The WWE Network Talkback

[Beat]

Three things-

1. Any reality show with WWE legends in the same house needs Iron Shiek to act crazy.

2. The PPV schedule is incredibly bloated as it is. Shuffling off the lesser tier ones to a premium channel/PPV combo is a good way to boost subscribers. Just note the yearly savings.

3. That said, they're not buying G4? They're building from the ground up with a target launch date of March? That's...ambitious to say the least.

 

[JabarR]

WWE is looking to launch the WWE Network as soon as April – which is much earlier than many were expecting. By launching around the time of WrestleMania, WWE can take advantage of the increased exposure WrestleMania will bring to the product.

As you can imagine, there will be a very aggressive marketing campaign leading up to the network’s debut.

WWE has been conducting a number of online surveys in recent months – asking fans to name WWE shows, whether they’d switch cable providers in order to get the WWE Network and if they want to see WWE PPV events aired for free on the network.

Originally, WWE discussed having the Big 4 pay-per-views (Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series) – but the latest plan is for the secondary events to air on the network and to cut the PPV schedule from 13 to 4 (the Big 4). WWE makes around $25 million in revenue from WrestleMania and giving that away for free would likely be a disaster for the company. If WWE gave away the Big 4 events free to subscribers of the network – it’s unlikely anybody is paying $45-55 for a Vengeance PPV.

Shows discussed publicly so far for the WWE network include WrestleMania Rewind, a “Legends House” show where former WWE superstars live together, a Divas Bus Tour show following their life on the road and a Monday Night War recap show.

We have TONS more news about the WWE Network at our WWE Network News Page.

(Credit to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for some of the information used in this report)

 

[Silverstar]

Will WWE Smackdown be removed from Syfy's lineup after the WWE Channel is launched? No offense to any of it's fans, but wrestling sticks out like a sore thumb on Syfy.

 

[Beat]

Will WWE Smackdown be removed from Syfy's lineup after the WWE Channel is launched? No offense to any of it's fans, but wrestling sticks out like a sore thumb on Syfy.

It's also SyFy's highest rated show. So I don't see it going anywhere.

 

[Master Toon]

Like this.

If that's how the network is going to be I do not want to watch it.

 

[Silverstar]

It (WWE Smackdown) is also SyFy's highest rated show. So I don't see it going anywhere.

True, there aren't many other reasons to watch Syfy these days. Still, it's somewhat disappointing that the highest rated show on Syfy has zip to do with science fiction.

 

[Tapout]

True, there aren't many other reasons to watch Syfy these days. Still, it's somewhat disappointing that the highest rated show on Syfy has zip to do with science fiction.

SciFi had started to move away from science fiction even before it became SyFy. I hate that all the niche networks are trying to become more mass appeal as much as anyone, but it means one simple thing: people aren't watching.

 

[JabarR]

During WWE’s third quarter conference call with investors on November 3, 2011, CEO Vince McMahon stated the organization would “soon be making a very big announcement” regarding WWE Network plans. He said the company feels confident they “finally turned the corner” on the cable television network’s status to make the announcement. Included will be future expenses of $4-6 million for staffing and $10-15 million for additional equipment and construction of their media center to house network operations.

According to a source within WWE’s corporate headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, the “very big announcement” is that Wrestlemania 28 will be broadcast live. The cable television network is expected to be launched on April 1, 2012, the day of WrestleMania.

WWE has bought extensive amount of office space in Norwalk and Stamford, Connecticut to employ over 200 employees for the cable television network. They’ve also spent money on trailers so employees could work on digitizing their vast tape library. WWE has approximately 100,000 hours of footage in their tape library, with 30,000 hours currently digitized.

 

[JabarR]

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[h=1]Vince’s Vision For The WWE Network[/h]

The WWE Network

- WWE is looking to brand the WWE Network “the most interactive network on TV.” The idea is to feature programming that keeps people in front of their computers, cellphones and iPads.
One idea is to have tweets from fans scrolling at the bottom of the screen, like an ESPN news ticker.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

 

[JShaggy]

Looking at the WWE logo for the network, are we to assume that the Attitude era logo will be going away soon?

I have to admit, this new version looks very slick and edgy.

 

[JabarR]

[h=1]Official Launch Date For WWE Network[/h]




– WWE has launched a website encouraging fans to notify their television service provider of the WWE Network, [url]www.iwantwwenetwork.com[/URL]. The website features a countdown clock that will expire on April 1, 2012, the same day as WrestleMania XXVIII.

 

[JabarR]

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[h=1]How To Get The WWE Network[/h]




- WWE has purchased the domain name “IWantWWENetwork.com” – which will be used as a where fans can contact their cable companies and urge them to support the Network. The domain currently points to the WWE website but is expected to go live in the coming weeks.
As previously reported, WWE is currently aiming to launch the WWE Network on April 1st, WrestleMania Sunday.

 

[JabarR]

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[h=1]Major Update On The WWE Network (Launch Date & Much More)[/h]Posted on Monday, December 5, 2011 at 4:11 pm
Tagged with WWE Network

WWE Network

The Sports Business Daily Journal published an article on Monday that includes many new details on the upcoming WWE Network, including a firm launch date, the scope of the channel’s distribution at launch lots more. Here are some highlights of what we now know:
- WWE is looking to launch the Network on April 1st, 2012 – the day of the company’s biggest pay-per-view of the year, WrestleMania XXVIII.
- WWE executives have told cable and satellite operators that it is expecting to reach 40 million homes at launch – a huge number for an upstart network.
- Comcast executives are representing WWE in its negotiations to get picked up by the nations other top providers, including Time Warner Cable, Cox and Bright House Networks.
- WWE also expanded its programming search beyond wrestling, which their sources indicated could include some professional team sports.
- WWE has leased space in South Norwalk, Connecticut (close to the company’s headquarters in Stanford) dedicated to the Network. WWE has not yet named a President of the WWE Network, although it’s said they are looking for somebody with reality-show experience. WWE has retained Sucherman Consulting Group to hire 200 employees to staff the network.
- WWE’s Chief Marketing Officer, Michelle Wilson is overseeing the launch of the Network.
- The article states that “most, if not all” of WWE’s annual 13 pay-per-view events would migrate to the WWE Network. Early surveys by WWE indicated that the “Big 4″ traditional shows (WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series & the Royal Rumble) would air exclusively on the Network. Later, another survey indicated WWE had changed their mind on that plan and would have the “Big 4″ remain on pay-per-view – with the other “off-brand” shows airing on the Network.

 

[TheVileOne]

So will this be a premium cable channel or like an upper-tier channel? Like will it be on Time Warner in Los Angeles?

 

[JabarR]

[h=1]WWE’s Longterm Plans For The WWE Network[/h]Posted on Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 11:05 pm
Tagged with WWE Network

WWE Network

Here’s the latest on the upcoming WWE Network, launching in just over 4 months:
* WWE wants the network to be more than just wrestling-themed programming.
* With WWE’s recent obsession with Twitter, they’ve built an army of fans they can use to push cable carriers to carry their network.
* Most pay-per-view events, NXT and Superstars will be moving to the network.
* The Network has the potential to be WWE’s most valuable asset and it will give them a 24/7 outlet to constantly promote their brand.
* WWE hopes to find outside of the box original programming that won’t be wrestling-related once they get established. This would be similar to a show like the History Channel eventually finding hit shows like Pawn Stars that isn’t “history” related.
* The plan for the network is to eventually brand WWE as more of a lifestyle brand instead of just a “sports-entertainment/pro wrestling” company.
(Partial Source: Pwinsider.com)

 

[JabarR]

WWE is in talks with Shed Media, the company behind Tough Enough, to help produce new reality programming for the WWE Network.

With WWE looking to run new reality-based programming, the company is to film television episodes the week that they are set to air on television. This is unlike what most reality shows do (ie. UFC’s Ultimate Fighter), which is to film the entire season before the first episode airs. Filming the whole season at once allows producers to see where storylines are going and produce the show accordingly.

Booking the show on a week-to-week basis will hurt their ability to tell long-term shorelines, which some have joked is similar to how WWE television is written.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

 

[JabarR]

WWE Network News: Launch Date, Internal Fears, Staffing

Posted on Monday, December 26, 2011 at 12:43 pm
Tagged with WWE Network


WWE Network

There is a lot of concern within WWE headquarters that the Network won’t be ready in time for the planned launch date of April 1st, WrestleMania Sunday. The Network will be launching as scheduled no matter what, but the quality of the programming and how smooth everything runs is still a major topic of discussion behind the scenes.

While some staffers fear that the Network could bomb within the first year, top company officials are still firmly behind the project and see it as Vince McMahon’s biggest venture since the first WrestleMania.

WWE has offered some current employees the chance to work on the new Network and most have declined. One WWE office staffer told us that people do not want to leave secure jobs to work on the Network, because if the Network does not work out, their previous jobs would likely be filled by then.

For much more on the WWE Network, visit our official WWE Network news page.

 

[JabarR]

[h=1]WWE Network Launch Being Pushed Back To The Fall[/h]Posted on Monday, January 9, 2012 at 10:33 pm
Tagged with WWE Network

WWE Network

WWE will reportedly be pushing back the launch of the WWE Network several months to the fall, according to a report on PWInsider.com.
WWE had been planning to launch the WWE Network the day of WrestleMania 28, April 1st. However, the tremendous amount of work involved in creating a new television network from scratch as well as the issue of securing clearances from the big television carriers was too much to get done by 4/1.
WWE recently decided pushing the Network back several months would be their best chance for the Network to be a success.
Despite the delay, projects that were being produced will still go on as planned.

 

[The Penguin]

From the sounds of it, this is a smart move. If WWE Network falls flat out of the gate, I don't think it would ever recover and I don't know how WWE would handle it.

I haven't been following too closely, is there much news out there about WWE trying to buy and re-brand or partner with an existing network? Obviously that would be easier.

 

[zoombie]

What does that mean for WWE Classics On Demand, which was originally suppose to end on December 31st, 2011, than end on March 31st, so what now?