been a mystery. 

Yes, it sucks for wrestling fans who don't know what they're getting into, but "they'll get over it" is exactly the attitude anyone at WWE is going to have.

With the "Heaven" documentary (see my post above) being presented by "WWE Network Studios," it makes me wonder just how rushed and last-minute this Peacock deal really was. The fact that all of the content won't migrate until August tells me this hasn't exactly been in the works for as long as most people assume.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I didn't get the impression from that article that at least the guy they talked to from Peacock has the "get over it" attitude. Losing the markers is a negative, but not a huge one IMHO. I'm a little more worried that all the old PPVs won't be ready until summer. Not so much for that alone, but I get the feeling that doesn't bode well for the older television shows too. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, C.S. said:

All of this was pretty much known ahead of time though - Peacock's user interface and features (or lack thereof) haven't exactly been a mystery.

You would expect that if Peacock is willing to spend 1 billion dollars over 5 years for the content that they would also be willing to spend a couple of hundred grand to improve their apps so that the new customers won't feel irritated from the beginning. As always the first impression it the most important one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, sek69 said:

This is shaping up to be a disaster. Peacock is going to be overrun with angry wrestling fans and they will have no idea why.

It depends on which kind of customer service Peacock has. If they have the same level as the WWE Network does, no NBC (or I guess Comcast) manager will ever hear about that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Robert S said:

You would expect that if Peacock is willing to spend 1 billion dollars over 5 years for the content that they would also be willing to spend a couple of hundred grand to improve their apps so that the new customers won't feel irritated from the beginning. As always the first impression it the most important one.

I don't disagree, but to be fair, no other show is structured the way WWE is. No one watching Saved by the Bell is going to think to search for "Jessie Spano caffeine pills" and expect to be taken right to that scene - unlike wrestling fans, who will search for "Ric Flair Royal Rumble speech," etc. Features like that and searching for individual wrestlers probably won't ever return IMO.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, DMJ said:


 Stephanie runs for President. 

You mean, of the United States? Because i've never heard of her having any political ambition. But anyway, back on topic, I wonder if the success Young Rock will make them to want more early 80s footage on there so fans can see the real Rocky Johnson in his prime (as well as some of the other wrestlers mentioned on there).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, C.S. said:

I don't disagree, but to be fair, no other show is structured the way WWE is. No one watching Saved by the Bell is going to think to search for "Jessie Spano caffeine pills" and expect to be taken right to that scene - unlike wrestling fans, who will search for "Ric Flair Royal Rumble speech," etc. Features like that and searching for individual wrestlers probably won't ever return IMO.  

Yes and no. All movie DVDs & Blu-rays I own are split into chapters that are often labeled. Even TV shows have chapters for each act (plus the opening credits). I am not even sure if I would agree with the searching part. They host sports like the Premiere League as well and searching for "Harry Kane goal" does not seem so far-fetched.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, C.S. said:

I don't disagree, but to be fair, no other show is structured the way WWE is. No one watching Saved by the Bell is going to think to search for "Jessie Spano caffeine pills" and expect to be taken right to that scene - unlike wrestling fans, who will search for "Ric Flair Royal Rumble speech," etc. Features like that and searching for individual wrestlers probably won't ever return IMO.  

SNL would make sense like that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I mean, the search function was trash on the WWE Network so having no search function on Peacock wouldn't be much difference anyway. 

I'm just happy to hear that they plan to move everything currently available over to Peacock. Yes, it will take until Summerslam, but considering there were things that didn't make the transition from the old WWE 24/7 to the Network (looking at you, AWA and Florida eps) I'm gonna take what I can get,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Robert S said:

Yes and no. All movie DVDs & Blu-rays I own are split into chapters that are often labeled. Even TV shows have chapters for each act 

True, but the point is “Jessie Nearly OD’ing On Caffeine Pills” or “Jessie I’m So Excited/Scared” isn’t something you are going to search for on a search engine for an archive of streamingSBTB episodes.
That is something that is more geared towards the YouTubes of streaming platforms where the isolated scene can be pulled up (in various time lengths) without knowing what episode the clip is from (Jessie’s Song, S2 Ep 9).  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We're all kind of showing our ages here since most people streaming on Peacock are accustomed to searching for something like "Jessie nearly OD'ing on caffeine pills" on YouTube and finding the scene they were looking for, if not the whole episode.  That's what's going to cause issues, people used to searching for something directly and having that not really be an option.

Of course you can argue someone specifically searching for Ric Flair JCP promos is probably going to be in the age range accustomed to things like DVD chapters, but those folks (aka most of us here) have to come to terms with the idea they're not the audience streaming services are going for. 

The audience they *are* going for (the demo, if you wheeeel), are accustomed to being able to easily search for something and it will cause problems if they can't do it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wonder if they'll edit some of the more "questionable" stuff out like blackface, confederate flags, violence toward women, violence toward animals, etc. That may have  passed on something niche like the Network, but I dont know if something more "mainstream" would let it go.

(though at least that means we wont have to see the DX Nation skit again)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The ratings and disclaimers for the more potentially offensive stuff should suffice.  I could see them adding additional content warnings for stuff like the Nation skit or for some of the "different time and place" stuff that played in the 80s that doesn't fly now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Robert S said:

You would expect that if Peacock is willing to spend 1 billion dollars over 5 years for the content that they would also be willing to spend a couple of hundred grand to improve their apps so that the new customers won't feel irritated from the beginning. As always the first impression it the most important one.

Especially because subscriptions aren’t being transferred over automatically. I actually re-subbed thinking I would automatically get transferred.  Now, if Peacock’s version of the Network is a shitshow at launch, I’ll just cancel and torrent Mania and whatever else I want to see until it gets fixed or improved.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe someone with more industry knowledge could weigh in, but I'm guessing the rush to get this done also has something to do with Comcast/NBC in a bit of a need for another guaranteed draw after getting exclusivity of The Office boosted its subscriber number considerably in January and not having anything coming down the pike. I'm not sure if its just a waiting game - like it was for The Office - or if they need to renegotiate getting exclusivity for Friends, Seinfeld, and other big NBC hits from yesteryear, but for now, the actual content on Peacock is kinda meager and nothing you can't find elsewhere on more expansive and well-rounded streaming services.

Like, when you hear the phrase "NBC App," does anyone else think Homicide? Quantum Leap? Wings? Or have the weird desire to watch that one season of Men Behaving Badly with Ken Marino or the Ferris Beuler TV show? Like, that vault of one-season curios, TV movies, 70s variety shows, and failed spin-offs has got to be jam-packed. But for this being the "NBC app," its got almost none of that. 

So you turn on the app and its basically just some (but by no means all) of the Dick Wolf shows, episodes of current shows, The Office, all of SNL, and some reality shows. Big whoop. Most of this stuff is still available  or was available for years on Netflix, Hulu, and Prime.

And, aside from AP Bio (which is glorious), its very thin on original series that I'd really go out of my way to watch. (Again, aside from AP Bio, which is so, so good.)

This makes me think the 500k-1m subscribers they get from the WWE was more of a strategic way to bump their numbers in April while they hopefully improve their app and maybe expand the library with more exclusive programs. I know they reported something like 33 million subscribers, but I couldn't find how many are actually paid and how many just subscribed for free (which is what I did for the first few weeks).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pretty much any streaming service that is being run by and/or bankrolled by a media company is looking to buy any content they can to pad out their offerings. NBC already being in a long term relationship with WWE via Raw put them in the right place at the right time. 

I'm thinking they won't see the bump they were expecting due to accounts not rolling over automatically though. As someone who's job it is to help people get streaming apps like Netflix/Hulu/HBO Max/Prime Video set up on their cable boxes it's sometimes impossible to get Joe Rando to follow instructions properly. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, sek69 said:

I'm thinking they won't see the bump they were expecting due to accounts not rolling over automatically though.

I can't believe this isn't happening. It's a mind-boggling detail to overlook, and it will definitely cost them subscribers. Yet another clue that this was a super-rushed last-minute deal. Vince really is the ultimate con man charlatan. NBC got snowed big time here.

Not sure NBC knows what they're getting into with the rasslin' audience either. Half of them will be whiny Jed Clampett malcontents and the other half won't bother to sign up at all because it's "too confusing" and WWE/NBC didn't hold their hand through the process.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, C.S. said:

I can't believe this isn't happening. It's a mind-boggling detail to overlook, and it will definitely cost them subscribers. Yet another clue that this was a super-rushed last-minute deal. Vince really is the ultimate con man charlatan. NBC got snowed big time here.

Not sure NBC knows what they're getting into with the rasslin' audience either. Half of them will be whiny Jed Clampett malcontents and the other half won't bother to sign up at all because it's "too confusing" and WWE/NBC didn't hold their hand through the process.

This is absolutely going to be my favorite part of this.

The avalanche of angry tweets from WWE marks who can't find the show they want to watch or just downright hate the new lay out, flooding the Peacock Twitter account is going to be something to see. Like you, I can only assume that NBC has absolutely no idea what they are getting into.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, DMJ said:

Maybe someone with more industry knowledge could weigh in, but I'm guessing the rush to get this done also has something to do with Comcast/NBC in a bit of a need for another guaranteed draw after getting exclusivity of The Office boosted its subscriber number considerably in January and not having anything coming down the pike. I'm not sure if its just a waiting game - like it was for The Office - or if they need to renegotiate getting exclusivity for Friends, Seinfeld, and other big NBC hits from yesteryear, but for now, the actual content on Peacock is kinda meager and nothing you can't find elsewhere on more expansive and well-rounded streaming services.

They do have Yellowstone, which will drive some subscriptions, but that's also another in the long line of confusing and infuriating things about our streaming culture. It's a Paramount show and yet it's not on Paramount+.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Blehschmidt said:

This is absolutely going to be my favorite part of this.

The avalanche of angry tweets from WWE marks who can't find the show they want to watch or just downright hate the new lay out, flooding the Peacock Twitter account is going to be something to see. Like you, I can only assume that NBC has absolutely no idea what they are getting into.

NBC will soon find out just how uneducated and embarrassing the majority of rasslin' fans are. Never, ever underestimate the stupidity of the average rasslin' fan. (Don't let the PWO bubble fool you into thinking the majority of fans are thoughtful and literate.) There's a reason rasslin' hasn't historically attracted good sponsors. In boom periods, you'll get more educated consumers, but we're definitely not in a boom period right now. Just the opposite, no matter what WWE's bottom line many indicate. 

5 hours ago, Cowboy Hats 4.0 said:

They do have Yellowstone, which will drive some subscriptions, but that's also another in the long line of confusing and infuriating things about our streaming culture. It's a Paramount show and yet it's not on Paramount+.

Don't even get me started on Paramount+.

Coming 2 America, a Paramount property, was released the same week Paramount+ launched...on Amazon Prime Streaming. The movie is hot dogshit, but it would've been an undeniable draw for the new service regardless.

The Harry/Meghan interview, which aired on CBS, is nowhere to be found on Paramount+ now. (Reminder: Paramount+ used to be CBS All-Access. You were able to watch the interview live on P+, but it's not available there on-demand. Now you have to access a separate CBS app with commercials just to see it.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...