January 27, 200521 yr UPN announced that they will not renew Smackdown!'s contract when it expires in one year. Les Moonves, co-president of Viacom, told reporters that, despite the high ratings, it doesn't fit into their programming strategy. Credit: pwtorch.com
January 27, 200521 yr Wow. A year or two ago didnt wwe announce they were going to move smackdown to NBC or somthing?
January 27, 200521 yr TNN prob...maybe abck to the glory days of USA, but thats just dreamin 669166[/snapback] IMO, I would think that the wwe would try to keep it on a local network.
January 27, 200521 yr Fox should try to get them. If Smackdown is live, they would get more ratings. 669176[/snapback] Problem is west coast affiliates won't be able to show it in primetime. 8 pm Eastern 7 pm Central 6 pm Mountain 5 pm Pacific Times for TV Primetime are 8et/7ct and 8pt/7mt
January 27, 200521 yr Fox should try to get them. If Smackdown is live, they would get more ratings. 669176[/snapback] Problem is west coast affiliates won't be able to show it in primetime. 8 pm Eastern 7 pm Central 6 pm Mountain 5 pm Pacific Times for TV Primetime are 8et/7ct and 8pt/7mt 669182[/snapback] The West Coast will get the tapings then like regular shows on TV. Is Raw live on the West coast though?
January 27, 200521 yr Author WWE could try to get back on USA...in fact, when they were negotiating a new deal for Spike TV, USA was interested. I doubt they could get back on a broadcast network (the stigma of pro wrestling isn't going to make networks line up for bidding). They get high ratings, but the network doesn't make much from ads because the rate is so low.
January 28, 200521 yr Another big factor is many UPN affiliates in big cities have to bump Smackdown for Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, or other local stuff. Maybe the WB could pick it up...but then again that would mean Time Warner would have to get involved. I think Spike is the likely option outside of ESPN or TNT/TBS doing something crazy.
January 28, 200521 yr THE WHOLE TRUTH ON THE UPN-SMACKDOWN SITUATION WITH NEW FACTS by Dave Scherer @ 2:28:00 PM on 1/27/2005 I spoke with Susan Young, the author of The Oakland Tribune piece that Mike Johnson reported on yesterday, concerning Viacom's Leslie Moonves' comments about Smackdown's future on UPN. She told me that the quote in the paper was 100 percent accurate but that she incorrectly wrote that Smackdown's contract would not be renewed when she should have written that it may not be renewed. The quote took place when Moonves was talking about Smackdown's future on UPN last week. Moonves said that he didn't know how much time was left on the contract and asked UPN President Dawn Ostroff, who was also at the interview with him. She told him it expired in September of 2006. He then said he wasn't sure of the future of WWE on UPN and said it may not be renewed, with Young saying the tone of his voice and demeanor implying that it would not be. He then issued this quote, about Smackdown. "It still makes us a decent amount of money," said Moonves. "When you think about the powerhouses of CBS and NBC on Thursday night, it's great counter-programming. (But) it doesn't fit into the overall (programming) strategy." The interesting part of this story is that people close to Moonves have told me that he is a very calculated businessman and doesn't say things unless there is a reason for it. Transcripts of the session were logged and, according to three sources, the transcript of what was said made its way to WWE management last week, which many in the company feel was Moonves' intention all along. With WWE negotiating a new deal for their cable TV shows with Spike TV, which also falls under Viacom's corporate umbrella, a number of people I spoke with feel that Moonves very well may have been sending a message to WWE that the future of Smackdown on UPN could be directly tied to the cable package remaining on Spike. WWE has talked with other networks, including their former home at USA, about moving their programming when their deal expires. To further the theory that Moonves' comments were calculated, UPN is aware of this story and contacted Young today asking only that her original story be changed to say that no decision has been made at this time on the future of Smackdown on UPN. Young did note to me that in the past, when matters were what he considered serious, Moonves called her personally to talk about things she had written whereas today, a lower level publicist contacted her and asked for the change. My own take is that this was a very calculated move by Moonves, made in the midst of serious contract discussions with WWE. It's clear by the quote that he was sending WWE message. According to a number of WWE sources today, it was a message that has been received loud and clear. http://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.asp?id=7967&p=1
January 28, 200521 yr i hope they move it to a station i actually get...my mom will be THRILLED!! Shes a huge wrestling fan...but we dont get UPN..so she never gets to watch smackdown!
January 28, 200521 yr i hope they move it to a station i actually get...my mom will be THRILLED!! Shes a huge wrestling fan...but we dont get UPN..so she never gets to watch smackdown! 670442[/snapback] why dont you get upn?
January 28, 200521 yr Everyone gets UPN .. even without basic cable. I think TNT should pick it up, I remember when TNT / TBS used to have WCW Nitro & Thunder on it ..
January 28, 200521 yr Everyone gets UPN .. even without basic cable. I think TNT should pick it up, I remember when TNT / TBS used to have WCW Nitro & Thunder on it .. 670829[/snapback] Not every market has a UPN affiliate. Some are cable-only and others have none at all.
January 28, 200521 yr If NBC gets them, it should be on Saturday. Mostly, NBC show reruns of their shows.
January 28, 200521 yr If NBC gets them, it should be on Saturday. Mostly, NBC show reruns of their shows. 670961[/snapback] NBC owns the USA Network.
January 29, 200521 yr Everyone gets UPN .. even without basic cable. I think TNT should pick it up, I remember when TNT / TBS used to have WCW Nitro & Thunder on it .. 670829[/snapback] Not every market has a UPN affiliate. Some are cable-only and others have none at all. 670922[/snapback] Ya we don't get it at school either
January 29, 200521 yr Ya we don't get it at school either 671064[/snapback] WDRL UPN 24 out of Roanoke and WRDC UPN 28 out of Raleigh are available over-the-air in Elon College, NC 27244 according to Zap2It.com Time Warner's Burlington/Alamance County Lineup says WUPN - Cable Channel 2 is your UPN affiliate. To everyone else: Sometimes your local WB or CBS may carry UPN programs. The WB has more stations and better coverage. They also have 3 superstations (WPIX, KWGN, KTLA) to UPN's 2 (WWOR, WSBK)
January 29, 200521 yr Ya we don't get it at school either 671064[/snapback] WDRL UPN 24 out of Roanoke and WRDC UPN 28 out of Raleigh are available over-the-air in Elon College, NC 27244 according to Zap2It.com Time Warner's Burlington/Alamance County Lineup says WUPN - Cable Channel 2 is your UPN affiliate. To everyone else: Sometimes your local WB or CBS may carry UPN programs. The WB has more stations and better coverage. They also have 3 superstations (WPIX, KWGN, KTLA) to UPN's 2 (WWOR, WSBK) 671131[/snapback] Ya, I could get it if I lived off campus, but for on campus for whatever reason we don't get it. Channel 2 is our "Elon Channel" which shows info on the school and whatnot. We just got WB on campus last year, and people are complaining big time about not getting UPN(don't ask me why not like anything good is on it)/
February 4, 200521 yr ppl still watch wrestling? i thought the whole s*** died when they did the gayest thing ever merging wcw and wwf together. a bunch of random nobodys fighting everynight. some mexican in tights or some wannabe white rapper. same ol thing all the time. i miss the glory days of the real raw when only superstars fought and names like undertaker,stone cold,rock,mankind,hardy boys,dudley boys,those guys that did the worm,The Acolytes, etc.
February 4, 200521 yr FSN has TNA on it.. (FOX Sports Net, so no WWE on here) 669263[/snapback] of course already having ECW didn't stop the WWF from going to TNN
February 4, 200521 yr FSN has TNA on it.. (FOX Sports Net, so no WWE on here) 669263[/snapback] of course already having ECW didn't stop the WWF from going to TNN 676990[/snapback] I don't think they both were on the same network at the same time .. I don't remember ECW on that channel atleast ..
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