Raw Moving To 3 Hours Permanently

[AvalonX]

Not sure how I feel about this. Generally the 3 hour shows are a let down. Then again, if it gives legit time for Ziggler, Miz and such then I am all for it. The IC title needs to be a big deal again.

 

[Heisenberg]

Here's the press release:

WWE® MONDAY NIGHT RAW® EXPANDS TO THREE ELECTRIFYING HOURS LAUCHING WITH THE 1,000th EPISODE, JULY 23 ON USA NETWORK

@JohnCena Tweets Historic Announcement From USA Upfront Presentation

NEW YORK – May 17, 2012 – WWE Superstar John Cena® announced via Twitter today that WWE Monday Night Raw will expand to a three-hour event 52 weeks a year. The extended telecast will kick-off July 23 at 8/7C on USA Network and marks the 1000th episode of the WWE Raw franchise and a television record – no other series has ever reached this milestone.

The announcement was tweeted today by Cena (the No. 1 most influential male athlete on Twitter last month) during USA’s upfront presentation in New York City. The move firmly put WWE’s stake in the ground as one of the most powerful social brands in the world and an integral part of USA Network’s social media initiative.

“The WWE Universe is one of the most socially active and passionate fan bases in all of television,” said Chris McCumber and Jeff Wachtel, co-presidents USA Network. “The powerful three-hour block of live TV truly makes USA the year-round destination for young male viewers on Monday nights.”

“WWE is proud to celebrate this historic milestone with our partners at USA Network,” said WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon. “Our new three-hour Raw represents the next generation in interactive television where our fans won’t just watch the show, they will help create it.”

The expanded WWE Monday Night Raw will transform television to an unprecedented level of viewer interaction. Fans will have new ways to get involved in the show through WWE.com and social media by deciding matches, stipulations and new character development. WWE will brand this unprecedented fan interaction as “#RAWactive.”

The #1 network in all of basic cable, USA Network is seen in 115 million U.S. homes. USA is a leader in scripted programming with a powerful stable of originals including POLITICAL ANIMALS, Suits, Necessary Roughness, WHITE COLLAR, Royal Pains, Burn Notice, PSYCH, Covert Affairs, COMMON LAW, FAIRLY LEGAL and IN PLAIN SIGHT. The network offers 52 weeks of spectacular live television with WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW and is home to the best in blockbuster theatrical films, a broad portfolio of acquired series and entertainment events. A trailblazer in digital innovation and storytelling, USA is defining, driving and setting the industry standard for Social TV. USA is a program service of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal. The award-winning website is located at Television Shows, Series, Movies, Sports and Characters - TV Channel - USA Network -Homepage - USA Network. Characters Welcome.

WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE programming is broadcast in more than 145 countries and 30 languages and reaches more than 600 million homes worldwide. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Istanbul and Tokyo. Additional information on WWE (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to WWE.com: WWE Worldwide.

 

[John McHenry]

The same interactivity that pushed Zach Ryder and after a month when everyone realize he really did suck what happened... Bad move what we'll get is what the lowest common denominator want which are things like Jersey Shore American Idol etc the list goes on.

 

[AlwaysAMama]

It doesn't make sense at all.

Look at how much filler the average Raw has, and that's just two hours.

I agree. With DVR if I am in a hurry to get to bed I can watch Raw in about 40 minutes.

 

[Rated R Superstar]

Doesn't seem like it's really necessary. Just means more mic time for the main eventers, and less time for the guys who should be main eventing.

 

[The New F'n Show]

I could see this being their only Network Show and have SD phased to WWE Network when it debuts. If that is the case I'm ok with it.

 

[Kiffy Lube]

My prayers have been answered.

 

[Aniking]

To me, this is just a cheap way of giving an extra 10 or so minutes to their top feuds.

This is yet another move the WWE think is bold and innovative yet will eventually accomplish nothing in the long run, just like the Supershow. They needed to add an extra hour to Raw in hope of increasing the build of their top feuds, yet why don't they actually stick to the fucking brand extension and use those two hours properly? Instead of having 5 hours across the two brands where only 3 will be properly used, why can't they just use the 4 hours properly like they used to? It all puzzles me to no end and I just don't understand the logic behind all of this. They make great inroads in the developing of talent through the changing of NXT, but then they go and do this. Why?

 

[Tapout]

I think a lot of people are condemning this way to early.

I think if it used right could be very effective and pushing feuds and new stars. IF used right. If it means an extra hour to the main feud then it will be a flop. But if it gets guys like Ziggler, Kofi, Ryder, Rhodes, Swagger, etc. more TV time, feuds, and longer matches then I'm all for it.

I do believe this spells the end of Smackdown and the brand split however. I expect the US/IC titles and the World/WWE titles to be unified by the end of the year, or Mania.

 

[PHX]

That's the thing I was saying it would be a great idea that I would be all for IF they used it correctly but this isn't an idea that we have no idea how it will play out we've seen enough 3 hour Raw's to know that they don't do a good enough job with using an extra hour so that is why it's easy to prejudge. I hope I get proven wrong I'm just not expecting it and not getting my hopes up.

 

[SAIYANS]

They could just as easy incorporate a 30min preshow to start every broadcast, and with the 20min over runs it would be 3 hours anyhow lol

 

[PHX]

They could just as easy incorporate a 30min preshow to start every broadcast, and with the 20min over runs it would be 3 hours anyhow lol

Funny enough if you remember a while back there was a report that they wanted to do that.

 

[Sugarhill]

I think a lot of people are condemning this way to early.

I think if it used right could be very effective and pushing feuds and new stars. IF used right. If it means an extra hour to the main feud then it will be a flop. But if it gets guys like Ziggler, Kofi, Ryder, Rhodes, Swagger, etc. more TV time, feuds, and longer matches then I'm all for it.

I do believe this spells the end of Smackdown and the brand split however. I expect the US/IC titles and the World/WWE titles to be unified by the end of the year, or Mania.

I have no problem with them unifying the World/WWE title, especially if that means they will change the design of the belt. But, they have to keep both the US and IC title. There are too many wrestlers to only have two titles available for grabs. I wish they would bring back, well, proliferate from the WCW, the Television title, so I can see some title matches on Raw or Smackdown that will actually be suspenseful.

 

[The Cork]

I think a lot of people are condemning this way to early.

I think if it used right could be very effective and pushing feuds and new stars. IF used right. If it means an extra hour to the main feud then it will be a flop. But if it gets guys like Ziggler, Kofi, Ryder, Rhodes, Swagger, etc. more TV time, feuds, and longer matches then I'm all for it.

Sounds a tad optimistic.

More likely that it's your bog standard Raw with an hour's worth of Cena and Laurinitius promos tagged on the end.

 

[Defiant]

I'll wait and see how this goes.

I doubt this will lead to anything really detrimental, at least not in the near future. I'm sure WWE won't throw all their eggs on one basket with too many bold decisions. Hell, assuming the time is used wisely this could be a good thing.