WWF announces international TV deals, MECW postpones shows, and more Submitted by William Martinez on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 at 4:30 PM EST
Main Event Championship Wrestling has postponed their upcoming shows in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 20th and Staten Island, New York on October 27th due company's reorganization process after John Collins was removed from power and Tod Gordon took over. The promotion had hoped to have a new financial structure in last week but that has taken longer than expected. During that time, some of the talent the company wanted to use for the shows had accepted bookings elsewhere so then the company finally decided it would be best to postpone the shows.
Credit: 1wrestling.com
Earl Hebner was not a part of last night's Smackdown tapings in Montreal. No reason is known at this time as to why he missed the show and no word on whether it had anything to do with his role in the Montreal screwjob back in 1997. Last night's Smackdown was the first televised event the WWF held in the city since the 1997 Survivor Series.
World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Signs Multiple International Programming Deals New Deals Deliver 2,200 Hours of Programming Across Three Continents
STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 17, 2001--World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: WWF - news), today announced a series of agreements that will deliver more than 2,200 hours of WWFE programming across three continents.
``These deals are a significant milestone in the extension of our global distribution,'' said Andrew Whitaker, Senior Vice President, International Television, WWFE. ``We have been working diligently to increase our distribution across the Indian sub-continent and have now accomplished that through our new deal with Taj TV. This is WWFE's biggest single deal in the region and we see it as a landmark in building the profile of the World Wrestling Federation brand in west Asia.''
INDIA
The agreement with Taj TV for 1,500 hours of World Wrestling Federation programming to be broadcast across the entire Indian sub-continent is the company's biggest deal in west Asia and represents a sea change in global distribution. It delivers WWFE's entire portfolio of programming across India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Maldives. Approximately 1,550 hours of WWF Raw, WWF SmackDown!, Livewire, Metal, Superstars, Heat and 12 annual Specials (Pay-Per-View events in the United States) will be broadcast on pay TV stations and free to air stations in the region across the next 3 years.
TAIWAN
In Taiwan, WWFE announced a breakthrough two-year deal with Pay TV station, Z-Channel. They have acquired 152 hours of WWF SmackDown! and Specials.
SINGAPORE
Also in Asia, terrestrial broadcaster TCS in Singapore will deliver 316 hours of Superstars, Livewire and 12 Specials over the next three years.
SOUTH AMERICA / CENTRAL AMERICA / CARRIBEAN
A landmark deal with national broadcaster, TV Record in Brazil, brings World Wrestling Federation programming to that market for the first time. WWF Raw started airing in the territory in August.
AFRICA
In Africa, terrestrial station, eTV has purchased the rights to broadcast WWF Raw through 2002. This agreement will build on the tremendous success of World Wrestling Federation programming on pan-regional satellite television station, MNET. In addition, MNET has agreed to extend the broadcast of Superstars for another year.
``The first step in expanding into overseas markets is securing high quality broadcast partners. We now have a good mix of terrestrial, cable and satellite penetration on five continents,'' said Roger Marment, Executive Vice President, International Business Development for WWFE. ``This breadth of coverage is key to driving demand for our licensed products, local language publications, music, home videos and, ultimately, international events.''
World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. is an integrated media and entertainment company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, with Sales offices in New York City, Chicago and Toronto. The company can be found online at wwf.com and wwfecorpbiz.com.
