Jeff Mangum PI
Hank Scorpio
11 herbs and spices for the rest of eternity; Is Number Two. Number Two!
The 2nd Coming
Posts: 6,957
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Post by Jeff Mangum PI on Sept 28, 2014 16:10:32 GMT -5
It's pretty obvious that the Network isn't lighting the world on fire like people thought it would, but why is that?
Personally, I think the biggest flaw is that WWE keeps trying to treat it like an actual cable channel despite being Over-The-Top. Netflix doesn't wait every week to broadcast House of Cards or OitNB, they upload it all at once. WWE needs to do the same with not only it's old shows like Raw or Nitro, but with the original stuff like WWE Countdown and Monday Night War as well.
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Post by Lance Uppercut on Sept 28, 2014 16:27:28 GMT -5
Too much content outside the network.
3 hours of raw, 2 hours of Smackdown, 2 hours of Impact (might be dead soon, gotta watch), 1 hour of NXT (the only thing I consistently watch). I have other shows that I want to watch, and only so many hours to do so. Can't be watching Superstars and old ppvs.
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Blindkarevik
Grimlock
Rock... Paper... Straight-edge!
I Like To <blank>
Posts: 14,343
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Post by Blindkarevik on Sept 28, 2014 17:46:07 GMT -5
Honestly.... what was the content we were clamoring for for the last few months? The Monday Night War Show and Nitros. Both were over well before the John Cena era of fans got into the product, they're more interested in the here and now and what's going forward rather than seeing what the Freebirds were up to before feuding with the Von Erichs.
For older, lifelong wrestling fans.. the Network is a treasure-trove. I think it's perfect, I just want more old-school... more WCCW shows, Florida, AWA, since Jerry Lawler's deal is either through or in the final states, USWA shows would be awesome.... whatever, I just want more old-school. But, for the current fan... there isn't a lot to offer outside of the PPVs and NXT.
While there's a TON of red-tape to get through, so it won't be done any time soon.. if they were able to simulcast RAW and Smackdown or at least have them available on the Network within 24 hours of airing... I think they'd see a big numbers spike. But aside from that, I think it's great.... people I know who have it think it's great.... to we've already been won over. The kid down the street who wears John Cena t-shirts.... no amount of "Attitude Era" "Goldberg" or "Hogan Vs. Piper" can really sway them.
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Boo!
Dennis Stamp
Posts: 4,417
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Post by Boo! on Sept 28, 2014 18:45:37 GMT -5
Unless you particularly rate Main Event or enjoy NXT it's one show a month plus an archive. I think in the long-run you've got to do much better than that. Every evening there should be at least an hours worth of original, first-run content, including filming of house shows, international tours etc. Not everything needs a storyline, why not let us see Bray Wyatt vs Goldust from Berlin or the 8 man tag they had in Denver during a house show last Wednesday, just or the hell of watching a bit of wrestling that we've not seen before?
There also needs to be a weekly, two hour, premier 'A' show. Maybe to air Sunday nights, which can then be replaced on PPV weeks by the PPV itself. Maybe not as important as Raw but certainly on par with, maybe even higher than, Smackdown.
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schma
Hank Scorpio
Posts: 6,738
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Post by schma on Sept 28, 2014 18:51:20 GMT -5
I'm in Canada and that launch has been handled almost as badly as the Invasion. If other nations are in similar situations that certainly wouldn't help things.
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Post by Milkman Norm on Sept 28, 2014 19:00:56 GMT -5
I think the very nature of having a network for a niche product in an attempt to draw your casual fans is a head scratchier.
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Boo!
Dennis Stamp
Posts: 4,417
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Post by Boo! on Sept 28, 2014 19:15:47 GMT -5
They need to give their core base a reason to subscribe to. Because of the quality of PPVs is so mixed and 90% of them you can miss without really missing out on anything, you could easily just watch Raw and be satisfied. And many do.
They need to start directing Raw viewers to Network content more than just 12 times a year. Storylines relevant to Raw need to either start, build or end on a show on the WWE Network. And not just midcard storylines where we tune into Main Event to see the Miz get revenge on Kofi Kingston, but Lesnar/Cena level main event storylines. Together with original Raw-level matches and feuds.
What needs to stop is the ability to be effectively caught up with everything that matters this week in WWE by just watching Raw. It needs to be that if you don't subscribe to the Network and see the exclusive Network show(s) that you'll miss vital main-event storyline enhancements or conclusions every week, not just when a PPV happens to be on - which by the way you can see elsewhere too if you really want.
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Post by The Quintessential Studmuffin on Sept 28, 2014 19:37:14 GMT -5
They need to upload the older smackdown, raw, ECW, and WCW TV shows as well. Having every PPV is great and all but it gets kinda old not really knowing the storylines or anything after a while. I'd probably watch whole PPVs instead of just certain matches if I could watch the shows leading up to it so I'm invested in the storyline.
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domrep
Hank Scorpio
Posts: 7,461
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Post by domrep on Sept 28, 2014 19:38:47 GMT -5
I don't know what the future plans of the Network are, they may be doing something like this already but for original primetime programming:
Mondays - RAW Pre and Post Show Tuesdays - Monday Night War Documentary followed by a panel discussion on that particular episode Wednesdays - WWE Main Event Pre and post show, and Main Event Thursdays - NXT Pre-show/NXT/Post-NXT pre-show and then WWE Superstars Fridays - Smackdown Pre and Post Show
In between that, I think they definitely should do something like...WCW Live back in the day where there's a 2 hour block of talk, current angles etc. They have the entire WCW Saturday Night archive, why not do WCW Saturday Night at 6:05 Eastern every Saturday Night?
Hell in a Cell is the next PPV. Show every HIAC PPV from the prior years, however many that may be and put it on a block from like 8-11 or something. Put up the Best of Hell in a Cell.
I would also do a Cribs version of WWE. I would also have them follow WWF Superstars through their travels for a month, just to see what it's like for a WWE wrestler.
They have the material, I just don't think WWE is using it effectively. The day hours, I don't think they expect anyone to be watching and that's fine, but give people a reason to tune into the Network during the Primetime hours.
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domrep
Hank Scorpio
Posts: 7,461
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Post by domrep on Sept 28, 2014 19:39:41 GMT -5
They need to upload the older smackdown, raw, ECW, and WCW TV shows as well. Having every PPV is great and all but it gets kinda old not really knowing the storylines or anything after a while. I'd probably watch whole PPVs instead of just certain matches if I could watch the shows leading up to it so I'm invested in the storyline. That's what I'm doing with Nitro. Watching all the Nitro shows, then the PPV.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2014 19:48:08 GMT -5
Honestly.... what was the content we were clamoring for for the last few months? The Monday Night War Show and Nitros. Both were over well before the John Cena era of fans got into the product, they're more interested in the here and now and what's going forward rather than seeing what the Freebirds were up to before feuding with the Von Erichs. For older, lifelong wrestling fans.. the Network is a treasure-trove. I think it's perfect, I just want more old-school... more WCCW shows, Florida, AWA, since Jerry Lawler's deal is either through or in the final states, USWA shows would be awesome.... whatever, I just want more old-school. But, for the current fan... there isn't a lot to offer outside of the PPVs and NXT. While there's a TON of red-tape to get through, so it won't be done any time soon.. if they were able to simulcast RAW and Smackdown or at least have them available on the Network within 24 hours of airing... I think they'd see a big numbers spike. But aside from that, I think it's great.... people I know who have it think it's great.... to we've already been won over. The kid down the street who wears John Cena t-shirts.... no amount of "Attitude Era" "Goldberg" or "Hogan Vs. Piper" can really sway them. I think you`re right, but it`s also hard for me not to think that there`s just a certain ceiling in WWE`s viewer base that`s willing to pay a subscription for a soley wrestling based network. With their subscription numbers being in the 700,000s, that`s more than any single non-Wrestlemania buyrate that I can remember. While I know that number is not good compared to WWE's expectations I think it's pretty good for what I personally expected. I think the core fan base has no reason not to be satisfied with the Network, all the good old events you could ask for and cheaper than ever pay per view events. For younger fans who aren't enticed by that they don't really have much. I think WWE's really dug themselves in a hole creatively where the feeling has gone from "anything can happen in the WWE" to "something might happen in the WWE" and that's killing them. RAW is almost entirely a commercial for the network, they hype the Network, they hype whatever current special they have running, and then last on their priorities is selling their PPVs which are almost exclusively single attraction events. The impetus for current fans is "pay $9.99 for 6 months or $12.99 for one month of the Network to watch a bunch of matches that will likely have better rematches on RAW the next night, and Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena" which to any diehard fan who can remember paying 50 dollars a show that's a steal, but to any casual fan who's been conditioned to be always underwhelmed the way WWE has so expertly done it's really hard to be convinced. And worst of all, most subscription services will hound you with ads until you become a paying customer, but if you purchase the network there's zero reprieve from the $9.99 shilling. They will advertise the Network unabashedly on Network exclusive content. I would love to see a survey on how many people that the non-stop promoting has prevented from putting money down on it. They need to give their core base a reason to subscribe to. Because of the quality of PPVs is so mixed and 90% of them you can miss without really missing out on anything, you could easily just watch Raw and be satisfied. And many do. They need to start directing Raw viewers to Network content more than just 12 times a year. Storylines relevant to Raw need to either start, build or end on a show on the WWE Network. And not just midcard storylines where we tune into Main Event to see the Miz get revenge on Kofi Kingston, but Lesnar/Cena level main event storylines. Together with original Raw-level matches and feuds. What needs to stop is the ability to be effectively caught up with everything that matters this week in WWE by just watching Raw. It needs to be that if you don't subscribe to the Network and see the exclusive Network show(s) that you'll miss vital main-event storyline enhancements or conclusions every week, not just when a PPV happens to be on - which by the way you can see elsewhere too if you really want. I think this also tells the story that WWE just needs to improve creatively to make their network more interesting. Fact is they're running on a quantity over quality model right now in the amount of time they have on TV and the little that they're doing with it. They don't have a single competitive division going at the moment, only the main event feuds ever get any closure. Some of their most compelling segments I find are their online exclusive "WWE Backstage" segments where they just let guys cut off the cuff promos, but I stopped watching them because WWE pays zero mind to them. I agree that having key moments to storylines pop up from time to time on the network would be cool, but WWE struggles to even have anything relevent on Smackdown occur as it is so to really use the Network to enhance the current product would require cleaning up the TV shows in the first place which are messy enough.
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Post by The Quintessential Studmuffin on Sept 28, 2014 19:56:03 GMT -5
They need to upload the older smackdown, raw, ECW, and WCW TV shows as well. Having every PPV is great and all but it gets kinda old not really knowing the storylines or anything after a while. I'd probably watch whole PPVs instead of just certain matches if I could watch the shows leading up to it so I'm invested in the storyline. That's what I'm doing with Nitro. Watching all the Nitro shows, then the PPV. That's what I want to do, watch a couple episodes of RAW then a PPV if im hooked in enough. I would do it with nitro but I'm not too fond of Nitro pre NWO tbh
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Boo!
Dennis Stamp
Posts: 4,417
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Post by Boo! on Sept 28, 2014 20:38:26 GMT -5
I also think the appeal of the archive is overrated. If you're online and you think the only way to see Starrcade 97 is to pay $9.99 and subscribe to the WWE Network, let's face it - you've failed at the internet.
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Glitch
King Koopa
Not Going To Die; Childs, we're goin' out to give Blair the test. If he tries to make it back here and we're not with him... burn him.
Watching you.
Posts: 12,716
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Post by Glitch on Sept 28, 2014 20:55:39 GMT -5
Backstage politics.
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The Sam
El Dandy
The Brainiest Sam of all
Posts: 8,423
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Post by The Sam on Sept 28, 2014 21:03:22 GMT -5
Not enough videos about DX invading the Dubya-See-Dubya with their tanks and jets and Metal Gears, what a momentum changer that was!
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Post by Magic knows Black Lives Matter on Sept 28, 2014 21:14:24 GMT -5
It's a niche product being marketed to a niche fanbase. Not really much they can do, they just over-estimated the demand for this thing.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2014 21:26:37 GMT -5
It's a niche product being marketed to a niche fanbase. Not really much they can do, they just over-estimated the demand for this thing. Bingo. The WWE made the mistake of thinking because they have a highly rated TV show, there would be enough people who want to invest in the network. But it takes so much more interest to subscribe to the thing than it does to casually turn it on in your living room. Far less commitment. There simply isn't that much interest in the network.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2014 21:27:25 GMT -5
It's a niche product being marketed to a niche fanbase. Not really much they can do, they just over-estimated the demand for this thing. Nail on the head. They've made a significant short term profit in the first few months (once past 400,000 subscribers) but overestimated the fanbase, but truth be told they'll be fine, as long as they can keep 700,000 or so subscribers and add a few more international subscriptions they'll have long term growth. I have put off a few people from investing by repeatedly saying how completely bollocks the video player is though. They need to fix that most of all for archived footage, and they MUST fix dropped PPV live streams for those of us who have lost 20 minutes to 2 hours during live events through no fault of our own. But yeah, they're making money and as long as they don't strip down content they'll be fine, the firings and money saving was to stop stock from losing value after the ludicrous claim of 'we promise we'll have a million subscribers' failed rather than any ACTUAL money being lost.
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Hawk Hart
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Sold his organs.
The Best There Is, the Best There Was, and the Best That There Ever Will Be
Posts: 15,296
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Post by Hawk Hart on Sept 28, 2014 21:34:10 GMT -5
It needs more "must see" original content, something like a SportsCenter like program with highlights, historical footage used in context, discussion of events, and interviews with Superstars would go a long way. They need more weekly TV content too. I've watched a lot more Network since they added Nitro. Like a lot more. I've been watching all of the Nitros, Clashes, and PPVs which means I'm watching content I've access to for months for the first time because it's easier to get into events when there's context for them. I'd love to see more Nitro along with Saturday Night in the near future. Anything week to week that gives context to PPV is helpful.
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Post by Milkman Norm on Sept 28, 2014 21:42:01 GMT -5
I also think the appeal of the archive is overrated. If you're online and you think the only way to see Starrcade 97 is to pay $9.99 and subscribe to the WWE Network, let's face it - you've failed at the internet. That's what Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews told me. On another note they really can't move top tier programming off or Raw/Smackdown and to the network because I'm pretty sure their deal with NBC Universal prevents them from running C level stuff on their channels. They could supplement it but really with Smackdown already being creatively unnecessary I doubt aiding a third B to B+ show would work.
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