The Hamilton Ave Journal 01.14.10: Volume 2 – Issue 120

Posted by JP Prag on 01.14.2010

Who has the WWE got to replace Shane McMahon and Carl DeMarco? What new and exciting offers is the WWE coming up with to increase PPV buys? Has ECW been saved in Canada? Which young up and comer broke in to the Top Ten? 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 120

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: WWE Promotions and Promotions

In the wake of Carl DeMarco and Shane McMahon leaving the WWE, there has been a gap at the top of the organization for developing the international markets. Since areas outside the United States are growing at a much faster rate then the domestic market, these positions are of great import to the WWE. As such, the company has promoted Andrew Whitaker to the position of Executive Vice President of WWE International. From the press release:

In his new role as Executive Vice President, Whitaker will be responsible for determining the strategic direction for WWE's business outside of the U.S. across all revenue streams. He will report directly to WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon and has been named an Executive Officer of the company. Whitaker will relocate back to WWE's global headquarters in Stamford.

Whitaker joined WWE in 1987 as part of the team delivering television syndication and developing WWE's pay-per-view business. He moved to WWE's international division in 1991, working in live events, international television and the pay-per-view business from WWE's London office, where Whitaker negotiated the largest international television contracts in the company's history. In November 2007, Whitaker began managing several of WWE's regional business units internationally and his role was expanded in January 2009 to include all areas outside of the U.S.

Obviously, Mr. Whitaker is well qualified for this position, though it remains to be seen if this position has too far of a reach and it will need to be broken up into smaller positions below Mr. Whitaker yet. There is also no word on who will fill Mr. Whitaker's old role with the company, if anyone.

Meanwhile, the WWE has not been resting on its laurels in other departments. As has been covered in the past, the WWE has been trying different promotions to increase PPV buys. In the latest attempt, those people who order the Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, and WrestleMania will be able to enter a drawing to win a commemorative WrestleMania folding chair.

For those not looking to buy PPVs, they can also now get WWE gift cards. The company has teamed up with Stored Value Solutions to provide the cards with various wrestlers and logos on them at certain denominations. From the press release:

The gift cards will be offered on the WWE's website and will feature several of their most popular superstars. By partnering with SVS, the WWE will offer this gift card program as an additional option to engage their consumers and fans in the WWE experience.

"We are excited about the WWE brand and look forward to working with them to use gift cards as a strategic marketing tool to increase merchandise sales," said Keith Sorrels, senior vice president of sales, SVS.

Over on the other end, the WWE is planning for the next release in their $1.5 billion video game franchise. SmackDown vs. RAW 2011 is expected to also have a version available for the iPhone. No word on what will be stripped out of the game or what the cost may be, but it provides yet another revenue outlet for the WWE to take advantage.

Although many like to focus on the production and superstar side of the WWE, there are always a plethora of things going on behind the curtain. These moves illustrate just how much is happening in the company with $480 million in revenue and that they are preparing for the future and trying new business directions.


Newsbites

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

In order to continue to promote the organization, TNA has posted the entire January 4, 2009 episode of iMPACT on YouTube. The show was broken up into 16 parts, but continues the trend of TNA embracing any and all technologies out there.

Along the same lines, TNA has decided to add a live streaming audio before and after iMPACT. This is similar to what WCW did as "WCW Live" and will be appropriately titled "TNA Live".

In a follow-up to last week's story on ECW in Canada, Global TV has not said they decided to take a small hiatus from the WWE and that ECW would return on January 18, 2010. From that point on, the show will air at 3am on Saturday night / Sunday morning.

Wrestlelicious—the all-women wrestling league started by Jimmy Hart and a lottery winner—is once again claiming a premier date. This one now says "2010 – Check your local listings", though no network has been announced. Previously, Bubba the Love Sponge had reported a 13 episode deal with Fox that was to premier in Fall 2009, but that never came to fruition. Once again, it remains a wait-and-see game with this promotion.

Along a similar vein, New England Championship Wrestling was to premier on Comcast SportsNet this past weekend, but the show was delayed until February. Comcast is claiming technical issues with the show's format, which would be similar to the issues ROH faced when they started with HDNet. The first episode is available online for earlier viewing, though. All of this came after the promotion got a front page story in the Boston Herald.

The WWE has been its housekeeping effort by releasing seven developmental talent. One of those performers asked for his release several weeks back and was granted, but he is still included in the total.




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 January 13, 2010, here are the current standings of our shows:





RAW
Close (This Week's Rating): 3.7
Open (Last Week's Rating): 3.6
Percentage Change: ▲ 2.8%
52-Week High: 4.5
52-Week Low: 3.1
All Time High: 8.1
All Time Low: 1.8

SmackDown*
Close (This Week's Rating): UNAV
Open (Last Week's Rating): UNAV
Percentage Change: N/A
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): 0.9
Percentage Change: ▲ 11.1%
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): 1.5
Open (Last Week's Rating): 0.7
Percentage Change: ▲ 114.3%
52-Week High: 1.5
52-Week Low: 0.7
All Time High: 1.5
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:

TNA's ratings for this past week are from the Monday show, so the numbers here have not changed. However, the repeat on Thursday scored a 0.9 rating. Some are tempted to add the 1.5 to the 0.9 to come up with a combined rating, but that is not how it works. There are some people who watched both, or were switching back and forth and were catching the second showing to see what they missed. Still, a repeat at those numbers bodes quite well for the TNA core audience.

SmackDown's ratings also continue to be delayed, but the show scored a 1.8 on Christmas Day. Down from the prior two weeks of 2.2 ratings, the number is a strong hold up for the holiday and should be considered a success.

ECW continues to struggle with a 1.0 rating this week. While the show has obviously been renewed in some form, it remains to be seen how long it will stay "ECW" or if changes are coming. RAW, on the other hand, built off of their recent rating growth to pop up to a 3.7. More on this number will be covered below in the Editorials.




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. Bret Hart Emblem T-Shirt ($25.00)
2. John Cena Never Give Up T-Shirt ($25.00)
3. John Cena Never Give Up YOUTH T-Shirt ($22.00)
4. Miz I'm Awesome T-Shirt ($25.00)
5. D Generation X Basics YOUTH T-Shirt ($9.99)
6. John Cena Never Give Up Baseball Cap ($20.00)
7. D Generation X Worlds Littlest Member YOUTH T-Shirt ($22.00)
8. John Cena Never Give Up Sweatband Set ($12.00)
9. D Generation X Army Personalized Jersey ($64.00)
10. D Generation X Army Sweatband Set ($12.00)
11. WWE Superstars Party Pack ($27.99)
12. Bret Hart Classic Superstars #28 Action Figure ($16.99, on sale $10.99)
13. Hardys Green Pendant ($10.00)
14. D Generation X Worlds Biggest Member T-Shirt ($25.00)
15. Tables Ladders and Chairs 2009 PPV DVD/T-Shirt Package ($44.95, on sale$20.99)
16. D Generation X Camouflage Cowboy Hat ($20.00)
17. Undertaker WrestleMania Heritage Series Mattel Action Figure ($9.99)
18. John Cena Attitude Adjustment Basics YOUTH T-Shirt ($9.99)
19. Hart Dynasty T-Shirt ($25.00)
20. WWE Red Gift Bag ($3.00)

While John Morrison's two week sojourn on this list has come to an end, surprisingly his former tag team partner the Miz has now made his premier at number four. Apparently the Miz's new shirt and catch phrase are catching on and joins the list of breakthrough stars that have been able to fit into the Cena-DX-Hardy blockade. Bret Hart also continued to sell well, coming in at number one for the second week in a row, as well as bringing up the Hart Dynasty once again. It would appear that the WWE is making some headway on getting other people on to this list, but it remains to be seen if any of these people will be sustainable like Cena, DX, or Hardy.


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

1. Hulk Hogan – Change T-shirt ($19.99)
2. Don's Insane Brown Bag Special ($20)
3 HOGAN JOINS TNA - Limited Edition Plaque and Card ($39.99)
4. "Hulkamania" T-shirt ($19.99)
5. Beer Money T-shirt ($19.99)
6. Emergence CD ($14.99, on sale $9.99)
7. Bound For Glory 2009 DVD ($19.99, on sale $17.99)
8. AJ Styles "Phenomenal Brand" T-shirt ($19.99)
9. Hard Justice 2009 DVD ($19.99, on sale $9.99)
10. Sting "Discharge" T-shirt ($19.99)

Hulk Hogan is indeed running wild on TNA, holding three of the spots in the top ten, a first for anyone in the TNA list. While some doubt bringing in these older stars, their sales continue to outshine most of the rest of the roster. Even Sting's old t-shirt is still rounding out the list at number ten. The breakthrough personnel consists of the usual Beer Money—who have been in this list almost every week for a year—and AJ Styles. The latter is especially good considering he is the champion, showing that the newer generation can sell alongside their older counterparts.




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
17 (Jan) RAW Live (Chattanooga, TN) SmackDown / ECW Live (Florence, SC)	18 RAW (Knoxville, TN) TNA iMPACT (Orlando, FL)	19 SmackDown / ECW (Greenville, SC) TNA iMPACT (Orlando, FL)	20 TNA iMPACT (Orlando, FL)	21	22 RAW Live (Cape Girardeau, MO)	23 RAW Live (Evansville, IN) SmackDown / ECW Live (Hammond, IN) TNA Live (Glasgow, Scotland, UK)
24 RAW Live (Champaign, IL) TNA Live (Paris, France) SmackDown / ECW Live (Cleveland, OH)	25 RAW (Columbus, OH)	26 SmackDown / ECW (Cincinnati, OH) TNA Live (Bournemouth, UK)	27 TNA Live (Cardiff, UK)	28 TNA Live (Coventry, UK)	29 TNA Live (Manchester, UK)	30 WWE SuperShow (Macon, GA) TNA Live (London, UK)

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, ratings were once again on everyone's mind, starting with Marky Mark:

You stated that Bret Hart did not move ratings too well for WWE.

I am not sure how 'they' calculate the numbers, but online-it stated that the RAW rating as the same, but it had its' most viewed show in 4 months with over 5.5 million viewers, so it had the same rating, but wayyy more people tuned in to the show....however that works out.

Ratings are an average of an estimate of how many people are watching a particular program versus how many possibly could be (IE, how many TVs exist that have cable) versus how many TVs are turned on. Since the population is growing as is the prevalence of cable, the denominator keeps changing. That said, we stick with ratings instead of total viewers because it gives us a comparable point over time. Since the population was smaller in 1998, 5.5 million viewers then would end up being a much higher rating 12 years ago then today.

That being said, your source is a bit off in the numbers from last week and the historical significance. The RAW with Bret Hart had an average of 5.607 million viewers. The prior week had an average of 5.473 million, not that far of a jump. Both week were a 3.6 rating meaning that the difference in viewers was negligible. Because of that, you need to go back to when the rating was last higher. Before this week, the last time there was a higher rating was the 3.7 on October 26, 2009, which ended up being 5.585 million, showing the difference caused by TVs on at any given moment.

And again, these numbers are estimates based off of 10,000 Nielsen families. The difference between last week's number and this one is 0.4%, a statistical dead heat. There is currently no way to know how many people were exactly watching, so any one of these three weeks could have had anywhere from 5.4-5.7 million people viewing at any time. Therefore, none of these weeks are really the "most viewed" in the past four months.

One would think that they could do a better rating system, as Burnout commented:

Thanks for answering my question. With all of these cable boxes nowadays you'd think they'd upgrade their rating system. It would be rather easy and more accurate. I took it for granted and assumed they've already done that.

There have been a few other companies that have experimented with this technology, but unfortunately most have folded in the past few years. Nielsen has a very strong hold on the system, so breaking into the market is quite tough. The good news is that Nielsen looks to be absorbing some of their technology, so over time more of this may come online. That is still years off, so there is much to deal with in the meantime, as Iron Knee wanted to point out:

Nielsen's numbers notoriously under-represent Latinos and blacks, two of wrestling's major fanbases. I wonder what the real numbers would be if a more accurate rating system emerged.

It always boggles my mind that the networks and cable companies allow Nielsen to dictate to them. Why don't Viacom, GE, Disney, et al. unite with Comcast and Verizon to create a ratings box within each subscriber's cable box? No more fuzzy extrapolations. No more fees to Nielsen. Accurate measures of the public's viewing habits complete with demographic info down to the street address. Seems like a no brainer.

Guest#5407 was quick to provide the answer:

This leaves the networks out and ignores those who watch broadcast (non-cable) TV.
Both advertisers and media carriers need to know the true viewership, both numbers and demographics. The carriers have a reason to over-report the numbers and to emphasize young viewers because they could then charge more for commercial time. So a neutral third party is needed.

It is doubtful that the cable would allow an outside party that much access to their equipment. This would only show what each household had on and not who was watching it, which is just as vital.

Also, subscribers don't like to know they are being watched. When Nipplegate happened in the Superbowl, Tivo was able to report that the moment was replayed a lot - they even gave an exact number. When people realized that mean that they were being monitored, Tivo received a mountain of protests.

On the demographic note, if I were buying cable, I would object to putting information about number, age, and race of viewers in the household. I would find it objectionable and irrelevant to the purpose of purchasing a service. If I buy a hamburger, I want the sandwich, not a questionnaire.

And here is where privacy comes in versus needed information accuracy, and it will be a long battle on either side. And like you said, just because a TV is on does not mean it is being watched. The "people monitor" option seems like a great way to go because it records whatever media you are working with wherever you are, whether you are actively listening or not. That said, the Journal would still prefer to see the base of users expanded from 10,000 to something more like half a million. Given the diversity in demographics and geographies this country, that would at least give a much wider base to work with and create the estimates on.

The other part of the ratings is the was we had last week. fun to flick gives his thoughts on competition spurring more audience numbers:

"So perhaps Monday night proved one thing: there is a whole audience that only exists with competition. And perhaps it also shows that there a large pool of people that are available that want to get back into the product but have not found the opportunity. While RAW and Nitro started out with a combined 4.7 rating, the shows peaked at a combined 11.4 rating. There is an opportunity for growth that does not include stealing audience from one show to another, but growing a whole new fan base or bringing back the 6 million people that have been lost to product over time."

Well said. I think TNA should just run against Raw every Monday. I don't mind flicking back and forth because when RAW's crap (eg boring diva match), there's wrestling to watch on the other channel and I'll switch back at commercials.

The switching back and forth probably helped both shows as a person could be watching two shows in a given 15 minute block. Again, ratings are estimates so it's hard to say what happened from minute-to-minute.

Of course, what makes a rating is partially determined by the product and those who control it. In the WWE, three women have a lot of say in that matter. JDW makes his thoughts heard on what the ladies think:

"The leading ladies are aware that people are sometimes surprised to hear WWE is not a male-dominated organization, but Goldsmith is adamant that there is no glass ceiling and everyone is treated equally. McMahon is somewhat blunter: 'Women rule the world. We just let men think they do.'"

That the article does not dispute these quotes is ridiculous. Perhaps on the business side of things, the WWE is not entirely male-dominated (although that is clearly contestable). But the WWE as a whole is almost entirely dominated by men. Women are degraded by being called "divas" and put into sexist, embarrassing matches and segments. To infer that there is no glass ceiling for "divas" in the company is just wrong.

Obviously, there are historical and cultural factors at work, which determine the roles women play within the organization. To claim otherwise is just ignorant or deceitful.

Well, the WWE does not consider the wrestlers to be employees but instead "independent contractors", so from that perspective they have no place in the company structure whatsoever. Guest#5842 also brings a different perspective to this:

Sure men run things backstage. But Stephanie is the head booker of RAW. To say that a business is not male dominated doesn't mean that women cannot be exploited or demeaned. Ever heard of a "madame"? Female pimps. Money is money.

Also, if the business side said that the way divas are portrayed was keeping out women who wanted to spend money the booking would change. If showing the men in a different way would bring in significant amounts of gay and female money while retaining or exceeding the male viewership income was possible, Vince would consider it. If they could back it up with numbers.

What you haven't shown is that the women in charge have an incentive to change conditions for the Divas. So you haven't shown that women aren't influential.

Interesting perspective, a right on one. Women can exploit other women just as easily. As you said, it is about making money and Ms. McMahon would have to be convinced that using women talent differently would bring in more money. If she sees that, it will happen.

On the subject of these women, COO Donna Goldsmith let us know for the first time in writing that the WWE hates the term "wrestling" because it demeaning to everything else they do. Guest#2408 responds to this and some other comments not printed here:

Because they have some obsession with "credibility" which they will most likely never get. If people calling your programming "wrestling" and your talent "wrestlers" is that big of a problem for your company, they should look into getting rid of that big square thing with the ropes and turnbuckles.

That's the bottom line. The product is still wrestling and the term wrestling should be made more "credible" or at least "acceptable". Instead, they try to pretend they are not said term and that only make the term even less credible. When the leader of the industry cannot accept what they are, then they demoralize their own product.

Leaving that behind, there is another McMahon that everyone has to wonder about, as tstrike points out:

Thank you for your wonderful articles, of all the columns of 411, yours is the one I eagerly anticipate.

Let us address the 800lb gorilla in the room shall we? Shane McMahon... As various publications indicated the WWE is indeed a matriarchal senior management formerly headed up by Linda McMahon. I firmly believe that Shane was displaced after discovering that his upward mobility would end at his current position.

Let me express the following opinion: Shane's displacement is not the last word and I firmly believe we are in for one shocking 2010. I present the following pieces of evidence for your investigation, perusal, and analysis:

1) The MMA, namely the UFC, overtures: Just think with a major coup like Shane McMahon, Dana White (and ultimately Spike TV) might have the excellent resource to glean valuable business intelligence about the WWE from. As a result,

2) TNA and Panda Energy are completely stupid if they are not involved in these overtures in some shape, form, or fashion. I firmly believe this is happening, but these discussions are taking in a compartmented way so that the Spike TV game plan isn't exposed. Shane's displacement involved,

3) Vincent handed the keys to the kingdom to Stephanie thereby naming her his heir apparent (and yes ultimately HHH). However, the takeaway here is that Shane still has all the secrets to the kingdom (probably more valuable than the "keys"). And those secrets are simply invaluable... Even if Shane has a gag order in place, there is nothing that doesn't prevent someone from benefitting from that intellectual property.

That said, I foresee Spike through a combined spearhead of UFC+TNA taking a commanding lead in the Monday night wars (until MNF starts up) in about 1.5 years.... Take note, everything is coming together...

Well, it all comes down to how Spike it total can increase in ratings and possibly beat USA. If having a combined UFC/TNA powerblock on Monday nights is what it will take, then Spike will do just that.

And as you say, if Shane McMahon does end up with the UFC, then he is a resource that Spike will tap and indirectly could be tapped by TNA. Even Shane just doing his job for the UFC and Spike could give TNA knowledge that they might not get otherwise, so it is quite possible they are working behind the scenes with Dana White to make that happen.

That will wrap up the editorials this week, but next week we'll explore the WWE's On-Demand service.


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

Till then!