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WWE's new tv deals


sek69

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I just read the deal is 5 years of SmackDown for $1 Billion and that it will air on Fridays on Fox.

 

Interestingly, Fox's Friday Night line-up has been the topic of some discussion recently as they announced they were reviving the cancelled ABC sitcom Last Man Standing to anchor their new Friday night comedy block. Somewhat odd about this decision is that, when the show initially started in 2011, Tim Allen was fairly outspoken about how Friday evening was a relative "death slot" compared to the prime real estate that Home Improvement and other sitcoms had in the "sitcom boom" era of the 90s. 20 years later, competition/reality shows and a handful of ultra-successful dramas have taken over the spaces that used to be held by forgettable sitcoms like Suddenly Susan. Tim Allen's right-leaning vehicle came off like a relic. But then Roseanne happened and TV execs realized there is still a market for family comedies.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if, when SmackDown comes to Fox in 2019, they reshuffle where Last Man Standing resides - especially if it does Roseanne-like numbers and can actually challenge the "hipper" comedies that NBC offers.

 

Another question remains, though - will SmackDown remain live or return to a taped format? And what happens when/if the ratings dip well below the 2.5 million weekly viewers they're averaging now?

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For logistics issues, I would assume that they will go back to a taping format on Tuesdays. Unless they decide to use the Friday slots usually reserved for house shows to become TV dates. Then, both crews would have their weekly commitments from Friday to Monday rather than one crew being Friday to Monday and the other Saturday to Tuesday.

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So if the Fox deal works out to average $200 million for SD, and USA is paying the alleged "three times more" for Raw that would put it at around $240. $440 total for just the domestic TV rights is bonkers considering all the analyst types were pegging the renewal for the whole package at around $250-$300 max.

 

Whoever negotiated that deal needs to be the headliner in next year's HOF class for real.

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Vince pretty much just hit the lottery here.

 

This TV fees bubble is just ridiculous.

 

Anyway. This means more of "We don't give a shit about our audience" stuff for years and years, most probably, because it doesn't matter anymore.

 

 

The people in the crowd aren't the audience. The WWE's audience is Mattel, Viacom, and now, whatever they're going to call the Fox broadcasting portion after they finish the sale to Disney. The people in the crowd? They're the product.

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Something to consider: Comcast/NBCUniversal is contemplating making an offer to buy Fox out from under Disney, depending on how the courts rule on the potential AT&T/Time Warner deal. So it could all end up being back under the same umbrella at some point.

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Something to consider: Comcast/NBCUniversal is contemplating making an offer to buy Fox out from under Disney, depending on how the courts rule on the potential AT&T/Time Warner deal. So it could all end up being back under the same umbrella at some point.

 

Nah - the current Fox/Disney deal is for everything but the Fox broadcasting side (Fox, Fox News, FS1, etc.). Same thing would be true of a Comcast/Fox deal. That's actually part of the reason for Fox going w/ WWE - they're going basically all in on reality, sports, etc. and severely limiting their scripted series, now that they won't have a production arm anymore.

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Posted this on twitter, but...

 

So... are these deals fool proof or do they have to deliver certain ratings? Are special events dead and the care for the network less important, because TV is now their biggest revenue? Is everything staying the same or will there be massive changes?

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Posted this on twitter, but...

 

So... are these deals fool proof or do they have to deliver certain ratings? Are special events dead and the care for the network less important, because TV is now their biggest revenue? Is everything staying the same or will there be massive changes?

They absolutely are going to continue doing those special events. MMC was a 100k per episode deal, for instance.

 

Also, the Fed can always improve their Network specials, making their services even better, and make even more money on the long run. No logical reason for them to just completely abandon the WWEN.

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New wrestling "boom" period coming, boys!

 

I kid, I kid.

 

Seriously though, this is a ton of money for WWE. And they sold a ton of tickets for the All-In Indie show. And New Japan is pretty strong too. Factor in shows like Lucha Underground and GLOW being on Netflix & wrestling is looking pretty in the near future.

 

Pretty cool though.

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Factor in shows like Lucha Underground and GLOW being on Netflix & wrestling is looking pretty in the near future.

 

Hey, if it means Lucha Underground can go on for a S5 with more money eventually, I'm all in (pun int… well, you got it). And yeah for GLOW S2. These two shows have carried my love for pro-wrestling in the past few years.

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Nah - the current Fox/Disney deal is for everything but the Fox broadcasting side (Fox, Fox News, FS1, etc.). Same thing would be true of a Comcast/Fox deal. That's actually part of the reason for Fox going w/ WWE - they're going basically all in on reality, sports, etc. and severely limiting their scripted series, now that they won't have a production arm anymore.

The current deal doesn't include Fox News, the Fox broadcast network or FS1/FS2. It does include the regional sports networks.

 

So if the Fox deal works out to average $200 million for SD, and USA is paying the alleged "three times more" for Raw that would put it at around $240. $440 total for just the domestic TV rights is bonkers considering all the analyst types were pegging the renewal for the whole package at around $250-$300 max.

 

Whoever negotiated that deal needs to be the headliner in next year's HOF class for real.

That would be Ari Emanuel, who Ari from Entourage is based on.

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