Quote:
Originally Posted by Noid
True. Maybe they are willing to do so though? The WWE covers the entire overhead of NXT, so they probably wouldn't need that much. If the "WWE" name is enough to get more people in than already watch the network, it could actually be a real sell to the executives that are putting pressure down. It's not like ESPN would need to hire anybody else to work on NXT or anything. They'd just need to press a button and they can spend the next hour firing people.
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NXT in the next 2 years or so will be interesting.
NXT right now provides The Network with unique programming, which is vital for the The Network's growth.
On the other hand, NXT has shown good growth as a touring brand, especially with the show in Brooklyn. The question to me is how wide is their appeal. My personal belief is NXT is popular with a small percentage of the overall sports entertainment audience. And it works for what it is. In fact the perfect home for it is on WWE Network. And they can likely continue to piggy back off big WWE shows and draw good crowds a few times a year.
Everything changes though if NXT gets on cable in any capacity. Now you need to draw a certain number of viewers to be successful. Any organization that is in the vein of NXT (geared toward the passionate wrestling fan) has ultimately failed on cable. On top of that, if it's on cable, now its just a third brand, it's not just a feeder group. As such the booking and characters will be more similar to what you see on RAW and Smackdow.
But it would be hard to turn down the rights fees money if it was presented.