Post by Pennyroyal_Tea (admin) on Oct 22, 2004 12:24:35 GMT -5
Although their contract with Viacom doesn't end until September of next year, the WWE is already considering moving RAW and other programming from Spike TV to another cable channel.
Vince McMahon has already held preliminary discussions with Turner Broadcasting, NBC Universal, and FX Networks.
"We still have a mutually beneficial relationship with Spike TV, and we're looking for a longer-term one with them," Executive Vice President of Marketing Kurt Schneider told reporters. "But for us, we think we have an obligation as a public company to our shareholders to seek the best deal out there we can get."
If Turner were to sign a deal, that would mean RAW would likely air on either TBS or TNT, both of which used to air Turner's WCW promotion, when it was the WWE's chief rival. Of course, McMahon bought out Turner a few years back.
A deal with NBC would likely put the WWE back on USA, where it became the number one rated cable show before jumping ship to Viacom and Spike in 2000. Moving RAW and the other WWE programming like "Heat," "Velocity," and "Experience" to another network would likely end the affiliation with Viacom, and put McMahon in a position to pick and choose which networks can carry his programming. He'd also gain back control over advertising sales, which he gave up to Viacom as part of last year's renewal for "Smackdown." That deal still has two years remaining.
Another major factor is that Spike TV currently pays the WWE $28 million per year for their programming; Vince is reported to be seeking more than $40 million for the renewal.
Whether they stick with Spike (which, by the way, McMahon thinks is partially responsible for RAW's low ratings) or go another route, there is always the chance that in the future, if the 24/7 Video On Demand concept works, all WWE programming could move to its own network.
Credit: southcoasttoday.com
Vince McMahon has already held preliminary discussions with Turner Broadcasting, NBC Universal, and FX Networks.
"We still have a mutually beneficial relationship with Spike TV, and we're looking for a longer-term one with them," Executive Vice President of Marketing Kurt Schneider told reporters. "But for us, we think we have an obligation as a public company to our shareholders to seek the best deal out there we can get."
If Turner were to sign a deal, that would mean RAW would likely air on either TBS or TNT, both of which used to air Turner's WCW promotion, when it was the WWE's chief rival. Of course, McMahon bought out Turner a few years back.
A deal with NBC would likely put the WWE back on USA, where it became the number one rated cable show before jumping ship to Viacom and Spike in 2000. Moving RAW and the other WWE programming like "Heat," "Velocity," and "Experience" to another network would likely end the affiliation with Viacom, and put McMahon in a position to pick and choose which networks can carry his programming. He'd also gain back control over advertising sales, which he gave up to Viacom as part of last year's renewal for "Smackdown." That deal still has two years remaining.
Another major factor is that Spike TV currently pays the WWE $28 million per year for their programming; Vince is reported to be seeking more than $40 million for the renewal.
Whether they stick with Spike (which, by the way, McMahon thinks is partially responsible for RAW's low ratings) or go another route, there is always the chance that in the future, if the 24/7 Video On Demand concept works, all WWE programming could move to its own network.
Credit: southcoasttoday.com