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Raw leaves Spike TV


by Dave Meltzer

Dave@wrestlingobserver.com

Spike TV sent out a press release earlier today announcing they have closed negotiations with WWE regarding renewing their five-year contract.

It is believed to now be a formality that WWE Raw and the rest of the weekend cable shows, Heat, Velocity and Experience, will be moving to the USA Network in September.

"After several months of negotiations, we have decided to end our discussions about extending our relationship with WWE beyond September 2005," wrote Spike TV in a press release. "Moving forward, Spike TV will expand its investments in original programming and new acquisitions for its core audience."

This is a huge blow to the network, as Raw was, by far, its most popular program and led to it be the No. 4 rated network when it came to the coveted 18-34 and 18-49 demographics.

USA appears to be the only major cable option for Raw,as TNT, TBS and FX have all confirmed no negotiations nor interest in the show.

 

[LakeEarth]

We've come full circle.

 

[DarienA]

We've come full circle.

Yup, question is... does USA Network want them back? Reruns of Law and Order:SVU kick ass man..(I'm actually not kidding).

 

[pilonv1]

RAW is still one of the top 10 rated cable programs weekly, they'd be stupid not to get them back. Even Heat & Velocity would probably rate higher than whatever they show usually.

 

[Boogie]

Awesome, now Spike can replace the WWE shows with live weekly UFC fights

 

[Megat0n]

Yup, question is... does USA Network want them back? Reruns of Law and Order:SVU kick ass man..(I'm actually not kidding).

They regret ever letting them leave so they'll take them back in a heartbeat.

 

[The Faceless Master]

wow, SpikeTV is doomed

 

[mightynine]

I bet Spike wishes A&E hadn't locked up those CSI:Miami rights.

Oh well, they can always fall back on Carpocalypse to boost those ratings.

 

[pilonv1]

wow, SpikeTV is doomed

Pretty much.

 

[Hollywood]

WWE is going to get less money with sagging ratings out of this deal I'm guessing. The USA Network will have loads of leverage because WWE won't have much other options.

 

[Cerebral Palsy]

Meh, WWE sucks balls.

TNA > WWE

 

[vangace]

Spike sucks anyway, the only thing watch now is MXC. I am still baffled by their decision to show DS9 and TNG at freaking 1pm.

 

[Brian Fellows]

Meh, WWE sucks balls.

TNA > WWE

AJ/Daniels 30 minute ironman match > Pretty much anything the WWE will air this year. Except may HBK/Angle

 

[dskillzhtown]

I wonder where Smackdown will end up? NBA has sent out several surveys asking if viewers would like to see wrestling back on it's networks. I guess the surveys said yes. The surveys even asked about periodical "Saturday Night Main Event" specials.

And about WWE taking less money, I doubt it. USA Network's problems all started once they let WWE go. You can talk about sagging ratings, but RAW is consistently in the top 5 of cable ratings every week.

Wait...NBC back with WWE, does that mean that the return of the XFL is coming?!!?!?!?

 

[Ecrofirt]

Since this is about SpikeTV, I thought I'd bring up an interesting question. When watching SpikeTV, does anyone notice what I would imagine are framerate issues or something?

TNG looks very bright and I have a hard time watching it, as it looks like they've tampered with it somehow. I've noticed it a bit on CSI as well.

Any idea what the hell is going on?

 

[DarienA]

They regret ever letting them leave so they'll take them back in a heartbeat.

Really? I didn't know that...

 

[pilonv1]

Vince still blames their ratings decline on Spike TV/TNN being available in less homes than USA.

 

[mightynine]

Well, obviously WWE's ratings this time around won't exactly ingnite a bidding war, but considering it's still a top cable draw, USA will be happy to bring them back into the fold.

But does this mean we get the annual dog show delay again?

 

[Shinobi]

Since this is about SpikeTV, I thought I'd bring up an interesting question. When watching SpikeTV, does anyone notice what I would imagine are framerate issues or something?

TNG looks very bright and I have a hard time watching it, as it looks like they've tampered with it somehow. I've noticed it a bit on CSI as well.

Any idea what the hell is going on?

I notice that as well...hell, CSI looks like it's being shown like 10% scaled in. :lol It's a really wierd look.

TBS has had issues themselves the last few months...at random moments TV shows or movies just freeze for ten seconds. The hell is going on with these channels anyway.

As for the usual dog show delay (likely a major reason why WWE wanted to leave USA to begin with), I'm sure that'll be there again...for whatever reason that dog show produces monster numbers for them.

 

[The Abominable Snowman]

If this wrestling show is such a hot property, why does it go through so much channel drama?

 

[Ecrofirt]

I notice that as well...hell, CSI looks like it's being shown like 10% scaled in. :lol It's a really wierd look.

TBS has had issues themselves the last few months...at random moments TV shows or movies just freeze for ten seconds. The hell is going on with these channels anyway.

As for the usual dog show delay (likely a major reason why WWE wanted to leave USA to begin with), I'm sure that'll be there again...for whatever reason that dog show produces monster numbers for them.

yes, there's definitely something very fucked up about it.