Monthly News Thread (May 2018)

[GKJ]

Yeah, but like, more people watched RAW/SD on TV than ordered PPV's back in the day, right? And the TV still built to the PPV.

I dunno, still seems ass backwards to me, its like some total WCW **** giving away matches on TV to get ratings.

They were selling PPV’s for, at times, 3-6 times as much as a network sub 5-20 years ago. TV is the bigger commodity.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

They were selling PPV’s for, at times, 3-6 times as much as a network sub 5-20 years ago. TV is the bigger commodity.

True, still can't really wrap my head around the business decision to have the PPV's set up for TV.

Like I said, apparently they're making money though, that's always been the end goal. Still think the product absolutely sucks, which is a shame because there is so much damn talent on the roster. Hell, just look at the posts lately for RAW and SD when they air, it's pretty much dead. I do see it as a microcosm of the current product.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

Yeah, but like, more people watched RAW/SD on TV than ordered PPV's back in the day, right? And the TV still built to the PPV.

I dunno, still seems ass backwards to me, its like some total WCW **** giving away matches on TV to get ratings.

Yeah but:

PPV era shows were $60 HD at least up here in Canada and before the PPV decline, were selling 200,000-350,000 PPVs, with over a million for Wrestlemania (or around a million) at a more premium price.

Network era shows are all the same; flat $10/mo.

I presume this new TV rights deal is in the ballpark of $500,000,000.

It only make sense.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

Yeah but:

PPV era shows were $60 HD at least up here in Canada and before the PPV decline, were selling 200,000-350,000 PPVs, with over a million for Wrestlemania (or around a million) at a more premium price.

Network era shows are all the same; flat $10/mo.

I presume this new TV rights deal is in the ballpark of $500,000,000.

It only make sense.

I guess my question is, how will a once a month "PPV" build towards a weekly TV show?

 

[M.C.G. 31]

I guess my question is, how will a once a month "PPV" build towards a weekly TV show?

Instead of giving you clean finishes on PPV, they’ll do that on Raw. Maybe they’ll blow off programs on TV, do more gimmick matches on TV, etc

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

Instead of giving you clean finishes on PPV, they’ll do that on Raw. Maybe they’ll blow off programs on TV, do more gimmick matches on TV, etc

Don’t like it at all. Oh well I guess I barely watch anymore anyway.

If I still need my wrestling fix I think I need to start watching other stuff anyway at this point. I want some US competition for the WWE so badly.

 

[quoipourquoi]

I understand using it to try to recover viewers. If there are others like me, all I’ve tuned in for this year have been the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. If you don’t use network shows to end feuds but instead to start programs (Styles/Nakamura), maybe you can get people like me to tune in because I haven’t seen the big blow-off that I originally was hoping to get when I ordered the network for a marquee match.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

I understand using it to try to recover viewers. If there are others like me, all I’ve tuned in for this year have been the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. If you don’t use network shows to end feuds but instead to start programs (Styles/Nakamura), maybe you can get people like me to tune in because I haven’t seen the big blow-off that I originally was hoping to get when I ordered the network for a marquee match.

Then you can cancel your network subscription.

 

[Kimi]

The rest of the names for the UK thing have been announced:

Travis Banks
Flash Morgan Webster
Jordan Devlin
Tucker
Drew Gulak
Ashton Smith
James Drake
Tyson T-Bone

 

[Kimi]

Orton is out for a while, knee surgery for a meniscus tear in his left knee. It's been a thing since late last year, just been waiting to get it done.

 

[Lunatik]

TV is their biggest source of revenue, even more so with this massive Raw deal. They’ve already somewhat used PPVs to build to TV — they’ll definitely do it more so they can ensure when the next TV rights negotiations begin, they can command even more and keep their viewership up.

More people watch Raw/SD in America than people subscribe to the network worldwide. It makes sense.

You missed my point. That Raw/SDL revenue, is locked in and won't change for the duration of the contract. But Network subscriptions aren't locked in, they are a variable revenue stream and if they don't build for PPVs, they will lose subscription and thus lose revenue. Their goal will be to continue growing the network because that is where they will see the greatest growth during the term of their TV deal.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

You missed my point. That Raw/SDL revenue, is locked in and won't change for the duration of the contract. But Network subscriptions aren't locked in, they are a variable revenue stream and if they don't build for PPVs, they will lose subscription and thus lose revenue. Their goal will be to continue growing the network because that is where they will see the greatest growth during the term of their TV deal.

Even if the network got 3 million subscribers (if they haven’t now, they never will) the TV rights is still the largest revenue source for them and most valuable to them as long as networks keep paying more for them, and for the foreseeable future, that’s the case.

I get what you’re saying in the grand scheme of things, but TV will be their most valuable stream for another long while.

 

[Lunatik]

Even if the network got 3 million subscribers (if they haven’t now, they never will) the TV rights is still the largest revenue source for them and most valuable to them as long as networks keep paying more for them, and for the foreseeable future, that’s the case.

I get what you’re saying in the grand scheme of things, but TV will be their most valuable stream for another long while.

I'm not arguing that TV will make them more money, of course it will. But TV contracts aren't going down regardless of content at this point in time due to all these services wanting to get sports programming. Network buys on the other hand will drop significantly if the PPVs are all poor (like Backlash)

 

[M.C.G. 31]

I'm not arguing that TV will make them more money, of course it will. But TV contracts aren't going down regardless of content at this point in time due to all these services wanting to get sports programming. Network buys on the other hand will drop significantly if the PPVs are all poor (like Backlash)

They won’t all be poor, but they’ll definitely be experimenting with different ways to do things. Not saying all PPVs will build to TV, but PPVs definitely won’t be the be all end all that they once were (they aren’t even that these days anymore).

 

[Cor]

TV has always been the money maker. Nothing will change.


Also, Revival can’t even win at an NXT live event. Tyler Breeze showed up at tonight’s event apparently

 

[Lunatik]

They won’t all be poor, but they’ll definitely be experimenting with different ways to do things. Not saying all PPVs will build to TV, but PPVs definitely won’t be the be all end all that they once were (they aren’t even that these days anymore).

It's definitely not like it used to be, which is fine, but I don't think we will be seeing much, if any change from how it is now.

 

[JackSlater]

The reason that WWE can get a massive TV deal despite a weak product and losing lots of fans is basically the same reason that the NHL can get massive TV deals despite being far less culturally relevant (and generally more boring) than it was 20 or 25 years ago - live TV sports (or close enough in the case of wrestling) is massively valuable to networks now as so many viewers stop watching dramas or sitcoms live. The nature of TV viewership changed in a way that benefits sports massively, and WWE is a huge beneficiary just because it is the only relevant wrestling company left standing.

Using PPVs (though I guess that isn't technically what they are anymore) to build for TV doesn't make sense regardless of whether to is the bigger money maker. In general a large percentage of PPV watchers are going to be TV watchers anyway, but that is much less true when reversed. Likewise, using PPVs to build for TV is likely to reduce the quality of PPVs with unsatisfactory conclusions which isn't going to induce people to want to consume several hours of the product on a weekly basis. The focus should just be on making the product as good as possible as that is what draws viewers in for both TV and PPVs. Trying to game the natural order and use big shows to build for small shows is some TNA level shit.

 

[WingsMJN2965]

On a somewhat unrelated note, (But not really considering the board is about hockey) the WWE and UFC deals should have the NHL and teams that need cap space in the coming years salivating. Broadcasters are starving for content at the moment. So if the WWE can triple their rights deal despite their audience decreasing by 25 - 33%, the NHL should be in very good shape.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

On a somewhat unrelated note, (But not really considering the board is about hockey) the WWE and UFC deals should have the NHL and teams that need cap space in the coming years salivating. Broadcasters are starving for content at the moment. So if the WWE can triple their rights deal despite their audience decreasing by 25 - 33%, the NHL should be in very good shape.

Their audience has been going up for the past 18 months.

Broadcasters won’t be lining up for hockey in some areas of the States.

 

[WingsMJN2965]

Their audience has been going up for the past 18 months.

Broadcasters won’t be lining up for hockey in some areas of the States.

Smackdown has increased since going live. Raw has drastically decreased over the last 3-5 years.

And we're talking about a national TV deal for the NHL.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

Smackdown has increased since going live. Raw has drastically decreased over the last 3-5 years.

And we're talking about a national TV deal for the NHL.

I used to keep a chart of TV ratings for Raw. Their biggest decline was by 18% two years ago. Since then, they’ve rebounded to consistent 3-3.3 million viewers a show for the past 18 months and had their first sub-3 million viewer show just two weeks ago — again, for the first time in 18 months.

Raw’s TV viewership increase is the entire reason for this deal that’s 3x the current rate.

 

[WingsMJN2965]

I used to keep a chart of TV ratings for Raw. Their biggest decline was by 18% two years ago. Since then, they’ve rebounded to consistent 3-3.3 million viewers a show for the past 18 months and had their first sub-3 million viewer show just two weeks ago — again, for the first time in 18 months.

Raw’s TV viewership increase is the entire reason for this deal that’s 3x the current rate.

If you've been tracking it for awhile then you should realize that bump is normal during WM season... Hence the low rating two weeks ago.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

If you've been tracking it for awhile then you should realize that bump is normal during WM season... Hence the low rating two weeks ago.

It’s not during WM season. They’ve been up consistently for 18 months, including this time period from last year. They haven’t gone below 3 million in 18 months up until the post-Backlash show.

 

[WingsMJN2965]

It’s not during WM season. They’ve been up consistently for 18 months, including this time period from last year. They haven’t gone below 3 million in 18 months up until the post-Backlash show.

Up until a short time ago they hadn't gone below 3M on a non-holiday since the mid-90s, lol.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

Up until a short time ago they hadn't gone below 3M on a non-holiday since the mid-90s, lol.

A short time ago being 2-3 years ago, and it was consistent 2.6-3.1 for a longer stretch.

And then they’ve been consistently in the 3.3-3.6 range for the better part of 18 months, with some hitting 3.9 and even 4 million viewers.