I for one am excited to have Saturday Night's Main Event (hopefully!) back.
Finally, a wide-ranging opportunity to build stories and wrestlers like the WWE used to do properly. As well as get some more general fans, maybe?
And despite what some might believe, I don't think they'd turn those 90 minutes into some sort of glorified Heat or Velocity. I mean, I am sure they wouldn't have had it drawn up as a part of the agreement if they didn't have a good idea of what to do with the SNL spot and audience.
I won't pretend I'm not interested as hell, but I do question the intelligence of the move. Overexposure is certainly a word WWE is familiar with, and even monthly SNME specials (or whatever new name they might want to give it) are going to be hard-pressed not to expose a thin roster. With over eight first-run hours of television per week for RAW, which they frequently seem ill-prepared to properly fill, I don't see what good another hour-and-a-half could do. Especially on NBC, where ratings expectations are far more fickle than on cable, not too mentiong they will be doggy-paddling without anything close to the groundswell they had going for them twenty years ago when they first did this.
Part of the appeal of SNME was that it was the only free source of marquee matches available. It was very different from Superstars, you saw stars in the ring together. There were also only four pay-per-views in those days, and even less when SNME got some of its best ratings. A month like April next year could have a Wrestlemania, four RAWs, one SNME and Backlash all in a thirty day period. I live and breathe wrestling, but even I wouldn't watch all that.
Hot Virgins-The World's Most Steadily Shrinking Commodity
Originally posted by Hogan's My DadOverexposure is certainly a word WWE is familiar with, and even monthly SNME specials (or whatever new name they might want to give it) are going to be hard-pressed not to expose a thin roster.
How do you get "monthy SNME specials" from "at least two yearly, 90-minute Saturday late night RAW specials?"
With over eight first-run hours of television per week for RAW, which they frequently seem ill-prepared to properly fill, I don't see what good another hour-and-a-half could do.
How do you get eight hours? Two for RAW, one for the weekend show...that's like three.
Especially on NBC, where ratings expectations are far more fickle than on cable
Oh, come on. Late night Saturdays don't carry the pressure of prime time.
Originally posted by Mr TuesdaySpike TV just shot themselves in the foot. Loosing WWE will be a big blow to them, and they don't even know it.
See, *I* think Spike TV is more than happy to save the tens of millions of dollars per year Vince wanted from them AND get much higher ad revenue from showing "CSI: New York." Of course, neither of us is actually programming a television network (much to my dismay) so what do we really know?
When it seems like the whole world is full of idiots, maybe your standards are a bit high. - Guru Zim
Originally posted by Hogan's My Dad...and even monthly SNME specials (or whatever new name they might want to give it) are going to be hard-pressed not to expose a thin roster. With over eight first-run hours of television per week for RAW...
Who said anything about "monthly?" The SNME's (for lack of a better name) are going to happen at least TWICE a year, not TWELVE times. I seriously doubt they'd overload April like that.
Also, 8 hours of first-run RAW programming every week? Since when?
Raw= 2:15 Heat= 1:00 After Burn= 1:00
That's 4:15 hours, and no more than three of those hours consist of actual first-run wrestling. Heat is half recap, and After Burn is all recap. You've got the cross-branded WWE Experience at 1 hour, but the other four hours of programming you can watch are all Smackdown! only.
I don't think these 90 minute specials, especially if they air when RAW is pre-empted, will necessarily water down the programming, especially if they're offered when there's no RAW PPV scheduled.
I think Smackdown! needs a similar deal, and that WWE needs to drop back down to 12 PPVs per year. Since they made the switch to branded PPVs, I think I've only ordered 2 or 3 branded PPVs, when I used to order all 12. Of course, they claim revenue is up, so I don't know if they'll ever drop back.
Originally posted by Mr TuesdayI bet those two 90 min shows will be WWE's Raw replacement when USA decideds to air the Dog Show and Tennis Matches.
Has USA even been airing Westminster and the US Open since the NBC Universal merger? I'm thinking the dog show was on Bravo last year, and I could definitely see them moving tennis to NBC. I assume Vince doesn't have the leverage to force USA not to pre-empt Raw, but at least USA has alternatives it can consider.
On the other hand, once USA joined the NBC family it became an integral part of 24/7 Olympics coverage. Come 2008 I see NBC wanting to air Hungarian water polo or something on a Monday night...
For all we know, these specials could be similar to the Hall of Fame or "Mania Behind The Mania" specials they had on Spike, albeit Raw-brand specific. So I don't know that necessarily means the return of SNME. Though that WOULD be cool, especially the opening interview montage...
What I love about the announcement is that there's no mention of the past problems they had with USA Network and particularly Bonnie Hammer. Not that I expected them to acknowledge that, because it would be awful business to bring that up, but it's not like this will be a bold and innovative move for the company or anything. They left USA five years ago over the way they were being treated.
Two specials a year is fine, but if they do well and they decide to expand there are going to be problems. I don't know why I connected SNME to this, I just got to thinking of it as monthly. Two specials a year, while still completely unnesscary would be okay, assuming they do them in non-PPV months.
Hot Virgins-The World's Most Steadily Shrinking Commodity
Originally posted by Hogan's My DadEight hours monthly, whoops.
Two specials a year is fine, but if they do well and they decide to expand there are going to be problems. I don't know why I connected SNME to this, I just got to thinking of it as monthly. Two specials a year, while still completely unnesscary would be okay, assuming they do them in non-PPV months.
Don't feel like the Lone Ranger ... I, too, thought of the glory days of SNME ... I think that would be freakin' great. One RAW & one Smackdown SNME every year. RAW's could be during that time between Royal Rumble & WM when they don't have a PPV, while Smackdown's could air in their Fall downtime.
best part: putting a bullet in the Experience/Confidental/Excess hour they never had any good ideas for.
worst part: what of Velocity? Don't tell 'em I'm going to have to go find when Afterburn is on (Bottom Line is the RAW show - or it was last time I checked).
Originally posted by thecubsfanworst part: what of Velocity? Don't tell 'em I'm going to have to go find when Afterburn is on (Bottom Line is the RAW show - or it was last time I checked).
What does USA have on at 11:00 PM on Sat. night? Hopefully nothing that can't get bumped in favor of Velocity.
Originally posted by thecubsfanbest part: putting a bullet in the Experience/Confidental/Excess hour they never had any good ideas for.
worst part: what of Velocity? Don't tell 'em I'm going to have to go find when Afterburn is on (Bottom Line is the RAW show - or it was last time I checked).
Confidential had some good stuff, but then Confidential had some crap, too. The other two sucked. Really, they could have done so much more with those shows if they had wanted to, but instead they just went with the tired recaps that we'd all seen.
It's a moot point now that I guess Experience will be dead, but I always thought that they should have used that spot, since it was Sunday mornings, to air old programming like WWF Superstars. I would have watched, and I don't think it would have done any worse in the ratings, plus it would have given them a place to really promote their 24/7 channel.
Two yearly 90 minute Saturday night specials on NBC? Wonder what those could be?
Interesting that they specifically mention they'll be RAW only...perhaps they don't want to associate the SNME name with a single brand?
I don't think they could do anything with SD being involved with SNME until the Viacom deal expires, as that would be putting Viacom's programming on a competing network. Same reasoning could be used for why Velocity isn't in the USA deal, as that is a partial highlight show from a competing network.
Originally posted by XPacArmyThey aired the Westminster show already. I remember casue they had that "Final Countdown" song from Boston as their theme.
Not to show my hair band colors, but Final Countdown was by Europe, not Boston. Not all one word geographic location named bands are the same.
Originally posted by XPacArmyThey aired the Westminster show already. I remember cause they had that "Final Countdown" song from Boston as their theme.
Not to show my hair band colors, but Final Countdown was by Europe, not Boston. Not all one word geographic location named bands are the same.
Doesn't really matter either way, it's a bad song anyway.
I wonder, does anyone know who does more $$$ and/or ratings, WWE or Westminster?
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