Why does WWE keep trying new shows instead of improving old ones?

[punchline]

So I'm sure everyone has read by now that WWE has signed a deal with ION Television to debut a new show called 'WWE Main Event". The show description simply reads as "“WWE Main Event” will feature in-ring action and fit seamlessly in storylines from Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown, making Wednesday night appointment viewing for fans. The new series will offer a big arena experience with live audiences like current WWE weekly programs."

Isn't this what Superstars started out as? And just like Superstars, how long until it gets relegated to the undercard, simply showcasing all the Superstars who aren't on Raw or Smackdown?

I guess my main question is, with WWE already struggling to find Network homes for Superstars and NXT, what is the point of this show and is it any different?

 

[MrHashasheen]

So I'm sure everyone has read by now that WWE has signed a deal with ION Television to debut a new show called 'WWE Main Event". The show description simply reads as "“WWE Main Event” will feature in-ring action and fit seamlessly in storylines from Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown, making Wednesday night appointment viewing for fans. The new series will offer a big arena experience with live audiences like current WWE weekly programs."

Isn't this what Superstars started out as? And just like Superstars, how long until it gets relegated to the undercard, simply showcasing all the Superstars who aren't on Raw or Smackdown?

I guess my main question is, with WWE already struggling to find Network homes for Superstars and NXT, what is the point of this show and is it any different?

Money. It makes them money. Which is what businesses strive for, not creative quality.

/thread.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

Yeah, I guess no matter how hard they try RAW will be on the 3's and 4's and Smackdown will stay on the 2's. They can only do so much to improve the ratings and even Rock's returns have only had incremental spikes. So it would be more profitable if they make new shows.

New shows are not so bad, for the devoted Wrestling fans some of them are quite good. I remember Shotgun Saturday Night, a lot of people don't watch it, but they have a few interesting matches here and there. I got to see some unique things like Wild Man Marc Mero vs. Undertaker or Owen Hart vs. Mankind. So you get a few gems in these C-Shows.

Not that I am against improving the current shows because having a strong RAW and Smackdown! could still impact PPV buy rates and the future sustainability of WWE's product. But I don't mind having a few extra shows.

What I would like to see is the return of WWE Confidential it's the closest thing WWE has done to break kayfabe and I enjoyed their segments and showing clips of classic matches. Too bad it didn't last very long.

 

[mdj2010]

This really isn;t a hard one to answer and your analogy only makes it easier to answer. Who wants to wear a nasty old pair of shoes? Noone. Who wants to wear nice, new, shiny shoes? Everyone. It' all about money. Sure, they may be repackaging an old format, but people want to buy new shiny things, even if they are basically the same as we have already been given before. It shure beats the old stuff which grew tired long ago and frankly, is starting to smell.

 

[The mind]

This is more ION coming to the WWE vs the WWE going to ION. ION has been around for quite some time, and they seemed to for years going after the Lifetime Network audience. The networks tag line was "Ion television, positive, entertianing"

Now they have actually begun to show action films, and they seriously seem to be either switching their demographic (Like TNN did when they became SPIKE!), or are just trying to rebrand themselves in the USA mode, in which they are reaching for both the male and female viewer equally.

I know Time Warner carries ION, but I don't think every provider carries ION. I am curious where this is going to end up.

 

[braveh]

But isn't ION a broadcast over the air network as well? Maybe you can't compare this to Superstars because WWE obviously wants a show on free tv too. Ring of honor is on free tv even if they have horrible distribution

 

[THTRobtaylor]

They need new formats for their own "Network" when it launches, if they can create new shows that air elsewhere, then it frees up older show titles for the WWE Network.

For example, Main Event takes over from Superstars, gains better ratings and WWE can use the "Superstars" brand for something on their own network, like a "about a wrestler" show or just make another highlight show.

Main Event also has some brand recogniton (although without the Saturday Night) and is something that immediately brings to mind WWE... Having it out there as a show is good advertising.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

This is more ION coming to the WWE vs the WWE going to ION. ION has been around for quite some time, and they seemed to for years going after the Lifetime Network audience. The networks tag line was "Ion television, positive, entertianing"

Now they have actually begun to show action films, and they seriously seem to be either switching their demographic (Like TNN did when they became SPIKE!), or are just trying to rebrand themselves in the USA mode, in which they are reaching for both the male and female viewer equally.

I know Time Warner carries ION, but I don't think every provider carries ION. I am curious where this is going to end up.

This, pretty much this. WWE has some of the most loyal fans in television. A smaller network (SyFy, CW, My TV, WGN America) may look to add to it's viewership. An easy way to do this is to find a loyal fanbase and pull them in. The hope is not that the new show will make a ton of money but that what fans get pulled in get familiar with the network and stick around for other shows.

For WWE it is just a little bit more extra programming. If Main Event fails for WWE, they take their money and wait for the next network to call them up.

I once heard that the NFL is a money loser for CBS and Fox in their timeslots but what it does for other timeslots more than makes up for the loss.

Make sense?

 

[The mind]

This, pretty much this. WWE has some of the most loyal fans in television. A smaller network (SyFy, CW, My TV, WGN America) may look to add to it's viewership. An easy way to do this is to find a loyal fanbase and pull them in. The hope is not that the new show will make a ton of money but that what fans get pulled in get familiar with the network and stick around for other shows.

For WWE it is just a little bit more extra programming. If Main Event fails for WWE, they take their money and wait for the next network to call them up.

I once heard that the NFL is a money loser for CBS and Fox in their timeslots but what it does for other timeslots more than makes up for the loss.

Make sense?

Not saying anything about the WWE fanbase. Just pointing out that a network that until recently, was geared towards women in the 35-65 demographic, is now rapidly trying to get male viewership. ION has gone from showing movies like "Sleepless in Seattle" to showing "Die Hard 2"

 

[IT Factor]

I thought WWE had a nice setup when they were doing the Velocity/Confidential combo on Saturday nights. Of course, I was a big fan of WCW Saturday Night. I grew up watching wrestling on Saturdays or Sundays[with WWF Superstars]. WCW Saturday Night & WWF Sunday Superstars were both great for upcoming talents without having to hurl them onto the main show, which was good. You got to see interviews with these wrestlers and you could tell which ones were good and which ones weren't.

I really liked WWE Confidential. It was ahead of its time with the shoot style format dealing with big issues in WWE whether storyline or real-life. You can definetely tell that TNA liked it too, because that was similar to what they did with TNA Reaction. Confidential was informative to the casual fan who didn't have internet and it also did a great job setting up major returns[like HBK when he came back in 2002]. That whole episode where Shawn Michaels revealed he indeed knew about Montreal in advance was epic. Not only did he confirm what most diehard fans already suspected, but, it made for an interesting interview where he also talked about his back injury and making a return. WWE needs that type of show on Saturdays again and I didn't really mind it when WWE Saturday Night Main Event returned on NBC[although I think NBC minded, seeing as it got horrible ratings].

As for this new show on ION, WWE Main Event, it could be a good addition to the show lineup if done correctly. However, I have cable and it doesn't carry ION on the channel lineup. So, I'd never know how good or bad it is......

 

[theBec2101]

I think they go for a hit or miss strategy. If it’s good it’s a hit and they keep it. If it’s a miss it easier just to start over rather than comb through and nitpick at all the problems. If they just fixed it up, they would still be trying to improve the XFL.

 

[EastCoastFan]

Even though I think WWE doesn't need any more shows (there's a reason Superstars and NXT have been banished), I understand entirely why WWE does it. More shows = more advertising sold = more $.

As a fan, I think Raw and Smackdown should be scaled back to an hour each and there should be no more than 6 PPV's a year. But looking at it from the business side, I fully understand why WWE does what it does. I don't like it, but I accept it.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Like others have said, at the end of the day, it's all about the money. According to reports, the WWE's deal with ION will bring in "several million dollars" a year so more money is hardly ever a bad thing. I know there are some fans that delude themselves & have this fantasy that "real wrestlers" do it for the love of the business and that money isn't really a priority. Any wrestler with that mind set is an idiot as is every fan that buys into that garbage. I guard rapists, drug dealers & murders for a living. You think I'd do that shit out of the goodness of my heart?

Comparatively speaking, wrestling shows have low production costs and a wrestling show put out by WWE has the potential to draw big audiences. You know why there are so many reality shows these days as compared to 10 years ago? It's a helluva lot cheaper to pay Snooki & JWoww for their show, as well as the various other costs of the show, than it is to pay Alec Baldwin a million bucks per episode of 30 Rock. ION will pay WWE for their show, WWE will pay the wrestlers.

Like others also said, the show can potentially draw new viewers to ION that might not otherwise watch it. Not to mention that the show might appeal to some regular viewers anyhow. If they watch WWE, then they might stick around to watch other shows the network has to offer.

As far as improving the older shows, like Superstars or NXT, I think WWE has done that all in all, at least with NXT. The last "season" of NXT was certainly better than any other since Season II and, like a lot of others, I've been pretty impressed with what I've seen thus far of the new crop of NXT stars.

 

[Azane]

How would one "just improve the product"

Throw money at it? that doesn't improve it all that much.

Creating a new franchise? that's an easy way to broaden an audience, even if it's a financial failure, it get's the name out.

The XFL made WWE money in the long run, it flopped and blew money away, but the WWE gained a small chunk of fans from it that have made up for the losses since. Making a new show is easier than simply "Improve the product"

Also, NXT and Superstars are long dead, the audience they garner is so insignificant, the only reason they maintain them is because dark matches happen either way, it just means they turn the cameras on 30 minutes earlier.

 

[UndertakerForever]

Yeah, it's probably because it'll make them more money, even if the ratings are low. It won't be all that successful, seeing as the description matches that of WWE Superstars when it first debuted. Just look at Superstars and how it has come along. The star of the first match on the first show was Undertaker, and now the stars of the first match on the most recent show were Titus O'Neil and Darren Young.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Goddamn people don't understand things.

Okay, there are more channels now than ever before. This means that even if you have two shows of the exact same quality, the one that exists in the era with more channels will likely have lower ratings. With internet and all sorts of other ways to watch, that's an even bigger impact.

WWE is consistently near the top of their timeslot (Raw) or their channel (Smackdown). Having more shows on a variety of different channels spreads your base. More eyeballs=more money. WWE isn't this downward spiral of financial troubles like some like to think. They are making a ton of money and have several weekly TV shows that are all unique (as in, no reruns) and they somehow always (year round) remain near the top. I can't even begin to describe how incredible that is. Combine that with nearly 1,000 episodes of that and it really is mind blowing.

As people have said, this is likey ION trying to get viewers. Believe it or not you cynical fucks, WWE is pretty popular and a guarantee to bring viewers. USA pushes new shows hard during Raw. Why? Because Raw is their meal ticket. ION can use that too.

To the WWE, it's a money maker. To the wrestlers, it's another avenue to get over. To the network, it's a money maker for that timeslot and others. To the fans, it's more wrestling on TV. How is this bad to anyone that likes wrestling?

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

How would one "just improve the product"

Throw money at it? that doesn't improve it all that much.

Creating a new franchise? that's an easy way to broaden an audience, even if it's a financial failure, it get's the name out.

The XFL made WWE money in the long run, it flopped and blew money away, but the WWE gained a small chunk of fans from it that have made up for the losses since. Making a new show is easier than simply "Improve the product"

Also, NXT and Superstars are long dead, the audience they garner is so insignificant, the only reason they maintain them is because dark matches happen either way, it just means they turn the cameras on 30 minutes earlier.

Do you have proof of the XFL making WWE money in the long run? Seems to me that most of the XFL fans were wrestling fans or hardcore football fans. I really doubt enough became wrestling fans considering the product wasn't wrestling. If I own a shoe store, then a restaurant, and my restaurant fails, is it going to increase my shoe sales? Maybe some referrals, but that's about it.

Second, "low ratings" for this show will probably be near the highest on the channel. Go look up the ratings and hide the show names. Most of what people on here call "low" is actually pretty strong.

 

[Skinsley]

A network wants them to make a show for an hour a week, which will likely be repeated multiple times over the week. And this means MONEY!
It would also take very little effort from WWE after they made a new set in the studio and put a presenter for the show such as Scott Stanford or Josh Mathiews and then have an editing team get 'best bits' clips sorted out.

This show will be very much like or exactly the same as Superstars, which is just a slight change in Ring drapes before a Raw or Smackdown event, and this takes very little effort.

So, WWE makes these new shows because the Networks will give them alot of money for it. And these shows are so simple to produce that it does not hamper the quality of the other shows an ounce.