Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]
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Post by Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] on Jan 30, 2020 18:32:08 GMT -5
Yeah this sounds like a company that is completely fine and not in total panic mode
I know we say a lot of the times that WWE is "Idiot Proof" but this might prove to be a big deal. The XFL is coming very soon too, 2020 could be a pivitol year for WWE in more ways than one.
The rest of the wrestling world is thriving, and it really feels like they're panicking.
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Post by cabbageboy on Jan 30, 2020 18:32:56 GMT -5
Serious question: Why would it be Michelle Wilson's problem if the WWE Network has been losing subscribers? The Network is a great idea but the product in back of it on the creative end has to be solid in order for the Network to add people.
The scary thing is that isn't the 4th Quarter of 2019 going to include the huge USA and Fox TV money? How bad is this if that stuff is included?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2020 18:33:21 GMT -5
I have a feeling the Network is going to be a big part of this story. If I'm not mistaken, Wilson was a big advocate for the Network, and given it's continued, uh, disappointment, including now losing subscribers year-over-year, she seems like an obvious scapegoat. This makes me feel bad for needing to cancel it over financial reasons. I really enjoyed it, but it was becoming too much. These people likely made at least 6 figures a year, and probably got great severance packages. If you couldn't spare 10 dollars a month to help them out, then you shouldn't feel bad.
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Chainsaw
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Post by Chainsaw on Jan 30, 2020 18:33:39 GMT -5
I can't wait for Vince to say on Tuesday that he's going to take over the business side of WWE, as well as running the shows and working on getting XFL off the ground.
Vince is going to be a sentient pile of dust by the time this year is over.
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Allie Kitsune
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Post by Allie Kitsune on Jan 30, 2020 18:33:59 GMT -5
Yeah this sounds like a company that is completely fine and not in total panic mode I know we say a lot of the times that WWE is "Idiot Proof" but this might prove to be a big deal. The XFL is coming very soon too, 2020 could be a pivitol year for WWE in more ways than one. The rest of the wrestling world is thriving, and it really feels like they're panicking. Vince is too arrogant for "total panic", but he's definitely in "Blame anyone who isn't me" mode.
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Post by Starshine on Jan 30, 2020 18:34:40 GMT -5
Well their present success kind of hinges of the failings of the TV industry as a whole. But they also just don't have the cultural impact they used to, which seemed to be what led to their previous stock fall late last year following their underwhelming Fox debut being seen as their most likely peak performance. So despite being seen as a DVR proof program with a loyal base, how much does it really matter when they're consistently losing fans in droves relatively faster than other programs. Their present success is mostly propped up on the Saudi deal and an inflated TV deal. Without that cash running everything, they gotta be bleeding cash. Yeah, I can't see how their current operational model is sustainable in the long term. If Fox loses interest in SmackDown and/or if the KSI deal dries up, what's left for them?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2020 18:35:00 GMT -5
Is it possible all the bad decisions are finally starting to catch up to them? In theory, you'd think, but this is WWE. For some strange reason, they seem to be immune to their bad decisions since they keep falling backwards into money. I'm expecting they'll announce a supershow in Turkmenistan later this year.
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Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]
FANatic
Writer, Lover of all things Wrestling. Analytical, Critical, Lovable (hopefully). Lets all have fun!
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Post by Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-] on Jan 30, 2020 18:36:51 GMT -5
Yeah this sounds like a company that is completely fine and not in total panic mode I know we say a lot of the times that WWE is "Idiot Proof" but this might prove to be a big deal. The XFL is coming very soon too, 2020 could be a pivitol year for WWE in more ways than one. The rest of the wrestling world is thriving, and it really feels like they're panicking. Vince is too arrogant for "total panic", but he's definitely in "Blame anyone who isn't me" mode. Vince might not be in total panic, but everyone else might be in the company.
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Post by Bang Bang Bart on Jan 30, 2020 18:37:24 GMT -5
Their present success is mostly propped up on the Saudi deal and an inflated TV deal. Without that cash running everything, they gotta be bleeding cash. Yeah, I can't see how their current operational model is sustainable in the long term. If Fox loses interest in SmackDown and/or if the KSI deal dries up, what's left for them? And then you’ve got AEW seemingly making strides enough for TNT to give them an additional three more years and a second series to compliment Dynamite. What’ll happen to WWE if things continue to go downward for them and All Elite rises some more?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2020 18:38:22 GMT -5
Serious question: Why would it be Michelle Wilson's problem if the WWE Network has been losing subscribers? The Network is a great idea but the product in back of it on the creative end has to be solid in order for the Network to add people. The scary thing is that isn't the 4th Quarter of 2019 going to include the huge USA and Fox TV money? How bad is this if that stuff is included? The Network, in my opinion, should be built as a legacy content media, rather than a new content media. The WWE is silly to assume people will subscribe to it in the hopes of seeing content like the Mandalorian, and while NXT UK is currently their only original content that is exclusive to the brand (as far as North America is concerned) of value, it's smarter for the company to present the Network as what it is; a massive archival database. By curtailing the addition of classic content, they are making it harder to present it as such. The problem is... there is a finite amount of people who will subscribe to the network, and WWE has long discovered this, especially with the removal of the traditional PPV model.
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Post by toodarkmark on Jan 30, 2020 18:38:42 GMT -5
I hear Sean Hannity and a Prince from Saudi Arabia is taking over. To protect the investments.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2020 18:38:53 GMT -5
I can't wait for Vince to say on Tuesday that he's going to take over the business side of WWE, as well as running the shows and working on getting XFL off the ground. Vince is going to be a sentient pile of dust by the time this year is over. Everybody joking now, but when it's all said and done, WWE's money chambers are flooded! #MacIsBack #SecondComing #ThisIsLastStand #SaveUsBoss #XFL #WWE
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Chainsaw
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Post by Chainsaw on Jan 30, 2020 18:39:12 GMT -5
I dunno why, but I have a feeling that anyone who has a contract coming up this year and had no plans of jumping to AEW and want to stay in WWE for a lot of money might want to start saving their money instead.
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Post by mistery on Jan 30, 2020 18:40:02 GMT -5
Serious question: Why would it be Michelle Wilson's problem if the WWE Network has been losing subscribers? The Network is a great idea but the product in back of it on the creative end has to be solid in order for the Network to add people. The scary thing is that isn't the 4th Quarter of 2019 going to include the huge USA and Fox TV money? How bad is this if that stuff is included? Apparently people are speculating that the stocks will actually rebound because of the new TV deals taking effect starting soon. They haven't actually kicked in yet. But again, I can attribute a lot of this to the product decreasing in quality. They are driving off people in record numbers despite the rest of the scene thriving. Why? Because Vince's idea of a star is pretty much the polar opposite of who the audience sees as the next big stars. Here are some good examples over the past couple of years of potential stars being kneecapped for people who aren't really all that popular in the grand scheme of things: - Baron Corbin gets fed a bunch of talent from NXT because he's big (size wise), and Vince loves that. Nevermind the fact that he is the poster child for go away heat right now. - Asuka gets completely kneecapped not once, but twice just to make Charlotte a bigger star (despite the fact that she gets go away heat at best, complete indifference at worst) - Becky was on fire until they decided to inject Charlotte, Vince, Stephanie, and Triple H into her storyline leading into WM. Doesn't help that her first feud after winning the title was against Lacey Evans, who is one of the worst women in the ring and on the mic right now. - Shane McMahon. I hope I don't have to explain why he was bad for the company. He went over a bunch of people he shouldn't have.
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Post by Christian on Jan 30, 2020 18:43:47 GMT -5
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Chainsaw
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Post by Chainsaw on Jan 30, 2020 18:51:14 GMT -5
Lowkey, my favorite part of this story is this.
FloWorks International LLC is a company that makes industrial pipes and fittings. He's worked in steel and formica, and he's now running the financial fortunes of a struggling wrestling entertainment company.
God, business is so weird.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2020 18:55:29 GMT -5
I think the Network is pretty quickly becoming a huge problem for the company. They've basically hammered in the low cost so much that it would be extremely difficult to get away with raising the price, especially given the Network clearly operates at a bare-minimum budget given NXT UK and 205 Live are really the only things of any kind of note being produced for it on the regular, and unlike, say, Netflix, there basically isn't a way to attract new customers to it.
Thus the year after year gradual bleeding - as they lose TV viewers they lose potential Network customers and there isn't really any way to turn that around without fixing all of the other problems the company has first.
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Post by toodarkmark on Jan 30, 2020 18:55:34 GMT -5
Lowkey, my favorite part of this story is this. FloWorks International LLC is a company that makes industrial pipes and fittings. He's worked in steel and formica, and he's now running the financial fortunes of a struggling wrestling entertainment company. God, business is so weird. Not to get too political, but he may be connected to a certain person that Linda McMahon works for now. Back scratching if you will.
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Sicho100
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Post by Sicho100 on Jan 30, 2020 18:56:18 GMT -5
Serious question: Why would it be Michelle Wilson's problem if the WWE Network has been losing subscribers? The Network is a great idea but the product in back of it on the creative end has to be solid in order for the Network to add people. The scary thing is that isn't the 4th Quarter of 2019 going to include the huge USA and Fox TV money? How bad is this if that stuff is included? I'm pretty sure Wilson was a driving force behind the Network (and, given the blurbs on the WWE site, she and Barrios were the ones tasked with making sure it succeeded), and it has done much worse than expected while also cannibalizing the PPV business - it pretty clearly has been a mistake at least to put the biggest PPVs on it (and, because they set the precedent, it would be very difficult to move back to not having, say, the Big Four PPVs on the Network and instead charging $60+ for them). Yeah, the real underlying reason that determines the Network's success is how hot their product is, but Vince isn't exactly going to say, "Guys, we know we oversold the Network, but in our defense, that's only because we don't know how to draw in new fans with our weekly shows." Given the new TV deals, I seriously doubt the overall Q4 number is going to be down year-over-year, but these reports break out the different segments of the company, too. So, even if the top-line number looks better, it will be easy for anyone to even just take a glance below the hood and see reason to worry for the company's long-term prospects. Especially if this is due to the Network, in which case the subscriber number will be on display. Plus, a big part of the post-report discussion is about how the report compared to analysts' projections of what the report would say, and those projections obviously took the new deals into account. Their present success is mostly propped up on the Saudi deal and an inflated TV deal. Without that cash running everything, they gotta be bleeding cash. Yeah, I can't see how their current operational model is sustainable in the long term. If Fox loses interest in SmackDown and/or if the KSI deal dries up, what's left for them? Sure, but "current operational model" is doing a lot of work there. If they didn't have the huge influx of money from the TV deals, they wouldn't be signing up every wrestler that gets any semblance of a buzz outside of WWE.
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The Heenan Family
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Post by The Heenan Family on Jan 30, 2020 19:03:49 GMT -5
WWE is also in the middle of moving their global headquarters to a larger and more costly facility in Stamford. I guess some reserved corner offices just opened up.
Then again, maybe the place has termites, tree roots in the plumbing, and was built over an Indian burial ground and Vince just found out.
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