bigfoote Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 https://www.itv.com/news/2019-05-08/itv-announces-major-wrestling-event-for-itv-box-office/ Link to the official announcement. The pre-show will be live on ITV4 before the PPV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love-Wilcox Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 The pre-show being on ITV4 is surely the biggest news here. I’d imagine that if it does well we could be looking at AEW’s permanent home for UK viewers? That would be absolutely massive for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Pitcos Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 Would it be massive, though? TNA and World of Sport were both on free TV over here and it didn’t do much for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doog Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 (edited) The UK was TNAs biggest market at one point and the shows were getting more viewers than RAW and Smackdown over here, it definitely did something for them, it’s their fault they ended up as they did and didn’t capitalise on it but if AEW learns from them mistakes and becomes a genuine alternative then being on ITV is a massive deal Edited May 9, 2019 by Doog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 34 minutes ago, Doog said: The UK was TNAs biggest market at one point and the shows were getting more viewers than RAW and Smackdown over here, it definitely did something for them, it’s their fault they ended up as they did and didn’t capitalise on it but if AEW learns from them mistakes and becomes a genuine alternative then being on ITV is a massive deal Further to Pictos’ point though, TNA was (and still is) available in more homes on free TV rather than somewhere were you’re paying the better part of £50 a month to watch it, they should be getting more viewers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheffbag Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 1 hour ago, King Pitcos said: Would it be massive, though? TNA and World of Sport were both on free TV over here and it didn’t do much for them. No disrespect for either competitior but would you rather watch a Shockmaster rip off vs a Roman/Greek Gladiator on a show that cuts cameras every 2 seconds or Jericho, Omega, Rhodes, Young Bucks in a professionally shot and produced show If AEW end up getting a show on ITV then it can only be good. TNA pulled massive ratings for Challenge and was frequently its number one show as well as out rating Raw/SD as well as sellign out UK shows. Even WOS pulled close to a million for its first show, it tailed off rapidly because of the quality of the product and the production of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 (edited) 11 minutes ago, Sheffbag said: No disrespect for either competitior but would you rather watch a Shockmaster rip off vs a Roman/Greek Gladiator on a show that cuts cameras every 2 seconds or Jericho, Omega, Rhodes, Young Bucks in a professionally shot and produced show If AEW end up getting a show on ITV then it can only be good. TNA pulled massive ratings for Challenge and was frequently its number one show as well as out rating Raw/SD as well as sellign out UK shows. Even WOS pulled close to a million for its first show, it tailed off rapidly because of the quality of the product and the production of it. Against repeats of 20+ year old episodes of Catchphrase! it should be the number one show because it was the only thing on that channel made this decade. I’ve nothing against TNA/Impact, it’s just not for me, but let’s not lose perspective. As for AEW on ITV4 at midnight? It won’t do a huge number because it’s ITV4, but at least it’s live Edited May 9, 2019 by WyattSheepMask Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Pitcos Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 38 minutes ago, Sheffbag said: TNA pulled massive ratings for Challenge and was frequently its number one show as well as out rating Raw/SD as well as sellign out UK shows. And they were never anything other than a joke during this period. “Massive ratings” is a bit of a laugh. AEW on ITV4 would be nice and convenient for people who would otherwise be torrenting or illegally streaming it anyway, but let’s not pretend it would have any significant bearing on their overall success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UK Kat Von D Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 This show being on ITV4 is significant in that it shows the level AEW are aiming for in terms TV Networks. If they can get weekly shows on a Network with that many potential viewers in as many countries as possible they are onto a winner. I’m trying not to get my hopes up for this company, but really they are ticking all the boxes and information is coming out at a good pace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted May 9, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted May 9, 2019 TNA PPVs were never on PPV. So although they got good ratings on Challenge, it didn't equate to money beyond a small rights fee and decent tour business. The very clear difference here is that AEW is on PPV and there is the opportunity to monetise their shows. So getting on a free, widely available channel like ITV4 DOES matter if they then draw good numbers and convince those people to spend money on their PPVs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 So, they've announced PPV on ITV, which has featured Chris Eubank Jr bouts in the past as well as other decent boxing cards, with the pre-show on ITV 4, which is a pretty mainstream channel in the UK. That's got to be a good thing, right? Surely that has to be seen as a success? If we're talking UK television, outside of BT Sports picking it up, is there any other channel or family of channels that would be better served to give them a chance to reach as many eyeballs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted May 9, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted May 9, 2019 Don't think "outside of BT Sports" is valid really. Nothing on BT sports gets anywhere near as many eyes as it did on BBC/ITV. This is as good as it gets in this country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted May 9, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted May 9, 2019 Being on TV = ad revenue = a revenue stream, no matter how small, so its good news. But its nothing to be massively excited about as its "eyes on the product" outside the country the fed will be running most of their live events in and in the early going its live gates that matter most to a promotions survival, balance sheet wise. Unless it's ran by idiots happy to finance shows at a loss, like 1PW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members JNLister Posted May 9, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted May 9, 2019 A 8 minutes ago, air_raid said: Being on TV = ad revenue = a revenue stream, no matter how small, so its good news. But its nothing to be massively excited about as its "eyes on the product" outside the country the fed will be running most of their live events in and in the early going its live gates that matter most to a promotions survival, balance sheet wise. Unless it's ran by idiots happy to finance shows at a loss, like 1PW. AEW aren't going to be getting ad revenue if their show's on ITV4 surely? It's just going to be rights fees, which is a lovely bonus bit of cash with no added expense, but it's not going to be the type of ridiculous income people are getting for live sports in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 26 minutes ago, tiger_rick said: Don't think "outside of BT Sports" is valid really. Nothing on BT sports gets anywhere near as many eyes as it did on BBC/ITV. This is as good as it gets in this country. I always assumed getting on either BT or Sky was a bigger deal for any wrestling or sports company in all honesty. I could be wrong, mind you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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