wrestling / Columns
The Hamilton Ave Journal 01.19.08: Volume 1 – Issue 17
THE HAMILTON AVE JOURNAL
By JP Prag
Volume 1 – Issue 17
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.
WHAT’S NEWS
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: TNA and UFC reach business deal
Last week, the Journal explored how UFC got a hold of Brock Lesner footage from the WWE and used it to promote his upcoming fight. Two days ago, TNA and UFC (through SpikeTV, home network of both) reached an agreement as well where, at the very least, TNA will promoted Brock Lesner’s match on February 2nd’s UFC 81.
It remains to be seen what, if anything, TNA will receive out of this deal and what the other terms of the contract are. All that is known is that SpikeTV has been pushing for a long time to bring their two prizes together and is happy to see them working with each other. Both have regular audiences of around 1.1 million, although UFC has spiked to roughly 3 million with TNA has topped out at 1.2 million.
What UFC is tremendous at is converting that audience to PPV buyers. As covered last week, TNA converts approximately 3-6% of their audience to PPV buyers. UFC, on the other hand, routinely converts 30-40% of their audience into PPV buyers and has done as well as 80%. If TNA gets anything out of this deal, hopefully it more that promotion but actual strategic help with making those types of numbers. TNA could use UFC’s knowledge and connections to make better business moves.
Of course, many believe this is a way for TNA to try to get Brock Lesner in for matches. But on the Bubba the Love Sponge Show on Sirius Satellite Radio Channel Howard 101 on Thursday, Brock Lesner specifically stated that he had no interest in returning to wrestling, nor did he need to. Lesner has saved a lot of money over the years and has also made good money while working for the UFC. He sees MMA as his last run through physical sports and when he is done with this he will move on to less physical activities.
More details of this deal will hopefully be reveled soon. For now, expect to see some small hype for UFC on iMPACT starting as early as next week.
WWE suspends two, adds one
Keeping with their announced intentions, the WWE sent out a press release for the latest victims of the Wellness Policy. Two developmental talents (Derrick Neikirk and Neil Bzibziak) were suspended for “substance abuse” issues. This announcement is a departure from the last one where the WWE would not specify the reasons for the suspensions. Whether this was intentional or a snafu from the media relations department remains to be seen.
Also this past week, it appears as if Paul Wight, aka The Big Show, has signed a new contract with the WWE. It was assumed that when Mr. Wight left the WWE that he had enough money saved from his ten year contract with the company, nonetheless the large sums he made in WCW. Mr. Wight made overtures to continue work in film and television, as well as a possible boxing career despite years of back and knee problems.
It seems odd that The Big show would intend to return now. Although this may be a monetarily beneficial move to him, it certainly will not benefit his health and personal life. Also, the Journal does not believe this is a beneficial move for the WWE. Whether or not The Big Show can draw money is debatable, but the fact is the WWE is again resorting to going back to old talent instead of developing new talent. As will be covered in the Marketplace section below, the WWE has options in house that they are not taking advantage of.
New sets coming to HD
In preparation for HD format coming to RAW and SmackDown! in two weeks, both shows are set to have redresses. This will be the first time RAW has gotten a new set since Ric Flair introduced RAW’s current design at the beginning of the brand extension and the SmackDown! set came shortly before that in late 2001. ECW does not go into HD format immediately and has only had the current version of its ever-evolving set for about seven months, so it may stay the same for now. It will be interesting to see if the new sets enliven or freshen up the shows in anyway. Sometimes a new set can even re-energize the workers, so this may be a beneficial move overall.
MARKETPLACE
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. Please note that gaps in the chart below are due to data not being released/available.
For the week ending Thursday January 10, 2008, here are the current standings of our shows:
RAW
Close (This Week’s Rating): 3.6
Open (Last Week’s Rating): 3.2
Percentage Change: ▲ 12.5%
52-Week High: 4.3
52-Week Low: 2.5
All Time High: 8.1
All Time Low: 1.8
SmackDown!*
Close (This Week’s Rating): 2.8
Open (Last Week’s Rating): 2.9
Percentage Change: ▼ 3.4%
52-Week High: 3.3
52-Week Low: 2.2
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): 1.2
Open (Last Week’s Rating): 1.2
Percentage Change: UNCH
52-Week High: 2.3
52-Week Low: 0.6
All Time High: 2.3
All Time Low: 0.6
TNA iMPACT**
Close (This Week’s Rating): 1.1
Open (Last Week’s Rating): 1.1
Percentage Change: UNCH
52-Week High: 1.2
52-Week Low: 0.6
All Time High: 1.2
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
Analysis:
RAW made the rebound this week to pre-holiday levels while everything else remained relatively (or exactly) the same. Last year from the beginning of January through WrestleMania, RAW made a slight bump from the 3.9 range to the 4.1 range before dropping to the 3.5 range we have seen for the rest of this year. With already beginning at 3.6, can RAW make it back to 4.0 in time for WrestleMania? Or does it even matter? RAW’s ratings have averaged a 3.8 over the past five years, yet WrestleMania buyrates continue to rise. Most of that rise has been in international markets, but that is key to the WWE’s expansion plans. America may be as saturated as it is going to get until a new major cross-over draw is built. The only place to expand is overseas. Since the Journal does not have access to international television ratings, it is hard to judge how the WWE is doing in other markets.
MONEY AND INVESTING
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 ten selling items for the WWE? From WWEShopZone.com:
1. Hardys Purple Logo Pendant
2. Triple H The Conqueror T-Shirt
3. WWE Best of Raw 15th Anniversary DVD
4. WWE Black Gift Bag
5. Shawn Michaels Creation T-Shirt
6. Randy Orton Oblivion T-Shirt
7. WWE Superstars 2008 Valentine’s Day Package
8. WWE Raw Greatest Hits – The Music CD
9. WWE Party Supplies Pack
10. Stone Cold Steve Austin Jakks Exclusive Action Figure
The obvious big news by this list is that Jeff Hardy (and by proxy injured Matt Hardy) has become the top selling individual in the WWE. Hardy is now outselling Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Randy Orton. Chris Jericho, Batista, the Undertaker, and Rey Mysterio are not even on the list. John Cena has finally fallen off, which is expected considering he is not around to push his own product line. But Jeff Hardy moving into the top position should be a wake up sign for the WWE brass that they need to take advantage of him now, not later. Will this change (or confirm in stone) plans for the Royal Rumble? From a business standpoint, it seems to make sense to let Jeff Hardy take the title. Will the business translate into the bookers’ minds, or will his push be forgotten and sales dropped to unseen levels of people pushed down the card—people like Chris Jericho?
TNA requires a little bit more research. Their website does not release Top Ten lists, so the Journal does a general search for a space on “featured products” and sorts by most popular. They came up in order as:
1. TNA Meltdown CD Vol. 2
2. The History of TNA: Year 1 DVD
3. TNA Fleece Jacket
4. NEW TNA Hoodie
5. TNA Bound for Glory 2007 DVD
6. James Storm “Sorry Bout Your Damn Luck” T-Shirt
7. 2008 Wall Calendar
8. TNA Fleece Blanket (B)
9. Long Sleeve TNA Logo T-shirt (Navy)
10. Booker T T-shirt
Lo and behold, with the absence of Chris Harris James Storm has also jumped several spaces up TNA’s list. Two weeks ago he was not on here, last week he jumped Booker T to number 9, and this week he jumps three spots again to number 6. Is TNA watching their own sales? James Storm is now the top selling individual in TNA by far, yet continues to be mostly directionless and in the same on-again, off-again feud with Eric Young. Will TNA take advantage of their homegrown talent’s unexpected popularity and move him further up the card and put in more high profile match-ups? And even if they do, will he be allowed to do what makes him popular in the first place or will too many cooks try to get in the kitchen and tweak his character?
PERSONAL JOURNAL
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 |
| 20 (Jan)
Binghamton, NY Salisbury, MD |
21
Hampton, VA Upper Marolboro, MD Orlando, FL |
22
Charlottesville, VA Orlando, FL |
23 | 24 | 25
Troy, OH Dayton, OH |
26
Providence, RI Youngstown, OH Chicago Ridge, IL |
| 27
New York City, NY |
28
Philadelphia, PA |
29
Reading, PA |
30 | 31 | 1 (Feb) | 2 |
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.
EDITORIALS
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, we have several items to highlight.
In response to TNA giving the American audience access to an international style that in turn will differentiate the brand Joe (Guest) posted:
Differentiate themselves from who? ROH has been “introducing international wrestlers and styles to American audiences for years now.
Among the responses, ROH-WHO? posted the most concise answer:
Seriously, no one outside of the internet has ever even heard of ROH. They didn’t invent bringing in Japanese stars. TNA has to be different then WWE, ya know, their competition. TNA doesn’t compete with ROH because ROH isn’t even on their radar. No TV, No real PPV, no DVDs in stores, no action figures, NOTHING. Just a bunch of indy shows.
The Journal has to agree with the latter viewpoint. TNA has over 1 million viewers a week. At any given time, ROH has an audience at most of a couple of thousand. Even if their PPVs are getting 10,000 buys (which they are not), ROH would still only have an audience of 10,000 compared to TNA’s 1,000,000. In other words, ROH’s audience reach is 1% the size of TNA’s. Although ROH may be the one who is bringing in international flavors, they are not the one that can popularize it on a large scale. Did WCW invent the cruiserweight and lucha libre style? Of course not; WCW imported those talents from AAA, CMLL, ECW, NWA Wildside, NJPW, and others. But WCW had the reach, audience, and network to popularize those styles in America and—more importantly—profit off of them. ROH does not currently have the reach to make that possible but TNA does. TNA is already available in 90 million homes while ROH is available in zero. In this situation, TNA has the upper hand.
In other opinions, MadmanJack posted his thoughts on Corey Macklin’s lawsuit against the WWE for monopolistic behavior:
Truth be told, this lawsuit of Macklin’s is really around twenty years in the making, not the seven since WCW folded. I mean, didn’t the Fed kill the first PPV Starrcade by counter-programming Survivor Series (not a violation) and then saying it would pull Mania from any company that aired Starrcade (which is such a violation that Jim Crockett is a medical moron for not pursuing it in court)? Not to mention all of the promotions in the 80’s that got Microsofted out of existence by Vince moving in on their territories. It’s high time someone went after Vince for that, because in my opinion, if TNA goes out of business, it should be because they failed to create interest in their product themselves, not because Vince screwed them out of a fair shot at competing.
The Journal is not sure that all of those situations are abhorrent monopoly abuse. Putting a free show up against a PPV is fair competition, so you are correct in that thought. Saying that they would pull WrestleMania if the networks aired Starrcade, on the other hand, is because that is a direct attack on the competition with the intent to limit their ability to do business. Jim Crockett would have been served to set a lawsuit in motion then, but by the time it was completed the damage would be done and JCP would be out of business (which it was as it was later sold to Turner). As for Vince invading the other territories, that is fair competition and the other territories refused to change in order to compete. Now, if Vince went to local arena and said that he would not put on his show if they put on the shows of his competition, than the old territories would have a case. Of course, trying to prove something like that it court would be near impossible.
There was plenty more written, so be sure to check out the rest of that section. Also worth your read this week is:
And, of course, a week would not be complete without a good dose of my very own HIDDEN HIGHLIGHTS!!
CLOSING BELL
This concludes Issue #17 (Volume 1) of THE HAMILTON AVE JOURNAL. Join us next week as we get ready to ring the bell again.
Till then!
More Trending Stories
- Kevin Nash Comments On ‘Antiquated’ Oklahoma State Athletic Commission, Thinks Recent Nyla Rose Ruling Was Political
- Eric Bischoff Thinks Tony Khan Should Bring In Jinder Mahal To AEW
- Booker T On Swerve Strickland’s AEW Title Win, Says Goldberg Wouldn’t Fit There
- The Undertaker on Why Triple H Was Right About Outside Stars Struggling in WWE
