The Hamilton Ave Journal 10.01.09: Volume 2 – Issue 106

Posted by JP Prag on 10.01.2009

How much did the Reverend Al Sharpton cause RAW’s rating to drop? And what was the only show to see a ratings drop this week? When can you see another three hour RAW or a Bound For Glory special? Which author is receiving threatening comments from the WWE because of his comments on Chris Benoit? All this and more is answered in this week’s edition of the Hamilton Ave Journal!

THE HAMILTON AVE JOURNAL
By JP Prag

Volume 2 – Issue 106

ABOUT THE JOURNAL

The Hamilton Ave Journal is the only wrestling news report focused solely on the business of wrestling. Here in the Journal we not only look at the stories that are important to the investor and business-minded person, but also delve deeper into stories that most fans of wrestling would overlook. That is because the Journal is about getting the heart of the matters that affect the companies and outlooks of the wrestling world.

And where is Hamilton Ave? That is the location of the WWE Production Studio in Stamford, CT, and thus the most powerful place in the wrestling world. Besides, The East Main Street Journal just does not have the right ring to it.

Who am I? I am JP Prag: consultant, entrepreneur, businessman, journalist, and wrestling fan.

Now, ring the bell because the market is open.






The Journal's front page area known as What's News isn't just about telling you what has happened. The stories in this section are about what will have an effect on the wrestling industry, individual federations, and the wallets of the fans.

LEAD STORY: Wrestling goes on, wrestling goes away

Despite losing Carl DeMarco several weeks back, the WWE continues to move ahead with their Canadian operations quite well. The WWE and Score announced a new three year deal that continued their strong relationship. From the press release:

The 3-year agreement gives WWE fans more of their desired programming including RAW(R) and SmackDown(R). In addition, The Score will continue to produce and air WWE Experience(TM), a weekly round-up of the latest and greatest in the WWE and will bring viewers the WWE Vintage Collection(TM), a look back at some of the WWE's classic matches, hosted by "Mean" Gene Okerlund and seen in North America only on The Score.

Without Mr. DeMarco around, WWE Executive Vice President of Global Media Shane McMahon finalized the deal. Says Mr. McMahon:

"We are delighted to be continuing our partnership with The Score which would not be possible without the dedication of our WWE fans in Canada. The expansion of our programming on The Score with entertaining television such as WWE Vintage Collection along with our established programs of WWE Experience, RAW and SmackDown allows viewers more opportunities to enjoy the action-packed excitement of WWE."

The addition of a new program to the lineup only helps the WWE's bottom line as they will get additional rights fees and have a show that they can sell elsewhere. Also, using the footage in their library is another effective use of the inventory on hand.

Back home, TNA and Spike are going in opposite directions on some parts of their deal. After negotiating their new contract to allow 10 one-hour specials a year, TNA will be airing Global iMPACT 2, a show they intended to distribute last Spring. Taped in Japan earlier this year, the show will finally air on October 8, 2009 after iMPACT.

Meanwhile, SpikeTV has cancelled the Saturday morning replay of TNA iMPACT. The official reason was the network wanted the viewers who tuned in for that to watch the original iMPACT broadcast. The replay typically had a rating between 0.2 and 0.4, so if those were most unique viewers it could push TNA iMPACT's ratings up to the 1.5 to 1.7 area.

The iMPACT replay has been in effect since iMPACT moved to Thursdays in April 2006. It was seen as an important piece of the strategic growth of the organization and a differentiating factor compared to the WWE shows.

Now, TNA will only have their two hours of iMPACT a week to gain all of their viewers. Next week will be telling, especially considering this past week's ratings. See the "Marketplace" below for more information of iMPACT's ratings for last Thursday's show.


Newsbites

Some items of note in the rest of the wrestling business world:

Miami is no longer alone with the hard pitch for WrestleMania as Atlanta has thrown their hat into the ring for WrestleMania 27 in 2011. The Georgia Dome was home to WCW's largest crowds in the company's history (including the Nitro where Bill Goldberg won the WCW Championship) so has proven its ability to draw a large live gate. Atlanta would also like to be part of a regular rotation and host the event every four to six years.

WWE is once again looking to change a PPV name, this time with "No Way Out". They sent out a survey to people on their list to name an "Elimination Chamber" themed PPV. The options were:

* Elimination Chamber
* No Way Out
* Battle Chamber
* Heavy Metal
* Chamber of Conflict

There has been no change yet as the WWE calendar still says "No Way Out", unless that name won.

In an effort to promote Bound For Glory, TNA will be airing a half hour special several times on DirecTV station 101. The half hour show premiers Wednesday October 7, 2009 and will repeat at the following times:

10/7 – 11pm, 11:30pm, 2am, 2:30am
10/9 – 8am, 8:30am, 3:30pm, 2am, 2:30am
10/10 – 1pm
10/11 – 8pm
10/12 – 6pm
10/14 – 3:30pm, 12:30am
10/15 – 12am
10/16 – 8am, 8:30am, 3pm, 3:30pm
10/17 – 9am, 11:30pm, 2:30am
10/18 – 3pm, 3:30pm

According to TNA's press release:

The broadcast will spotlight the matches taking place at the October 18 "Bound For Glory" Pay-Per-View spectacular, as well as never-before-seen footage of Bobby Lashley training in Colorado, plus exclusive comments from your favorite TNA Superstars like World Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles, Kurt Angle, Sting, Mick Foley, Abyss, Matt Morgan, Samoa Joe, Taz, TNA President Dixie Carter and many more!

In order to keep their ratings momentum going, USA network has asked the WWE to have 2 three-hour RAW's in the forth quarter. The shows will be on November 23, 2009 and December 14, 2009. This may not work out in USA's favor if this week's ratings are any indication. See the "Marketplace" section below.

Variety reports that "MyNetworkTV" has officially been downgraded from a "network" since their only original programming is "SmackDown". What this means for the WWE is very little except that ratings for SmackDown will come out later in the weekly report instead of the daily. Since the WWE does not sell ad time (the channel does), it will be up MyNetworkTV to work with this.

Irvin Muchnick, author of "CHRIS & NANCY: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling's Cocktail of Death" has begun to release an e-mail correspondence allegedly between himself and the WWE's lawyers. In the first 12 parts (sent through Twitter), here is the partially reconstructed letter:

[M]y complete June 2008 correspondence with WWE lawyer Jerry McDevitt. Full text also included in the companion DVD marketed with my new book on the Benoit murder-suicide. There will be daily 12-tweet bursts; "Daily Dozen" feed updated collectively at site and blogs. HERE WE GO:

Eileen M. Wargo to Irvin Muchnick, 6/16/08 6:59 a.m., "On behalf of Jerry S. McDevitt"

Dear Mr. Muchnick:

Typically, WWE has ignored your so-called "reporting" and associated attempts to promote your upcoming book seeking to cash in on the murders committed by Chris Benoit last summer. Perhaps you have confused WWE's disregard of you as a license to print increasingly bizarre and defamatory statements regarding WWE and/or Mr. McMahon in your effort to create some illusion of WWE complicity in Mr. Benoit's decision to commit capital murder.

My purpose in writing is to dispel any such illusion you may have and to advise you of certain facts. Thus, any further repetition of similar falsehoods by you will be treated as a reckless disregard for the truth. We have reviewed certain statements contained in your so-called…

That is all for now.




In the Marketplace we look at the trends in television ratings. This section is less for critical analysis by the Journal but more for the reader to see what is really going on and to draw their own conclusions.

As with stocks, here in the Journal we track the progress of television ratings. If ratings are the barometer by which we judge the product, then over the course of 52 weeks we should be able to see patterns, trends, and anomalies.

For the week ending Wednesday September 30, 2009, here are the current standings of our shows:





RAW
Close (This Week's Rating): 3.1
Open (Last Week's Rating): 3.4
Percentage Change: ▼ 8.8%
52-Week High: 4.5
52-Week Low: 2.9
All Time High: 8.1
All Time Low: 1.8

SmackDown*
Close (This Week's Rating): 1.9
Open (Last Week's Rating): 2.0
Percentage Change: ▼ 5.0%
52-Week High: 2.3
52-Week Low: 1.6
All Time High: 5.8
All Time Low: 1.0

* SmackDown! ratings may include fast overnight if final ratings are not posted. Also, SmackDown! ratings are for the prior week as overnights are not available before this article goes to print.

ECW
Close (This Week's Rating): 1.0
Open (Last Week's Rating): 1.2
Percentage Change: ▼ 19.2%
52-Week High: 1.4
52-Week Low: 0.7
All Time High: 2.3
All Time Low: 0.6

TNA iMPACT**
Close (This Week's Rating): 1.0
Open (Last Week's Rating): 1.2
Percentage Change: ▼ 16.7%
52-Week High: 1.3
52-Week Low: 0.9
All Time High: 1.3
All Time Low: 0.6

** TNA iMPACT's are for the prior week as ratings may not be available at the time of the Journal's posting

SuperStars***
Close (This Week's Rating): 0.8
Open (Last Week's Rating): 0.7
Percentage Change: ▲ 14.3%
52-Week High: 1.0
52-Week Low: 0.7
All Time High: 1.0
All Time Low: 0.7

*** SuperStars ratings may include fast overnight if final ratings are not posted. Also, SuperStars ratings are for the prior week as overnights are not available before this article goes to print.

Analysis:

Only one show actually trended up this week and it was not the one you expect. SuperStars increased their rating back a 0.8 while every other show dropped between 5% to 19% of their audience.

The biggest one, of course, was RAW which saw it's lowest rating since December 8, 2008 when the show scored a 3.0 over three hours. The normal 2 hour timeslot did a 3.2, so the comparable point would be November 17, 2008 when the show scored a 2.9. Because of this rating, the monthly average for September fell to a 3.4 from a 3.8 in August. And what were the driving factors? First, Monday Night Football again scored high with an over 11 rating. Then, there was a guest host who did not have the drawing power of Bob Barker in the Reverend Al Sharpton. And finally, there appears to just be a general malaise with all wrestling products judging by the ratings this week.

More importantly than that, a ratings drop this significant is not a good sign for the buyrate of the Hell in a Cell PPV. Unfortunately SmackDown's rating will not be available until after the PPV so it remains to be seen how the tenth anniversary show will affect ratings and the buyrates.


**** SPOILER ALERT ****

On SmackDown this Friday, the Rock will be plugging a number of matches for the PPV. It will also be interesting to see if his endorsement does anything for the buyrate.




We all know that wrestling is a business, but we don't often pay attention to what sells and makes money. Money and Investing looks into the top selling items in the world of wrestling and any interesting figures that may have come out this week.

What are the top selling items for the WWE? WWEShopZone.com releases a list of varying numbers to show what is selling for them:

1. D Generation X Worlds Biggest Member T-Shirt ($25)
2. D Generation X Basics YOUTH T-Shirt ($9.99)
3. John Cena Attitude Adjustment T-Shirt ($25)
4. Rey Mysterio Big Face Basics YOUTH T-Shirt ($9.99)
5. John Cena Attitude Adjustment Basics YOUTH T-Shirt ($9.99)
6. D Generation X Army Cadet Cap ($20)
7. John Cena 2009 YOUTH Halloween Package ($70.75, on sale $36.99)
8. Randy Orton Root of Evil Long Sleeve T-Shirt ($30)
9. D Generation X Army Sweatband Set ($12)
10. Best of SmackDown 10th Anniversary DVD ($34.95, on sale $18.90)
11. Rey Mysterio 2009 YOUTH Halloween Package ($61.75, on sale $33.99)
12. Jeff Hardy 2009 YOUTH Halloween Package ($70, on sale $36.99)
13. John Cena 2009 Halloween Package ($39.99)
14. Best of SmackDown 10th Anniversary DVD/T-Shirt Package ($54.95, on sale $25.99)
15. John Cena Attitude Adjustment Pullover Sweatshirt ($40)
16. Rey Mysterio Big Face T-Shirt ($28, on sale $14.98)
17. Hardys Purple Logo Skull Cap ($20, on sale $5.98)
18. John Cena Attitude Adjustment Sweatband Set ($12)
19. Randy Orton Root of Evil T-Shirt ($25)
20. D Generation X Worlds Biggest Member Sweatshirt ($40)

It looks like it was kids week at WWE the youth items dominated the list from regular T-shirt to Halloween packages. "Hook ‘em while they're young" seems to be motto of the day with kids items priced much cheaper then their adult contemporaries. On the other end of the spectrum, it looks like the WWE has realized there is money to be made in winter gear. Every year they seem to have a few hooded sweatshirts and long sleeve shirts, but the more they have the better for diversified products. With such high price points on some of them, the WWE looks to be making a tidy margin on their winter gear.


TNA sometimes releases a list of top selling items on ShopTNA.com. According to the site the top selling items were:

1. Victory Road 2009 DVD ($14.99)
2. X Division Special DVD Set ($120, on sale $24.99)
3. Cross The Line Triple Pack 2.0 ($24.99, on sale $14.99)
4. Slammiversary 2009 DVD ($17.99, on sale $14.99)
5. Cross The Line Triple Pack ($24.99, on sale $10.88)
6. Bound For Glory 2009 Event T-Shirt (Pre-Order) ($19.99)
7. Bound For Glory Fan Interaction General Admission ($55)
8. Beer Money T-shirt ($19.99)
9. Jeff Jarrett - King Of The Mountain DVD Set ($29.99)
10. The Best of NWA-TNA Title Matches ($19.99)

While the WWE list has given way to the kiddies, the TNA list has given away to complete nostalgia. The DVD set includes the #10 item from 2003 that is not even on sale while the old "Cross The Line Triple Packs" have found their way back on the list. Even the Beer Money T-shirt that sold this week is the old design, not the current one. The two items from this generation both revolve around Bound For Glory. The Fan Interaction tickets sticking around for another week in the top sellers is not a good sign for volume, but the addition of the t-shirt being asked for on pre-order is hopeful for the overall buyrate of the show.




Wrestling isn't just about watching and reading. The best way to be a wrestling fan is to experience it live. Where is wrestling coming to in the next 2 weeks? The Personal Journal answers that question.

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
4 (Oct) WWE Hell in a Cell (Newark, NJ)	5 RAW (Wilkes-Barre, PA) TNA iMPACT (Orlando, FL)	6 SmackDown / ECW (Trenton, NJ) TNA iMPACT (Orlando, FL)	7	8	9 TNA Live (La Crosse, WI) ROH Live (St. Louis, MO)	10 RAW Live (Terre Haute, IN) SmackDown / ECW Live (Bristol, TN) TNA Live (St. Cloud, MN) ROH Live (Indianapolis, IN)
11 RAW Live (Toledo, OH) SmackDown / ECW Live (Huntington, WV) TNA Live (Mankato, MN)	12 RAW (Indianapolis, IN) SmackDown / ECW Live (Pikeville, KY)	13 SmackDown / ECW (Lexington, KY)	14	15 SmackDown / ECW Live (Monterrey, Mexico)	16 RAW Live (Huntsville, AL) SmackDown / ECW Live (Puebla, Mexico)	17 RAW Live (Columbus, GA) SmackDown / ECW Live (Mexico City, Mexico)

Do you know a wrestling event coming up? Send one in to The Hamilton Ave Journal and we'll be sure to add it to the list.




The Editorials section is designed for you, the readers, to respond to the views presented in the Journal, send an important news item, or talk about another overlooked business related item in wrestling. Just beware: the Journal reserves the right to respond back.

From the commentary section last week, Guest#3094 wants to understand Muscle Flex's lawsuit against the WWE better:

You do have to wonder how Muscle Flex has lost revenue due to WWE RAW, which has featured those with arguably 'roided builds. Those builds have shrunk since "Wellness", but they were walking advertisements for any muscle enhancement product.

Muscle Flex's argument is not that people confused the two, but that Muscle Flex could not sell t-shirts, stickers, bottles, etc… with the tagline "In the Raw" because the WWE had trademarked the term "RAW" for such purposes. The courts found that the WWE was in violation of trademark law because "RAW" was too broad for those items, thus Muscle Flex claims they lost out. If the WWE had not gone out and done that, then Muscle Flex believes they would have been selling all sorts of items with the tagline "In the Raw" on them and making millions of dollars. This, of course, will be quite difficult to prove in court.

Ryushinku agreed with this point and had one other thought:

Succinctly put about Muscle Flex, I think you're right there.

The conspiracy theories about WWE pushing down Jeff Hardy items on their bestsellers seems to have been shown up as the paranoia it was.

This reporter would like to claim that the Journal was immune to that paranoia, but that is simply not the case. It is still strange to see Jeff Hardy disappear from the list for the a week, though.

Sticking with merchandise, tommy gunn chimes in with:

Beer Money has been on the top ten list for months now and are one of the most over acts in the company yet their airtime and push has been pulled back dumb. I don't get how The British Invasion has been on the list the last few weeks. Overseas buys I guess? Shouldn't TNA be putting out some A.J Styles new merch? He is the champ now and whenever he's been pushed he's been able to sell merch. It will be telling if he's in the top ten next week.

Since he was not (almost nobody was), what does that tell you?

Dave^G also wondered about TNA's list:

The TNA list seems to be from the US site only (though I could be wrong), we in the UK have to buy from the slightly shoddy Eurozone site (which also doesn't have the British Invasion stuff on sale) so overseas buys probably don't figure on the list as much as might be thought.

Guess some Americans must just appreciate their cheeky-heel antics - though it would be interesting to see just how many sales gets you the #9 spot on the TNA list...

Judging by the placement of TNA Bound For Glory Fan Interaction tickets, volume does not looks so high.

Still in the merchandise but throwing in another one of our topics from last week, Indianguy wants to know:

Did Warrior do big in terms of Merchandise sales?? I ask this as I find his gimmick more catering to kids than even Hogan's. (that maybe just my opinion)

And so I don't want the exact figures but could you do a relative comparison of Warrior to Hogan and someone like Cena (rough comparison)??

I just want to know how big a rise and how big a fall the Warrior actually garnered. Had he been around garnered a legends contract… with Stuff like action figures, video games he could still have been making chunks of money if not tons of money imo

For the short time he was around, Warrior did very well in merchandise sales and came very close to Hulk Hogan in terms of volume and variety of products in a couple of those years. Given that is career is no where the lengths of Hogan's, his overall sales do not even come close.

As has been covered in the Journal in the past, comparisons between people like Hogan/Warrior and Cena/Austin/Rock do not work because the variety of products and prices to not equate. Hulk Hogan has one basic t-shirt for all of the 1980's and sold it for $8. John Cena has had six major t-shirts and plethora of add-on products that simply did not exist in the past. Also, the price for a shirt has far exceeded inflation. An $8 t-shirt from 1986 is roughly $14-15 in today's money, not the $25 price point we see now.

The type of revenue Cena, Hardy, and other bring far outpaces Hogan, Warrior, Rock, Austin, and anyone who came before them simply because merchandising is different. There is not comparison to make.

Finally, Rockin' Mikey wants to understand the credentials of this reporter:

Just wondering... you describe yourself as an "entrepreneur". Really? Are you rich? Particularly successful in a particular field? Genuinely interested as you certainly talk a good game...

Well, Mikey, are you "genuinely interested" as you claim, or do you just want to challenge, disregard, and knock down the Journal? The way you worded your question ("Really?") would seem to indicate the latter, not the former.

First, it would help if you expanded your understanding of "entrepreneurship". Most laymen seem to believe entrepreneurship is limited to "starting a business". While that is an important part of entrepreneurship, it is not the only possibility. Please see some of the material available at the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship at Babson College, one of the nation's leading institutions of the topic. There, you can learn about the tradition new venture creation, social entrepreneurship, technology, family enterprising, and various other topics, including the often misunderstood "corporate entrepreneurship". Also, be sure to check out the 2008 GEM report which is the global measure of entrepreneurial activity in countries around the world. You'd be surprised at what tops the list.

At its heart, entrepreneurship is about creating, and however that creation comes about is not the most relevant piece. One can be an entrepreneur by building a new organization or by redefining and existing one.

And what does entrepreneurship have to do with being rich? Social entrepreneurs often make little to no money at what they do, but are still creating and building new ways, thoughts, ideas, organizations, structures, and projects.

That said, this reporter is not doing bad for himself. Without going into specifics, aside from writing the fabulous Hamilton Ave Journal that you enjoy every week, this journalist has a better than average career in a particular technological/financial field and has had had success in other industries, including owning and operating his own business at one time and will again in the future. Is he the richest man in the world? No. Did he come from great wealth? Quite the opposite. Is there more he intends to do, create, build, and learn about? You bet; the journey never ends.


Plenty more was written, so be sure to take a look. And if you enjoy the Journal, why not bookmark 411mania.com and make it your home page? You can do that by clicking here.




This concludes Issue #106 (Volume 2) of THE HAMILTON AVE JOURNAL. Join us next week as we get ready to ring the bell again.

Till then!