Will Smackdown's MyNetworkTV Move Hurt WWE?
As fans know the Smackdown television show made its big move to MyNetworkTV this past Friday night (see Smackdown 10/3/08 results here). WWE planned everything to unveil its show on its new channel. There was a huge block party to kick things off and a debut of Wrestlemania 24 on TV the night before Smackdown. Smackdown itself consisted of many great matches including champion vs. champion formats with all of WWE's major champions in action on the show. The conclusion was a Triple Threat match between ECW champ, Matt Hardy, WWE champ, Triple H, and World Heavyweight champ, Chris Jericho. The program ended with a bang as Vladimir Kozlov attacked the winner of the match, Triple H, leaving him layed out in the ring. It made for a great night of wrestling, but the issue may be, how many fans were able to watch the Smackdown show on its new channel?
Personally, I'm a subscriber to the DISH Satellite Network. MyNetworkTV is available as part of one of the packages which costs extra money to get. Many people with basic cable TV may not have the option or chance to see Smackdown now. While moving to a channel for more money may help WWE business wise, it could backfire because a fan base is now unable to watch the program as they usually did Friday nights. Buzz is a big part of promoting a product, but there can't be an effective buzz when people can't see it to talk about it. Most likely, WWE wants fans to pound down the doors of their cable and satellite companies, demanding the channel be added to their lineups. Next, WWE wants fans to again pay-per-view for Smackdown, because they need to pay more money to see that channel in a different package.
Fans are already required to pay $40-$50 a pop per Pay-Per-View, and there's usually at least one a month. There's $600 if a die-hard fan wants to see every event. It seems unreasonable that fans should be required to pay for what was a free, basic TV program on Friday nights. So will the WWE soon be seeing a petition from fans or an alienated fan base?
What did you think of Smackdown's big debut on MyNetworkTV? Were you able to view it this past Friday night? Sound off below!
More on Smackdown's debut on MyNetworkTV:
Smackdown Recap/Results 10.03.08 - WWE Characters the Blog
A star-studded Smackdown by Kevin Eck, Baltimore Sun Ring Posts blog
Smackdown! Mynetwork TV Debut Success or Bust? - Bleacher Report member commentary
WWE.com's Smackdown webpage
Personally, I'm a subscriber to the DISH Satellite Network. MyNetworkTV is available as part of one of the packages which costs extra money to get. Many people with basic cable TV may not have the option or chance to see Smackdown now. While moving to a channel for more money may help WWE business wise, it could backfire because a fan base is now unable to watch the program as they usually did Friday nights. Buzz is a big part of promoting a product, but there can't be an effective buzz when people can't see it to talk about it. Most likely, WWE wants fans to pound down the doors of their cable and satellite companies, demanding the channel be added to their lineups. Next, WWE wants fans to again pay-per-view for Smackdown, because they need to pay more money to see that channel in a different package.
Fans are already required to pay $40-$50 a pop per Pay-Per-View, and there's usually at least one a month. There's $600 if a die-hard fan wants to see every event. It seems unreasonable that fans should be required to pay for what was a free, basic TV program on Friday nights. So will the WWE soon be seeing a petition from fans or an alienated fan base?
What did you think of Smackdown's big debut on MyNetworkTV? Were you able to view it this past Friday night? Sound off below!
More on Smackdown's debut on MyNetworkTV:
Smackdown Recap/Results 10.03.08 - WWE Characters the Blog
A star-studded Smackdown by Kevin Eck, Baltimore Sun Ring Posts blog
Smackdown! Mynetwork TV Debut Success or Bust? - Bleacher Report member commentary
WWE.com's Smackdown webpage
Labels: Chris Jericho, Commentary, Matt Hardy, Smackdown News, Triple H, WWE PPV's
2 Comments:
I think it SUCKS!!!!! We have Cable (Comcast) and they don't seem to care if we can see Smackdown!
Vince needs to lean on Comcast and the other Cable providers too!
I use to barely catch Smakdown on the previous channel but now I cant see it at all and I really dont want to order that channel just to watch smakdown, what a rip off
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