More on WWF Asian tour, Zbyszko upset at McMahon, WWF/Qualcomm, more Submitted by William Martinez on Wednesday, December 12, 2001 at 7:16 PM EST
"Living Legend" Larry Zbyszko is upset that Chris Jericho referred to himself as "The Living Legend" on Monday's Raw. However, Zbyszko's anger doesn't lie with Jericho but rather Vince McMahon, whom he feels is responsible for this. For more on this story, including comments from Zbyszko himself, click HERE.
Do not look for any of the WWF's planned Asian shows to be a Raw or a Smackdown. Right now, the most likely scenario would be that the company will double their tapings the week before the tour and simply include footage from the tour during the shows. The WWF would then return to their normal schedule on March 10th.
As some of you may know, DirecTV has had a message on their WWF pay-per-view channel apologizing for not airing the recent pay-per-views. However, they have changed that message to a message that states that the WWF is refusing to allow DirecTV to distribute their pay-per-view events to residential customers.
Earlier, we reported that Chris Jericho is the third "grand slam" winner of the WWF, meaning he is the third person to hold the WWF title, Intercontinental title, European title and Tag Team title. However, a number of readers have informed us that Jericho is the first person in WWF history to hold 5 different titles since he had a very short Hardcore title run earlier this year.
To update WWF.com's mistake in listing Rob Van Dam vs. Jeff Hardy - Ladder Match - Invasion in their match of the year candidates, the website has updated the match and listed it as being the hardcore match from Invasion and not the ladder match at Summerslam.
Can You Smell What Qualcomm and the WWF Are Cooking? By Dan McDonough, Jr., Wireless.NewsFactor.com
Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM - news) has inked a deal with World Wrestling Federation Entertainment (NYSE: WWF - news) to build content based on the WWF using Qualcomm's BREW (binary runtime environment for wireless) platform.
According to Qualcomm, the WWF will create applications that will let its fans access content using BREW-equipped mobile phones. Offerings will include branded instant messaging, news headlines, games, polling and ring tones, and other content.
This deal is big for Qualcomm because the WWF has a huge following in the United States. Each week, WWF programs are ranked among the most-viewed cable shows in the nation. Now, throngs of fans will be able to quench their WWF thirst on the go by punching up their wireless phone.
The WAP Alternative
The BREW platform is an alternative to WAP (wireless application protocol) -- a mobile Internet platform that is suitable for text but that may not be the best for intensive mobile content. In some ways, BREW resembles Java for wireless devices.
Qualcomm said its system allows content providers to build applications that can be received on BREW-enabled mobile phones. Although such handsets are sparse on the market now, BREW is only in its infancy. As the technology evolves -- and as Qualcomm continues to build content relationships -- the BREW-equipped handset market will grow, too. And as far is Qualcomm is concerned, development deals will keep lining up.
"Using the BREW platform makes it infinitely easier for content providers to create applications that work on handsets," Qualcomm Internet Services president Peggy Johnson said. "This opens up a new marketplace for entertainment brands and creates a new venue for them to promote fun and entertainment."
Reaching the Fans
For the WWF, this deal offers another way for the company to keep its fans hooked. And as far as the WWF can tell, mobile phones are a good avenue by which to reach its expanding fan base.
"Our research shows that a majority of our fans own mobile phones and are very receptive to embrace new technology innovation," said Roger Marment, executive vice president of international business development at WWF Entertainment. "Utilizing this platform is a natural way for us to raise the level of interaction with our fan base and allow them to experience the World Wrestling Federation like never before."
And although this pact may be one of the largest in scope for Qualcomm, it certainly is not the only one. Less than three months ago, Qualcomm landed a deal with gaming company Sega, which is interested in building games for the BREW platform. Sega said it will use the platform to launch its video games on a host of wireless devices.
A host of other companies also are building BREW-based content in anticipation of a large market for this technology.
