Optimism over WWE’s planned Network launch has softened in recent months, first with the news that the planned April 1 premiere was delayed and now with a skewering article in the New York Post.
The Post reports that WWE has not secured a single clearance with a cable or satellite company, a disappointing reality given aspirations of being in 40 million homes for an April launch.
It also rips WWE over its failure to secure high level executives to run the network. As has been noted, given a prominent concern that the network will fail or at least greatly underperform, few elite professionals are looking to add “WWE Network head” to their resumes.
But without such experience at the helm, WWE will face an uphill battle in securing the clearances and licensing it needs to succeed.
A media buyer also dismisses the limited value of a WWE-themed network when it comes to advertising.
“Given the content issues, I think a whole channel would be a stretch,” said Gerri Donini, senior vice president broadcast at media-buying shop R.J. Palmer. “It is very limited in who it reaches.”
WWE had, at first, looked into running non-wrestling programming on the network, but Chairman Vince McMahon backed away from that idea in a recent investor call. He explained that WWE would not make the mistake Oprah made with her network–not featuring enough of the star attraction (herself)–and instead focus on wrestling, the thing that brought it to the big dance.
