sek69 Posted April 3, 2005 Report Share Posted April 3, 2005 From WO.com: Sources in the cable industry confirmed a few days ago that WWE has finalized its deal with the USA Network for Raw and the rest of WWE's cable package. WWE sources say the deal may be announced tomorrow. Thank God, they never should have left in the first damn place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Posted April 3, 2005 Report Share Posted April 3, 2005 Ah.... I miss the days of 8:57 Eastern Time starts for Raw... (Yeah, I know, those aren't going to happen again) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 Yeah, if you look back at the Viacom era as I like to call it, I think it was a huge failure. Really, what good has come from it? How did going to viacom benefit the company? I don't know the money situation but I know the XFL took a hit. Ratings took a dive. I think Vince was a billionaire before the switch and now he isn't. The product has been completely stagnant. Is there any good to come from the Viacom era? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 Well, at least Raw was never pre-empted by the Westminster Dog Show, if that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 It could have used a preemption. Maybe that would have cleared their head and they would have thought about all of their mistakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 I hope Smackdown comes to USA too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Some Guy Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 Yeah, if you look back at the Viacom era as I like to call it, I think it was a huge failure. Really, what good has come from it? How did going to viacom benefit the company? I don't know the money situation but I know the XFL took a hit. Ratings took a dive. I think Vince was a billionaire before the switch and now he isn't. The product has been completely stagnant. Is there any good to come from the Viacom era? Vince became a billionaire when the company went public during the dot com stock market boom. When that went bust so did his status. The Viacom deal was a very good one on paper and in theory. WWE got paid a ton of money and had a ton of oppurtunities that they either failed at (XFL) or never really got off the ground (TV shows for Austin and Taker were rumored at one point). It is not Spike's fault that the show has pretty much sucked since the switch. WWF was rolling right along until Austin came back at the end of 2000 on the first TNN Raw and I thought his return messed up their rythem. Then they fucked up the Invasion angle, nWo, Goldberg, pushed Nash, kept HHH on top for way too long, etc.... You can't blame Viacom for WWE's failings. WWE at certain points drew some huge ratings on TNN, had WM 17 which I believe is the biggest buyrate ever, and some other notable things so I don't think the switching networks did much damage, it was more WWE fucking up. I don't see how switching back to USA does Vince any good or bad, unless it meas that he'll stop trying to go outside the business and concentrate on the product rather than crappy football leagues or whatever. Now, I have to figure out what channel USA is again in September. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 I didn't blame Viacom so much as I was criticizing the era. The fact the product has sucked since the switch is probably just a coincidence but there really has been very few positives... even on the business side since everything has been a bust. Hell, I am not even diving into the wrestling blunders. If we look at it from the wrestling side, Eddie and Benoit became World champs and you can always call out certain matches as good. I am talking strictly in terms of the company growing asn prospering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 Some really interesting news, as NBC is part of the deal. Apparently, NBC will be broadcasting at least two yearly 90-minute late-night Saturday specials once the deal is underway. The return of Saturday Night's Main Event? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Some Guy Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 Some really interesting news, as NBC is part of the deal. Apparently, NBC will be broadcasting at least two yearly 90-minute late-night Saturday specials once the deal is underway. The return of Saturday Night's Main Event? Why would they want to do that? They already have too many PPVs and couldn't even build a card properly for WM, why would they want to saddle themselves with two more big shows a year? If I were WWE I wouldn't even attepmt it until business picks up again. They will draw a miserable rating compared to what they used to with SNME. I didn't blame Viacom so much as I was criticizing the era. The fact the product has sucked since the switch is probably just a coincidence but there really has been very few positives... even on the business side since everything has been a bust. Hell, I am not even diving into the wrestling blunders. If we look at it from the wrestling side, Eddie and Benoit became World champs and you can always call out certain matches as good. I am talking strictly in terms of the company growing asn prospering. The era did suck for the most part, no question. There were times in 2002 and 2003 where I didn't even watch Raw with any regularity. It was the same shit every week. I stopped watching SD! sometime after the brand split. They managed to turn off a person who has watched religiously since 96 and from 1989-1993, who would drive from video store to video store to collect their tapes, who taped nearly every Raw and SD! from 96 through 99, who would always watch Raw live and Nitro later, and would try to sell non-fans on the product. It's really no wonder that casual fans stopped caring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts