Smackdown NOT to be Cancelled

[Special K 0]

They'll find TV time somewhere else. The whole network image thing is such bullshit. The only way you change a public network's image is by putting on consistently good shows. Wait, Smackdown sucks. Doubt they'll find anything better though.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

I don't think Spike would want to have another 2 hour prime time wrestling show on their network. Also, having both his prime time shows on the same network would take away a negotiating tool from Vince McMahon. If he has Raw and Smackdown on different networks, he can play them off each other when negotiating a new deal.

 

Uhhh, genius. UPN and Spike TV are owned by the same company.

 

Spike would want SmackDown because it'd get higher ratings than whatever they'd be showing instead of it. And if not, another channel (USA or FX spring to mind) would.

They might be owned by the same company, but they are still different networks, who clearly have their own separate identities. The fact that the company are ok with wrestling being on one of their networks but not the other shows that.

 

Spike would want SmackDown because it'd get higher ratings than whatever they'd be showing instead of it. And if not, another channel (USA or FX spring to mind) would.

 

Which is why it is in Vince's best interests to have his prime time shows on different networks, regardless of whether they are owned by the same company. He can still play them off of each other, especially if one network needs a boost, by pushing his highly rated television show as what they need to help the flagging network out. If he's got both shows on the same network, he loses that leverage.

[Guest cosbywasmurdered]

Considering Smackdown! is the only good show on UPN. that network is screwing themselves if they do cancel the show. espeically sence its their top rated show(or one of)

*cough*Veronica Mars*cough*

which appeals to a completely different audience, that aren't as loyal as the people who still watch SD!

[AndrewTS 0]

Maybe Vince will move all of the black Superstars to SD and have them do crappy comedy skits week-in, week-out to try to save SD.

[Guest Trivia247]

kinda off topic but does anyone remember UPN's first attempt in catering to the Black Demographic while trying to keep the traditional Trekkie fanbase by producing the Award winning...

 

HOMEBOYS of Outerspace?

[Red Baron 0]

what about TBS?

 

That would be funny.

[Taker666 0]

Considering Smackdown! is the only good show on UPN. that network is screwing themselves if they do cancel the show. espeically sence its their top rated show(or one of)

*cough*Veronica Mars*cough*

*cough*I don't watch that teeny bobber shit*cough*

[The Amazing Rando 0]

Maybe Vince will move all of the black Superstars to SD and have them do crappy comedy skits week-in, week-out to try to save SD.

so they'll rename the show GhettDown with Ernest Miller, GM?

[Enigma 0]

Wow, UPN is really pissed about The Mullets not being a success.

[SuperJerk 0]

Considering how good the Smackdown ratings are compared to 99% of all cable shows, they won't have any trouble finding a new network.

 

To me this is a good thing, since my local UPN affiliate is a half-ass UHF station that broadcasts with horrible picture and sound.

[Enigma 0]

Exactly. Same here. And plus, the UPN channel here is owned by a bunch of religious people, so all during Smackdown they flood the commercial breaks with messages about how they don't condone what is being aired at the moment.

 

And yeah, the video quality is crap.

 

Sometimes I only watch Velocity just to see what Smackdown would look like with good quality picture.

[Fro 0]

This was pretty much going to happen at some point. Smackdown doesn't do the big numbers it used to and there's still a stigma that "wrasslin' fans" are idiots so it's hard to attract advertisers.

 

They'll have no trouble getting SD on a cable network, but their stock is going to take a good hit when news hits Wall Street. And they probably won't be able to as good of a deal with Viacom giving them the finger.

 

Pretty dumb move by UPN too (although Vince may have asked for way too much money), as I doubt any show they replace Smackdown with will get half the ratings in that death time slot.

 

Always thought this was the first domino that had to drop in the "WWE goes out of business" scenario.

[SuperJerk 0]

I bought "WWE Theme Addict" and was shocked by how much better theme music is in stereo.

 

Except Heidenreich's. His actually sounded worse.

 

edit: HEY, I JUST REALIZED IF SMACKDOWN'S ON CABLE, CENA'S LYRICS MIGHT NOT SUCK ANYMORE!!!!!!!

Edited January 27, 2005 by Y2Jerk

[Guest Hass of Pain]

Good, hopefully Raw is cancelled soon. Hopefully the whole god damn promotion goes out of business and straight to hell. I would rather have nothing than the shit that is WWE.

Aren't we Mr. Sunshine.

 

This will definitely cause WWE to have to make a change of plans, and it's a little selfish of UPN to drop the only show that kept them afloat in their formative years, but I think the WWE/UPN relationship pretty much ran its course anyway. Though it's the highest rated show on UPN, the WWE is more or less worthless to the network. They've tried unsuccessfully for years to use the WWE's fanbase as a bumper into other network shows and it didn't work. Despite it's high ratings, Smackdown draws the lowest per-spot advertising revenue of any show on network television, even those rated much lower. Wrestling fans want to watch their wrestling, ignore advertising and turn the network off. It really doesn't help the network much nor does the negative stigma attached to wrestling. UPN has by far the least affluent and lowest income audience of any of the major networks, and if they want to survive as a network they are making a good decision.

 

This is going to hurt the WWE in some ways. The Hispanic audience are amongst the least statistically likely demographics to have cable in their homes, and there business recently has been invaluable to Smackdown's ratings and attendance. On the other hand though, if you don't have cable you don't have access to pay-per-views anyway, so losing that portion of the audience isn't going to crush WWE financially.

 

I don't think there is any way that this signals the end of the brand extension, WWE has a year and a half to find a new home for Smackdown. This is going to energize Smackdown in my opinion, and usher in a much needed facelift for the show. They'll get a strong timeslot on SpikeTV or USA most likely (anything but FSN hopefully, I don't see the network as being right) and compete with Raw on the same playing field where both brands would really fight to pull the higher ratings each week. Currently the Smackdown and Raw numbers are measured too differently to really be number for number competition, and Smackdown on cable would allow a guy like John Cena to be a lot edgier than he is now.

 

This is a change for the positive in my opinion, and hopefully we'll start seeing some ocassional live Smackdown's when the change occurs.

[SuperJerk 0]

^Dude, I totally hear Cornette's voice in my head when I read your posts.^

[SuperJerk 0]

Here's the full article:

 

Dispatches from TV Land: UPN gets serious

By Susan Young

 

SAD NEWS: UPN won't be bringing another installment of "Amish in the City" into your living room.

 

In fact, the network that blazed new trails in questionable taste from "Homeboys in Outer Space" to primetime wrestling — not to mention exploiting the religious beliefs of the Amish — offered a relatively tame presentation during the winter press tour.

 

That was in keeping with the news that UPN is going for respectability in the future, and in that future there's no room for senseless

degrading of the Amish or for smackdowns.

 

That's right. There's only one year left on the contract for World Wrestling Federation's "Smackdown!" and the network has decided to let it go.

 

"It still makes us a decent amount of money," says Leslie Moonves, co-president and co-chief operating office for Viacom, which owns both CBS and UPN. "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."

 

That strategy includes getting more women to watch UPN by putting on series such as last fall's "Veronica Mars" and "Kevin Hill" and the midseason replacement "The Bad Girl's Guide."

 

The network is also keeping African-American programming as a key part of its goals.

 

"There's no question we've been very successful in African-American programming, and we will continue to do that," Moonves said. "We want shows that appeal not only to African Americans,

but to everyone."

 

To that end, the other midseason replacement series will be "Cuts," which is sort of a "Barbershop" comedy.

 

The fall comedy "The Second Time Around" has been shelved for a while, and the veteran series "Half & Half" will come back in the 9:30 p.m. time slot.

 

And while neither Moonves nor UPN Entertainment President Dawn Ostroff would come right out and say it, each hinted that this could be the final season for the latest "Star Trek" franchise,

  "Enterprise."

 

"The last movie didn't do very well, and the series is struggling," Moonves said. "No decision has been made (yet about canceling the series)."

 

Yet somehow we believe UPN will be boldly going on without what was once the network's flagship property.

 

The future of the promising "Veronica Mars" is still murky, with the network looking for a "little bump" in the ratings. Here's yet another plea to give this great show a peek if you haven't already.

 

  And for some thoughts from the "Veronica Mars" cast, as well as some other TCA celebrity gossip, check out my blog Unscripted, only at www.insidebayarea.com.

 

http://www.insidebayarea.com/searchresults/ci_2532085

 

I really love it

 

when alledgedly professional websites can't get simple things right like how to

 

properly space a paragraph or even the name of the

 

company you are talking about correct.

 

By the way, dumbasses, when you add text to a quote you're supposed to use these: [ ], not these: ( ).

 

Also, the fact that "Star Trek: Nemesis" didn't do well at the theaters over two years ago is a stupid reason to consider cancelling a TV show.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

As much as SD sucks, I'd rather still have a chance to watch it than never. I hope they get a new host channel soon.

[Guest HardcoreMF'nHolly]

Fuck Smackdown altogether. Damn, that show's a joke.

 

Make RAW a 3 hour show, and give 1 hour to the fucking cruiserweights! And finally create legit tag teams so there won't be 3 teams wrestling each other every fucking week.

 

Won't happen, but should.

[Enigma 0]

Another positive from this is that if Smackdown goes to a basic cable network, they don't have to worry about stupid crap.

 

You know how idiotic it is for it to be 2005 and the word "ass" still has to be censored?

 

Also, I bet John Cena is salivating at the prospect of not having to cleanse his raps to a certain degree.

 

And to burst everyone's bubble about Smackdown being UPN's highest-rated show, it's not. America's Next Top Model creams it in ratings whenever it's running fresh episodes.

 

In response to the Bay Area article, it shows you how prepared Mrs. Susan Young was. She still called the company the "World Wrestling Federation."

 

Also, how awesome is it that Smackdown got cancelled during JBL's reign? That can't look good on a resume.

[humongous2002 0]

I bought "WWE Theme Addict" and was shocked by how much better theme music is in stereo. 

 

Except Heidenreich's.  His actually sounded worse.

 

edit: HEY, I JUST REALIZED IF SMACKDOWN'S ON CABLE, CENA'S LYRICS MIGHT NOT SUCK ANYMORE!!!!!!!

   

I think Cena's 15 minutes of fame are up, the guy is beyond lame right now.

And I blame Crapshaw for SD's cancellation.

[strummer 0]

Everyone realizes that they still have nearly 2 full years left on UPN? A lot of negotiations and bargaining can happen in two years. I wouldn't count it as a lock yet that it will be cancelled.

[KingPK 0]

Sounds to me like UPN's getting a bit jealous of the WB. You don't hear people slamming them for crap programming like they do for UPN.

 

Really, this probably would be the best thing to happen for WWE. Plenty of cable channels will give them a look because it still pulls in fairly decent ratings. FX, USA, any network that has two hours of airtime to kill.

 

And I wouldn't blame JBL; SD has been the inferior brand LONG before he became champion, and his character is actually one of the few entertaining things on there.

[bob_barron 0]

And I blame Crapshaw for SD's cancellation.

Even though it's not his fault in the slightest as this would've been announced with anyone as champ?

[AndrewTS 0]

They've tried unsuccessfully for years to use the WWE's fanbase as a bumper into other network shows and it didn't work.

 

Besides the WWE folks making cameos, how so? They rarely if ever had SD leading in or coming after shows there were trying to heavily plug on SD, and the one that they did try to, The Mullets, was an insult to wrestling fans (digest that for a moment).

 

"Raw? Wrestlemania? Eh, what's the difference."

[Guest FromBeyondTheGrave]

"The network is also keeping African-American programming as a key part of its goals."

 

!

[SuperJerk 0]

I bought "WWE Theme Addict" and was shocked by how much better theme music is in stereo. 

 

Except Heidenreich's.  His actually sounded worse.

 

edit: HEY, I JUST REALIZED IF SMACKDOWN'S ON CABLE, CENA'S LYRICS MIGHT NOT SUCK ANYMORE!!!!!!!

   

I think Cena's 15 minutes of fame are up, the guy is beyond lame right now.

And I blame Crapshaw for SD's cancellation.

Hey, I said "might" didn't I?

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

UPN isn't even in enough markets to really be taken seriously as a major network. It really doesn't make sense to cancel your highest rated show to try and make the network better. and damnit, I was hoping that Smackdown would be in HD on UPN this fall, but thats not gonna happen now.

[Eclipse 0]

Not good. Seems to me the WWE needs to find ANOTHER place and fast. But, will they keep both on cable networks, or will they put SD on another broadcast channel?

[Masked Man of Mystery 0]

This sucks. I know Smackdown isn;t the greatest thing out there, but for someone like me who doesn't have cable or anything, this is the only professional wrestling I get to watch on a regular basis. I hope they change they mind, or maybe another broadcast station will pick them up.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Not good. Seems to me the WWE needs to find ANOTHER place and fast. But, will they keep both on cable networks, or will they put SD on another broadcast channel?

Vince might as well go ahead and launch a network devoted to wrestling and put both RAW and Smackdown on there. RAW's contract is up with Spiketv soon too, and if he messes around much, it could end up that neither gets on TV. Granted that RAW is still probably the highest rated cable show not featuring a pants wearing sponge, but I dont think many networks will clammor over either show.

 

I doubt that a broadcast network will take a chance on the WWE now though, in the era of "OMG, we might get fined by the FCC if we show _____".