Details are slowly emerging. Let’s go through a few.
To achieve that distribution number, WWE would still have to cut carriage deals with more than just In Demand, a consortium of the nation’s biggest cable operators: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox and Bright House Networks.
I don’t see any of them being a problem.
Using a blueprint that other sports properties have worked with successfully, WWE plans to seed its channel with live events that previously have been available on pay-per-view. WWE also has expanded its programming search beyond wrestling, sources said. That could include some professional team sports, sources said.
I still think this is a mistake. Why ape the sports channels when you can do something new?
WWE has retained Sucherman Consulting Group, executive recruiters with offices in New York and Los Angeles, to hire 200 employees to staff the network.
200 people is too many for just reruns. Expect a ton of fresh material, here.
WWE executives have told sources that they hope to launch the channel by April 1 to coincide with its biggest pay-per-view event of the year, WrestleMania XXVIII.
Sounds perfect.
…said media consultant Mike Trager. “I don’t know if you can classify wrestling as a major sport. It is certainly a major entertainment vehicle.”
Facepalm.
The planned channel’s marquee programming would come from most of, if not all of, WWE’s current pay-per-view events. The company generally produces 13 PPV events per year. Most will migrate to the channel. It’s not known how many would remain PPV.
What a fantastic way to cut down on PPVs.
WWE also has looked into running a “SportsCenter”-style show. The network would use the show as a lead-in to “Raw,” which USA telecasts on Monday nights.
Give it to Nash and Booker and I’ll tune in every week.