NBC strikes new deal with WWE.

[Snowman1]

WWE and NBCUniversal Cable and Entertainment have reached a multi-year agreement that will keep Raw on USA Network, and Smackdown on Syfy. WWE issued the following press release regarding the deal to Prowrestling.net on Thursday.
NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment and WWE (NYSE:WWE) today announced a multi-year strategic partnership for WWE's flagship programming and ratings juggernauts MONDAY NIGHT RAW® for a three-hour block on USA Network and the top-rated FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN® on Syfy. The two programs are the longest-running weekly episodic entertainment programs on cable TV with a combined reach of 10.8M viewers each week. The announcement was made today by Paul "Triple H®" Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President Talent, Live Events & Creative, from the stage at the NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment upfront presentation at the Javitz Center in New York.
"USA Network President Chris McCumber, Syfy President Dave Howe and I are incredibly pleased to renew this strategic partnership with WWE," said NBCUniversal Cable Chairman Bonnie Hammer. "In today's TV landscape, live event programming is an extraordinarily valuable asset, and WWE remains the only entertainment franchise that consistently delivers this on a 52-week a year basis. We look forward to bringing WWE's action-packed and unique brand of drama to the wide audiences across our cable networks for many years to come."
"We are proud to continue our long-standing partnership with NBCUniversal given their premiere position in the marketplace and vast promotional platforms," said WWE Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon. "We are excited about our future as we further the reach and popularity of our live, family-friendly entertainment programming 52 weeks a year."
WWE weekly programming averages more viewers than the NBA, NASCAR, MLB, NHL and UFC. Both MONDAY NIGHT RAW and FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN feature a star-studded cast of WWE Superstars and Divas, and deliver a shot of adrenaline to viewers with over-the-top action, feats of athleticism and high octane drama.
MONDAY NIGHT RAW on USA is the most-watched, regularly scheduled, year-round program on cable, airing a live three-hour block every Monday night, 52 weeks a year. RAW has been a cable mainstay for more than 20 years and is consistently a top ten show on television. The three-hour block on USA averages 2.2M P18-49, 2.3M P25-54 and 5M total viewers P2+. The 2-hour FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN on Syfy averages 1.2M P18-49, 1.3M P25-54 and 3.2M total viewers P2+. The two programs have reached 37.5M people 2014 to-date.
In addition, E! -- in partnership with WWE and Bunim-Murray Productions -- will continue to broadcast the reality series TOTAL DIVAS, an unprecedented look inside the professional and personal lives of the WWE's leading ladies.

Bad news for stockholders thanks to the empty promises of doubling revenues and all that stuff, but as fans this is great news for us. Everything is going to stay the same.

(Also @Testify TNA can resign with Spike now, :hogan

 

[ShaRpY HaRdY]

Good to hear they were able to dot the i's and cross the t's on a deal in the long run.

 

[Wacokid27]

Bad news for stockholders thanks to the empty promises of doubling revenues and all that stuff, but as fans this is great news for us. Everything is going to stay the same.

Actually, this is good news for stockholders in the long run. It's better to have a lucrative deal in-hand than empty promises of doubling revenues in your dreams.

Some stockholders are concerned that Vince wants to eventually broadcast all of WWE programming on WWEN. This frightens some stockholders (as it should). So, they're pretty happy with this deal with NBC/Universal.

wk

 

[Snowman1]

Know the stock price took a tumble when this was announced, as it was shooting up with promises of them being able to double revenue. Guess they couldn't because wrestling just isn't as DVR-proof as actual sports are. Haven't been paying attention to stock prices (don't care) but have to assume it's about at the level it was before the speculation and empty promises began.

But you're right, this deal is better than no deal. And better than their last deal, so :yay:

 

[Wacokid27]

Know the stock price took a tumble when this was announced, as it was shooting up with promises of them being able to double revenue. Guess they couldn't because wrestling just isn't as DVR-proof as actual sports are. Haven't been paying attention to stock prices (don't care) but have to assume it's about at the level it was before the speculation and empty promises began.

But you're right, this deal is better than no deal. And better than their last deal, so :yay:

You're exactly right. The stock price was artificially inflated and has now come back to earth, although it is a bit higher than it was (if memory serves right). That reflects the solider future prospects with a deal in place than without one. However, anybody who bought the stock because it was hot and didn't dump it in time took a bath.

Poor them.

wk

 

[The GOAT]

I never had any doubts that Raw would be staying on the USA Network. Whether Smackdown remained on SyFy or not was a somewhat different issue since it's hopped to like three or four different networks during it's life span, but I figured it wouldn't leave it's current home either.

 

[Brad.]

Bad news. RAW staying 3 hours and SD not going live.

 

[Leo C]

Well, that's good for them, I suppose. It's not like they had a bad deal, and renewing it is a safe decision.

 

[Snowman1]

You're exactly right. The stock price was artificially inflated and has now come back to earth, although it is a bit higher than it was (if memory serves right). That reflects the solider future prospects with a deal in place than without one. However, anybody who bought the stock because it was hot and didn't dump it in time took a bath.

Poor them.

wk

Brad is right that Raw staying 3 hours is bad news, I miss watching it live haha

 

[ShaRpY HaRdY]

Brad is right that Raw staying 3 hours is bad news, I miss watching it live haha

I like 3 hour RAW if they put content in it to carry the three hours and not just weird ass filler Superstars randomly thrown together matches; definitely have seen some solid ones.

I'm more disappointed in SD not going live although I figured more than not that would be the case.

 

[Wacokid27]

I like 3 hour RAW if they put content in it to carry the three hours and not just weird ass filler Superstars randomly thrown together matches; definitely have seen some solid ones.

I'm more disappointed in SD not going live although I figured more than not that would be the case.

Definitely agree with both points here.

There are five major championships in WWE, yet we only get true storylines for one, maybe two of them generally. A 3-hour Raw broadcast could easily feature a storyline for each one, making it more important on a weekly basis. That's five storylines to push, plus one or two non-title storylines that can be developed each week on Raw.

I also think a live Smackdown could have a similar effect, plus making it live makes it more likely that "anything can happen", just like at Raw or a PPV. That capability is a good thing.

wk

 

[Snowman1]

I like 3 hour RAW if they put content in it to carry the three hours and not just weird ass filler Superstars randomly thrown together matches; definitely have seen some solid ones.

I'm more disappointed in SD not going live although I figured more than not that would be the case.

3 hours is too long for a show, but you're absolutely right. While it is hard to fill 3 hours there's really no excuse for there to be so few storylines and for so few people to be relevant. I like D-Bry as much as anyone except Adam but losing him should not feel like a deathblow to the roster.

 

[Wacokid27]

3 hours is too long for a show, but you're absolutely right. While it is hard to fill 3 hours there's really no excuse for there to be so few storylines and for so few people to be relevant. I like D-Bry as much as anyone except Adam but losing him should not feel like a deathblow to the roster.

Exactly right.

We can argue all you want about 3 hours being too long or a good amount of time (obviously, we disagree there), but the fact is you've got 3 hours of live programming on Raw, 1 hour of live on Main Event, 1 hour recorded on Superstars, and 2 hours recorded on Smackdown (that's obviously not counting the hour of recorded programming on NXT, which has little to no effect in the storylines of the main roster for the most part). That's a total of 7 hours of programming a week (10 on weeks with a PPV, but I digress).

There is literally no excuse for it to feel like the world's ending because Bryan is hurt and out of action for the next 2 to 3 months. Yes, it's a tremendous blow. He's the "face of the company", so that's a big deal. But, there should be a bevy of guys champing at the bit to fill into that top spot he holds (and I think there are...that's really not the problem) and a bunch more waiting to fill into the spots they vacate to move up to that spot. That's why it feels so insurmountable...and it shouldn't.

wk

 

[ShaRpY HaRdY]

Hmm...
A lot of outlets are reporting that WWE potentially had added the concept of making SD live just to sweeten the deal for NBC; neither have accepted/declined to comment on that.

I didn't see it in the initial post but does anyone have a link that solidifies that SD will not be live.

 

[Snowman1]

Exactly right.

We can argue all you want about 3 hours being too long or a good amount of time (obviously, we disagree there), but the fact is you've got 3 hours of live programming on Raw, 1 hour of live on Main Event, 1 hour recorded on Superstars, and 2 hours recorded on Smackdown (that's obviously not counting the hour of recorded programming on NXT, which has little to no effect in the storylines of the main roster for the most part). That's a total of 7 hours of programming a week (10 on weeks with a PPV, but I digress).

There is literally no excuse for it to feel like the world's ending because Bryan is hurt and out of action for the next 2 to 3 months. Yes, it's a tremendous blow. He's the "face of the company", so that's a big deal. But, there should be a bevy of guys champing at the bit to fill into that top spot he holds (and I think there are...that's really not the problem) and a bunch more waiting to fill into the spots they vacate to move up to that spot. That's why it feels so insurmountable...and it shouldn't.

wk

You do have a point on that they CAN use the 3 hours effectively, I won't argue that.

Don't like discussing history but there's a reason many fans reminisce about the year Austin was hurt. Austin went down, and not only could he just hand the baton to the Rock, but then up came Triple H and Kurt Angle as new stars for the company. And even with Bryan healthy, there was still a lot of debate about "why can't they find anybody for him to feud with, with all the great talent on this roster?" It just doesn't make sense.

Think both WWE and the fans should stop picking guys apart. "Damien Sandow doesn't have a main-event gimmick" Yeah, why not? That ship has probably sailed at this point, but it's worth giving him a shot up there. Same with so many other guys, but so many of them are probably too damaged at this point.