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Post by Feargus McReddit on Jun 13, 2023 3:13:42 GMT -5
WWE should probably take the most money but FOX does give WWE a higher ratings ceiling right now and that's becoming more drastic every year as cable declines. They may be doing less than they originally expected but SmackDown moving to FX will do worse numbers. It's likely worth it with the right offer but it's something to think about. It’s the real confliction here. There’s not a zero percent chance Fox offers WWE a slightly lesser deal (as in it’s still more but not the more WWE would want) that reflects Smackdown’s status and helps them save some money and from there, it’s a case of if it’s worth a short drop in the share price because of shareholders flipping out for the long term prestige of having a show on network television. As Darth pointed out, NBC could take it, give it the third hour it desires and basically make NBC Universal the home of WWE but is that something they can afford to do themselves? As far as I know, there’s not the same commitments that Fox has to sports, especially with Tom Brady coming in next year for a tonne of money, so it would make sense and WWE’s relationship with the company’s been consistent since they left Spike but that’s only if the above paragraph happens and even then, Fox could give them what they want so they keep doing well in that slot compared to its competitors.
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Post by Final Countdown Jones on Jun 13, 2023 5:10:03 GMT -5
I could be wrong but it always felt like the Fox/WWE relationship has been semi contentious since it started. Maybe it's a bit harsh but it seemed like there's been way more rumors/reports of Fox being frustrated with WWE than NBCU. Now admittedly those rumors have been quiet for about a year, but it always felt like to me that Fox may not be as keen to renew but now you have them having their own money issues There were rocky reports even before the deal actually went into effect. Either Fox actually had more frustrations, or there were just better and more open sources in Fox talking to reporters. There was when Fox wanted to make a bid for NXT but it went to USA, where Fox had plans to run lots of WWE programming to replace the UFC-filled hole but never really got much programming out of them. Then, Fox bringing CM Punk in for WWE Backstage hoping they could try to get people at the table, only for WWE to show zero interest in talking to him at all. It's not huge stuff, but paired with the lower-than-expected ratings there's definitely a question to it I guess of if Fox felt like they were really being served equally by WWE, or if they were the people offering the most money and WWE's heart always lay with NBCU, and if they're going to be second fiddle then it's not worth pumping in the billions WWE is asking.
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Post by Banjo Is Broken on Jun 14, 2023 2:09:31 GMT -5
RAW and Smackdown both move to The CW Network!
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Post by Zombie Mod on Jun 14, 2023 7:21:35 GMT -5
RAW and Smackdown both move to The CW Network! Raw & Smackdown get cancelled after one season.
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Post by Absolutely Perfect on Jun 14, 2023 7:56:05 GMT -5
RAW and Smackdown both move to The CW Network!
They move to a newly-relaunced WB Network and the WB Frog pins Roman to end the streak.
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Post by Feargus McReddit on Sept 21, 2023 8:09:49 GMT -5
And a shoe has dropped, Smackdown is leaving network TV in 2024 for USA.
Honestly, makes sense. The relationship with FOX seemed sketchy at times, USA/NBC need WWE a lot more than they do so it just feels logical.
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markymark
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
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Post by markymark on Sept 21, 2023 8:12:52 GMT -5
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Post by Finish Uncle Muffin’s Story on Sept 21, 2023 8:14:23 GMT -5
And a shoe has dropped, Smackdown is leaving network TV in 2024 for USA. Honestly, makes sense. The relationship with FOX seemed sketchy at times, USA/NBC need WWE a lot more than they do so it just feels logical. I think what's just as interesting are those primetime network specials. Does it mean the return of Saturday Night's Main Event? Could be fun. Anyways, I'm curious to see what happens to Smackdown ratings - will those extra viewers we see watching Smackdown on Friday night go follow them from FOX over to USA? Interesting times. Also interesting is that this feels like RAW isn't a lock to stick around on USA. If it was, surely they would have figured out a deal for everything.
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Renslayer
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
every time i come around your city...
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Post by Renslayer on Sept 21, 2023 8:16:17 GMT -5
I still think there's huge value in being on network TV like fox. Risky move I'm not a fan of
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Post by wildojinx on Sept 21, 2023 8:16:27 GMT -5
"First time WWE has aired on NBC in Primetime". Unless you ignore the Wrestlemania specials and all of the Main Event specials (as well as the short-lived SNME revival).
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Post by "Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik on Sept 21, 2023 8:17:14 GMT -5
And a shoe has dropped, Smackdown is leaving network TV in 2024 for USA. Honestly, makes sense. The relationship with FOX seemed sketchy at times, USA/NBC need WWE a lot more than they do so it just feels logical. I think what's just as interesting are those primetime network specials. Does it mean the return of Saturday Night's Main Event? Could be fun. Anyways, I'm curious to see what happens to Smackdown ratings - will those extra viewers we see watching Smackdown on Friday night go follow them from FOX over to USA? Interesting times. Some will but there's a large percentage of people who get FOX and don't get USA so those folks will vanish overnight from their viewership. You obviously take the best money deal but this will reduce their exposure and I can see RAW returning to being the most watched WWE show each week.
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Post by Jedi-El of Tomorrow on Sept 21, 2023 8:18:07 GMT -5
This is all so NBC can get everything under their umbrella. Getting Smackdown, giving the WWE 4 primetime specials, and they'll probably pony up the money to keep Raw and USA.
They want everything for Peacock.
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Post by Feargus McReddit on Sept 21, 2023 8:19:10 GMT -5
I think what's just as interesting are those primetime network specials. Does it mean the return of Saturday Night's Main Event? Could be fun. Anyways, I'm curious to see what happens to Smackdown ratings - will those extra viewers we see watching Smackdown on Friday night go follow them from FOX over to USA? Interesting times. Also interesting is that this feels like RAW isn't a lock to stick around on USA. If it was, surely they would have figured out a deal for everything. It makes sense to try. At the very least, FOX has shown there’s still interest in wrestling on Network TV and making it a special event might get more in one moment than throughout the whole Smackdown run so you might as well give it a shot. I think them saying Raw isn’t locked down yet sort of a ploy on WWE’s end to try and get that interest going from alleged targets Disney and Amazon. Amazon seems to do it but Disney’s been rumored to be getting out of the TV production business with selling ABC and its affiliates but whether that goes anywhere, who knows? Considering there’s no real rush to get that deal done, NBCUniversal would look like goobers if they didn’t seal that down as soon as.
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Post by "Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik on Sept 21, 2023 8:19:29 GMT -5
If all WWE programming ends up under the NBCU umbrella, they should have just bought WWE.
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Post by EoE: Well There's Your Problem on Sept 21, 2023 8:19:59 GMT -5
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markymark
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Post by markymark on Sept 21, 2023 8:20:01 GMT -5
Smackdown will be on Tuesdays then?
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Post by Feargus McReddit on Sept 21, 2023 8:21:29 GMT -5
This is all so NBC can get everything under their umbrella. Getting Smackdown, giving the WWE 4 primetime specials, and they'll probably pony up the money to keep Raw and USA. They want everything for Peacock. I’d argue them wanting everything for USA and Peacock might have been the thing that struck down the FOX renewal after the NXT debacle. There’s a real scenario where that goes to FS1, they build Backstage around it and the Wednesday Night Wars never happen and that feels like one that would have a lot of ramifications for American wrestling in many different ways.
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Post by "Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik on Sept 21, 2023 8:23:53 GMT -5
If I'm AEW, you need to at least see if there's interest from FOX when they hit the open market next year now that they're out of the WWE game. At the very least you want to get some interest to elevate offers from WBD.
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Post by Feargus McReddit on Sept 21, 2023 8:24:10 GMT -5
If all WWE programming ends up under the NBCU umbrella, they should have just bought WWE. On their end, it’s probably a lot easier to pay a lump sum to WWE for them to deal with production costs and the like than take it over and them having to deal with all of that. It’d be like asking a major company to buy the NFL. It stops other people from bidding for TV rights but then you’re responsible for literally everything else and that won’t be good long term.
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Post by "Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik on Sept 21, 2023 8:25:41 GMT -5
Smackdown will be on Tuesdays then?
The press release indicates it will remain on Friday nights and it will likely still be live.
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