Dead Crow Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 From Da MELTZ~! Spike TV sent out a press release earlier today announcing they have closed negotiations with WWE regarding renewing their five-year contract. It is believed to now be a formality that WWE Raw and the rest of the weekend cable shows, Heat, Velocity and Experience, will be moving to the USA Network in September. "After several months of negotiations, we have decided to end our discussions about extending our relationship with WWE beyond September 2005," wrote Spike TV in a press release. "Moving forward, Spike TV will expand its investments in original programming and new acquisitions for its core audience." This is a huge blow to the network, as Raw was, by far, its most popular program and led to it be the No. 4 rated network when it came to the coveted 18-34 and 18-49 demographics. USA appears to be the only major cable option for Raw,as TNT, TBS and FX have all confirmed no negotiations nor interest in the show. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pabster Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 The WWE should have never left USA Network in the first place. The ratings were expected to dip as TNN/Spike was available to less households but the WWE wanted it as they would have been able to have more licence for programming. The move to TNN/Spike started it, and then the InVasion ruined the WWE possibly forever. The ratings should be interesting to follow when they're back on USA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beltster Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 USA are owned by NBC, so we may be looking at the return of NBC specials such as Saturday Nights Main Event. Doubtful, but would be cool. Ratings would have to go up alot for that to happen though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Gringo Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 As its been said I don't know why the WWE decided to move Raw to Spike TV in the first place... If this boosts the ratings and convinces Vince that people are still watching the product then its a good thing. Simply because we will see less hot shot angles and pushes. We may if the ratings pick up because of it actually get proper thought out fueds and build ups! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jung Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 I doubt the ratings will change much. Cause I mean they aren't gonna get more fans, simply because they change channels are they? I bet USA Network are loving it though. They lose em a while back, and now when they negotiate again, I bet they can get WWE back for much less money. They'll say, your ratings are way down from when you left, thus we are gonna pay less than what was before to get you back. Brilliant. And agreed beltmark I doubt there will be any specials, because of the current ratings. Wrestling is definitly not hot right now, thus NBC wouldn't show any specials, because they'd do poorly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anime Otaku Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 meh, it doesn't matter to most of us on here really as we are in the UK, but if it's on a more widely used network it might be good :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kam Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 This was posted by Tiger Rick on the UKFF, its Wade Keller answering a torch reader regarding Raw ratings on the USA Network / TNN: William Kane from Toronto asks: In the study of recent Raw ratings woes, it has always been my understanding that the move from the USA network to TNN in mid-September of 2000 created a viewership discrepancy whose main operating effect was that TNN was available in less homes than USA. Now, while not trying to minimize in way, form, or fashion the fledgling ratings of today, can some it not be contributed to the network change? All those days of sevens and eights in the ratings came under the USA banner, and the move to TNN, if I recall, showed significant, while not immediate, drop-off with numbers falling quickly from the fives to the fours, and now into the mid-threes. Also, as a minimalized base ratings number, isn't a mid 3 rating quite healthy, particularly relative to the fact the former minimalized base ratings number for the WWE during its last lull ('95 and into '96) was a 2.0 if they were lucky. I mean, that's over a million new hardcore fans who are sticking with the product though its no longer "in." Isn't that something to be appreciated? WK: It's absolute malarkey that the switch from USA to TNN created any of WWE's ratings woes. It's a good-sounding excuse cited time and again by the McMahons, but the switch had absolutely nothing to do with the ratings drop. The final show on USA Network drew a 5.5 rating, the first show a week later on TNN drew a 5.4 rating and two weeks later drew a 5.5. That's all that matters. What that means is the audience knew where TNN was on the dial and found the new station immediately. Everything that happened from then on was separate from the channel switch since virtually their entire audience found them. In fact, they drew a 5.8 rating on TNN two months after the switch and a 5.7 rating six months after the switch. USA and TNN have similar household clearances nationally, so that isn't a factor, either. WWE's only argument that holds any water is that TNN didn't help them gain new viewers as well as USA did since crosspromotion for Raw on USA during other programming means more than current crosspromotion on TNN. But with the new MTV timeslots targeting their teen demo and with UPN broadcasting WWE in prime time each week, WWE's overall exposure on TV went up even after they left USA. As for your second point, yes, it is overall good news that the "bottomed out" rating for WWE appears to be in the 3s this time as opposed to the 2s in the mid-'90s. That's why this period for wrestling just isn't that alarming when it comes to viewership levels because wrestling has rebounded from much worse before. Source: PWTorch Ask The Torch section Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanenite Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 The WWE have done a lot for Spike TV but it's there choice overall who stays on there network. Now with TNA rumored to talk with them and maybe sign I am hoping the Monday night War will begin again, but maybe I am hoping too much still there is a chance it could happen, who knows? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 Yep those are the rumours. TNA to Spike TV. Interesting stuff, what with Jarrett already in talks with Spike TV anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazz13 Posted March 12, 2005 Share Posted March 12, 2005 oh yay, here comes the dog show and us open tennis to piss me off again am i the only one who thinks they should have stayed with spike tv?...with wwe being by far the most watched thing on the network and coupled with the fact that getting the wwe product helped turn the network around, wwe pretty much had free reign over spike tv - they were never pre-empted, they got several specials, they were heavily promoted, etc. etc. plus being in canada, i get spike tv, but not usa...so i could always catch the weekend shows if i wanted to on spike...now i don't know if any of the canadian networks will pick up velocity or experience...and i'm not sure a canadian network is carrying heat right now either...i don't usually watch those shows, but its nice to have the option Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krisbaillie Posted March 12, 2005 Share Posted March 12, 2005 I can see a Monday Night War coming back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beltster Posted March 12, 2005 Share Posted March 12, 2005 I can see a Monday Night War coming back If TNA runs directly against WWE on Monday nights, its wont be a Monday Night War, more like a Monday Night Massacre, trust me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead Crow Posted March 12, 2005 Author Share Posted March 12, 2005 According to Meltzer, TNA have had no talks at all with SpikeTV, nor do Spike have any plans to carry wrestling again (though they are very tempted for series 2 of Ultimate Fighter since it has done excellent in the ratings and has pulled WWE up to some high scores). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jung Posted March 12, 2005 Share Posted March 12, 2005 Yeah apparantly majority of networks didn't even wanna touch WWE, thus there'd be no chance of them touching TNA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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