WWE NETWORK OFFICIAL 2012!

[jimmyrave]

From what i gathered, it looks like we will see alot of archived footage on the
WWE Network channel along with maybe scripted sitcoms and movies with WWE superstars.

It will be interesting to see how the concept of WWE Network is shaping up.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I have very mixed feelings about this announcement. I've been somewhat against the idea of a WWE Network from the beginning. What about the people who are unable to get this channel? How will they fill up all of the timeframes? They have access to over a thousand episodes of old shows (Raw/Smackdown reruns, WCW, ECW, Saturday Night's Main Event, etc) but this raises the big issue of filling up all of that time.

There are 24 hours in one day. Roughly 168 hours in one week. Approximately 672 hours in one month. Somewhere in the realm of 8,064 hours in one year.

Raw has 953 episodes.
Smackdown has 628 episodes.
WWE's ECW had 193.
NXT so far has 81.
WCW Nitro had 288.
WCW Thunder had 157.
Saturday Night's Main Event had 36.
WWE Heat had 513.
WWE Velocity had 204.
WWE Tough Enough had 62.
WWE Superstars has 132.

Adding up all of the hours between those shows, one after another, it would only last around 200 days. Raw, Smackdown, NXT, Superstars all have new episodes each week, and then there are PPV's. That and some other old footage might be enough to fill up an entire year. What about after that though? WWE will get stuck coming up with terrible shows and movies featuring the wrestlers that no one cares about. This channel could end up being the worst idea since the XFL because WWE might not know what they are getting themselves into. I think it will end up being too much of a risk in the long run.

 

[Kizzo]

I've been reading reports that they could get $6 million a year from the network. So if it is successful it could be a new revenue source. I'm still kind of on a limb about it. Most networks are focusing more on mobile and On Demand...

Hopefully this means offering Classics on Demand as part of the WWE Network and not as a separate subscription. I don't follow network schedules and I like being able to choose what I want to watch. Love HBO on Demand and HBO GO.. two great products. And both commercial free!!

 

[Jeff]

I have very mixed feelings about this announcement. I've been somewhat against the idea of a WWE Network from the beginning. What about the people who are unable to get this channel? How will they fill up all of the timeframes? They have access to over a thousand episodes of old shows (Raw/Smackdown reruns, WCW, ECW, Saturday Night's Main Event, etc) but this raises the big issue of filling up all of that time.

There are 24 hours in one day. Roughly 168 hours in one week. Approximately 672 hours in one month. Somewhere in the realm of 8,064 hours in one year.

Raw has 953 episodes.
Smackdown has 628 episodes.
WWE's ECW had 193.
NXT so far has 81.
WCW Nitro had 288.
WCW Thunder had 157.
Saturday Night's Main Event had 36.
WWE Heat had 513.
WWE Velocity had 204.
WWE Tough Enough had 62.
WWE Superstars has 132.

Adding up all of the hours between those shows, one after another, it would only last around 200 days. Raw, Smackdown, NXT, Superstars all have new episodes each week, and then there are PPV's. That and some other old footage might be enough to fill up an entire year. What about after that though? WWE will get stuck coming up with terrible shows and movies featuring the wrestlers that no one cares about. This channel could end up being the worst idea since the XFL because WWE might not know what they are getting themselves into. I think it will end up being too much of a risk in the long run.

200 DAYS! 200 DAYS OF FOOTAGE! That is a lot of footage. Also realize that the odds are they will replay things they aired during the day after midnight. So the show that airs at 10pm will air at 1am etc. That happens all the time on these types of networks. They won't air "new" footage at 3am in the morning.

Also those terrible shows and movies that nobody care about...well people will care about...those people are kids. Plus original content could be great for the network, you can't trash it until you see it. A lot of the WWE Videos they come out with are fantastic, put the same people in charge of documentary, dvd collections etc. that typically come out and they will have great programming in my opinion.

With that said though I think this network could be the end of us seeing WWE DVDs. Most likely whatever they create will be going to the network to fill the content.

Anyways... here is my idea for the network and I apologize if somebody said something similar, I haven't read through all the messages. I would love to see this new WWE network air "independent" wrestling events. Now most likely, WWE will never truly air a independent company on their network. Why promote the competition. However I would love to see the WWE develop their own "independent" company, maybe it could be something like FCW. Create these shows and air independent wrestlers on these shows. I think doing something like that really could benefit the industry, and the company greatly.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Also those terrible shows and movies that nobody care about...well people will care about...those people are kids. Plus original content could be great for the network, you can't trash it until you see it. A lot of the WWE Videos they come out with are fantastic, put the same people in charge of documentary, dvd collections etc. that typically come out and they will have great programming in my opinion.

It's not so much that I am trashing it before it airs.... It's that I am skeptical of it. Look at WWE's movies, for example. 90% of them have been garbage. It's only natural to therefore be skeptical of tv shows or MORE of these movies being made to take up the large gaps of tv time. They could always run skits similar to Santino's Casa or The Dirt Sheet, to help get people over in between shows; but then you run into the possibility of over-kill. Even the hardcore WWE marks will get sick of it after too much exposure. What makes Raw and Smackdown so great is that they only come on two days a week. If you have a WWE channel to watch 24/7 then you will not be nearly as excited when it comes time for Raw or Smackdown.

I would love to see this new WWE network air "independent" wrestling events. Now most likely, WWE will never truly air a independent company on their network. Why promote the competition. However I would love to see the WWE develop their own "independent" company, maybe it could be something like FCW. Create these shows and air independent wrestlers on these shows. I think doing something like that really could benefit the industry, and the company greatly.

I don't see that happening. The only developmental organization we would ever see would be FCW. They are not going to air material from an independent federation due to it helping a rival. No matter how small those indy feds are, they are still competition. It would benefit the industry as a whole, sure, but WWE would never do it because it would not benefit them to help any of their rivals.

 

[The Future Rises]

Another thing I can see the WWE Network being really helpful with is testing a superstar/diva's true mic skills. I think they should air some exclusive interviews with some superstars and divas that are not scripted. They should just tell them to cut a promo on who/whatever the subject is and give them the chance to be innovative and say whatever the hell they want as long as they stay on subject and not go too far. Everyone can really establish their character like that if they were given a time to cut their own promo. And if a superstar or diva impresses with some good promos they should let them write they're on stuff for TV like Punk does apparently.

 

[oldschool123]

This has been talked about for a long time now. I never understood the point. We already have Classics on Demand. How is WWE Network going to be any different? You can’t really get better than Classics on Demand simply because you can watch the programs when it’s convenient for you instead of waiting for their timeslot. I’m sure the network will have some good stuff. I just hope this is an addition to Classics on Demand instead of a replacement.

For one I think WWE should end up making more money off of a network especially if they can get it on a basic cable lineup because they would get money per household that it is in.

This also gives them the opportunity to expand their audience because people who are channel flipping could see it and want to check it out or somebody could see a classic PPV and want to see what is going on in wrestling now. As we know WWE is trying to be more mainstream and having a network is a way to do that.

What stops you from watching stuff whenever you want on a network whenever you want? Just DVR it and watch it when you want. If you can afford WWE Classics on Demand you can afford DVR.

If they don't put the same video library they feature on WWE Classics on Demand on the WWE Network what do you propose they do to fill up a 24 hour a day network?

 

[Jeff]

It's not so much that I am trashing it before it airs.... It's that I am skeptical of it. Look at WWE's movies, for example. 90% of them have been garbage. It's only natural to therefore be skeptical of tv shows or MORE of these movies being made to take up the large gaps of tv time. They could always run skits similar to Santino's Casa or The Dirt Sheet, to help get people over in between shows; but then you run into the possibility of over-kill. Even the hardcore WWE marks will get sick of it after too much exposure. What makes Raw and Smackdown so great is that they only come on two days a week. If you have a WWE channel to watch 24/7 then you will not be nearly as excited when it comes time for Raw or Smackdown.

I actually do agree with you on certain parts. I just think about how often I am randomly bored and wouldn't mind watching a wrestling match, any match. WWE Network would be great for that. Turn it on, know something wrestling related is on, but you are right it could totally be overkill. I do think Smackdown and Raw will always be special though because, unless you read spoilers, you don't know what is going to happen. A WWE network I don't believe would take away the specialness though of those shows.

As for the movies, yes the movies pretty much suck, but the documentaries the WWE creates are great. Rise and Fall of WCW, The Monday Night Wars, Hart and Soul, they were great. Stuff like that would be great. I can totally see the Monday Night Wars being an actual TV series.

I don't see that happening. The only developmental organization we would ever see would be FCW. They are not going to air material from an independent federation due to it helping a rival. No matter how small those indy feds are, they are still competition. It would benefit the industry as a whole, sure, but WWE would never do it because it would not benefit them to help any of their rivals.

I agree with that too, sorry if I was unclear of what I meant before. I think if WWE aired "independent" shows. When I say independent I mean the WWE actually holds the events, but they keyfabe it as the independents. Bring in some guys for one night deals, air them on an "independent" show, etc. WWE recently has been mentioning the independents and acknowledging it on air, however we know they would truly never advertise independent wrestling, so why not keyfabe it. I can picture kids and teenagers eating it up. Thinking they are actually watching a independent wrestling promotion. They can also maybe do try outs on these shows too with a character of course the WWE owns, so they can't go taking it somewhere else. Might be something cool, different and original for the WWE to air, plus would cost them next to nothing.

 

[cubuff37]

I saw the WWE Network commercial and I was pumped! I hope they run it kinda like NFL Network does. Showing classic matches, but I'd also like to see countdowns or lists of "Greatest _____'s of all-time", biographies, reliving storylines, the predictions and analysis from past WWE stars, maybe even on-screen superstar tweets.

This is going to be perfect for fans who want WWE 24/7. I'm extremely excited.

 

[Lumaza]

Wow, Greed, Greed, Greed and even more Greed. When does it stop. The NFL destroyed the NFL with their selling out to NFL Network. You now get games in your own home state that are blocked out, same with Hockey, Baseball etc. These Greedy Corporations need a reality check! How much money does Vince really need? Perfect economy to start this too. I hope it fails like his other Greedy attempt, which was making a new football league.

 

[wrestlingfanusa]

man this network or channel or watever u want to call it is gonna be awesome lol im gonna be watching this channel all day everyday lol but one problem it mite cause wat if it outdraws raw and smackdown like u turn on raw its crap and turn on some old school wrestling how do u react to that but i hope they show some great stuff like i know everyone wont like all the stuff i want to see i want to see the undertaker and his early years like the casket matches and bodybag matche and wat i think would be totally awesome if they had a show like g4 did with attack of the show where they use a wwe video game to tell u who they think would win old school match ups like randy savage and mick foley or undertaker and andre i think hat be cool

 

[TheHitMark-SirJoseOle]

This is something that would motivate me to get cable television again. I have such fond memories of watching wrestling as a kid in the 1980s. Whether it was the USWA, Jim Crockett Promotions/WCW, WWF, AWA I loved watching it all. There's also wrestling entities I did not watch as much of because of lack of access like ECW (The REAL ECW not that Sci-Fi channel bullshit), Smokey Mountain Wrestling, Championship Wrestling From Florida, World Class Championship Wrestling and so on.

I just hope I won't have to watch stuff like No Holds Barred, The Chaperone or The Marine in between all that though, I could definitely do without the WWE Studios stuff although I am pretty sure that would be on there as well. Hell even though as a kid I liked watching Hulk Hogan's Rock N Wrestling, I think I could do without that as well, for me just bring on the pro wrestling content, that's what I am dying to see!

There are endless possibilities of what they could offer on this channel and I am excited for it!

 

[Trill Co$by]

I don't know if this has been brought up yet, but I think that we could be seeing an actual Santino Sit-Com show. Rumor has it that Santino was once approached about the idea, and with their own network, WWE could finally put the shows on there.

I personally wouldn't mind getting in on the auditions for that show lol.

 

[CrossFaceChickenWing]

I hope this Network really takes off! Any talk yet on what the cost will be for fans? Will you pay monthly? Will NETWORK subscription include PPVS? So much is left undefined....

 

[mral82]

They've got plenty of footage to use to do it. We might the see the rumoured Mick Foley sitcom on it. I wish they air Foley's stand-up comedy on it as well. Plus they could air the episodes of TV Shows that the wrestlers were on like the Boy Meets World 1's w/ Vader, Mick Foley and etc. We'll have to wait and see when it happens. I wish Stone Cold did git a spin-off of Nash Bridges back around 2000 as Jake Cage.

 

[The Champ]

I absolutely love this idea, because I love the WWE and I love watching it. There's such a wealth of things they can do with this. Specials on the superstars. Reality-type shows. Old pay-per-views. Rare matches. "Best of" collections. New DVDs. New live weekly television shows, like NXT and Superstars. They have such a vast library and a vast talent roster; that makes the network concept nearly limitless. Going into debt for it is certainly a gamble, but I trust that there will be enough interest to make it pay off. I know I plan on upgrading to it, if I even have to (I'm not sure what plan I have on Comcast right now).

 

[The A]

classics on demand absolutely sucked. I hope the wwe network just makes wwe more popular. I hope they dont just show in ring wrestling shows but they can also show their movies and dvd's and documentaries. I don't think it will dissapoint I think they'll have alot of sponsors and O'm honestly excited and cant wait for the launch. They could show raw and sd replays if necessary. I don't want them to overload with archive footage I say maybe once a week show an old raw/sd or ppv but not old wrestling on everyday at least not during the day. Idk honestly I'm just excited and happy that a wrestling promotion is going to have its own network. You never know maybe one day they'll aquire roh or tna and show that on there who knows....oh and it would be cool to see fcw shos too. watch stars on the rise....