The Trials & Tribulations of The Wrestling Channel

When The Wrestling Channel was launched in March of this year, those of us who didn't spend vast amounts of money with tape traders were very optimistic. It meant that since the demise of WCW two years before, British television viewers had a viable alternative to their weekly dose of WWE programming.

But if you were to log onto TWC's forum now, you would find it full of negative comments, with many formally loyal viewers now predicting the end of the channel only seven months since it's debut.

So what has gone wrong? Why are so many people turning against the world's first ever dedicated wrestling channel?

The seeds if discontent were actually sown just a short while after it's debut. When the channel began, the broadcast hours ended at three in the morning. However, the highly flawed BARB ratings system told the channel that it had no viewers in that time slot, which meant that it was impossible to obtain advertising revenue in that slot, because like the channel, potential advertisers also relied on the flawed BARB ratings system.

So, the midnight to three slot was sold to the Bang Babes television station, a soft core porn channel that relied heavily on advertising premium rate telephone sex lines to survive.

Needless to say that TWC viewers were not happy with the change. Despite the fact that the powers that be continued to claim that the channel wasn't getting any viewers in that time slot, hundreds of fans posted comments on TWC's forum, voicing their anger.

Then, just as viewers were becoming used to the programme schedule, the schedule was changed, which again annoyed a number of viewers.

The next change to the schedule came as a result of the figures from the BARB ratings system. The figures the channel were getting told them that Mexican promotion CMLL was getting zero viewers. TWC removed CMLL from it's schedules, replacing it with NWA Wildside, and renegotiated their deal with CMLL. However, viewers were again unhappy, and once again voice their concerns on TWC's forums.

Another schedule change was in the offing when Sky Sports moved WWE Raw from Friday to Thursday nights to accommodate it's new weekly boxing show. This forced the channel to move the weekly FWA show from Thursday to Friday nights, because the FWA feared that they would lose viewers to the WWE.

Despite this upheaval, TWC was successful in some parts. The old World of Sport shows were winning over a new generation of fans with it's classic old school action. The Supercard Sunday slot was also a ratings winner, as were the Shoot Interviews and the TNA shows, despite the fact that these particular shows were six months old.

Another success came in the form of The Bagpipe Report. The world's first dedicated wrestling news show on television. Host Blake Norton took some stick for his early performances, but as the weeks passed, Blake grew into the role, and soon looked like a natural.


But the launch of a second channel, TWC Reloaded, seemed to trigger a series of events that signalled a downturn in TWC's fortunes.

Firstly came the news that the FWA series was coming to an end. Before the channel launched, the FWA had signed a deal with TWC which meant that they would be the only British promotion to air on TWC for five years. This, of course, caused a great deal of outrage among fans, who wanted to see other British promotions on the channel. The deal was later modified so that if another British promotion wanted to air on TWC, they had to go through the FWA.

But a months long gap in the FWA's event schedule meant that they ran out of new footage, which meant that a new show had to be found. Thus, U.K. Round-Up, hosted by Powerslam writer Mo Chatra, and promising to bring action from around Britain, was launched. But the show was slated from the start. Many fans criticised Chatra's wooden performance as host, while others criticised the fact that while wrestlers from other promotions were shown, they were actually show competing on an FWA show, and when other promotions shows were shown, the production quality, including the editing of the matches, was very poor. Even commentators John Atkins and Don Charles were heavily criticised.

While TWC's Reloaded channel was welcomed at first, the lack of information regarding the channel's schedule was annoying to many viewers. With the Sky Electronic Programme Guide failing to provide the information required, fans looked to TWC's website and forum for what they needed. They didn't find it.

In an effort to entertain the fans even more, TWC introduced an interactive quiz on it's channel during the daytime hours. However, the fact that the questions took up half the screen, blocking out most of the programmes, caused uproar. The situation was rectified a short time later, but this still didn't sit well with the viewers.

Then last week the news broke that TWC was dropping TNA's programming. Numerous stories began to make the rounds. Some said that TNA were trying to find another British channel, while the official TWC line was that the programming was dropped because TNA refused to provide newer shows.

Then came the news that Pro Wrestling NOAH, a favourite with loyal fans of Japanese wrestling, could also be on it's way out. Around the same time, it had also been announced that TWC had apparently been in negotiations with twenty promotions around the world, but there was never any announcements of any new deals.

Then came yet more changes to the schedules of both channels. The late night repeats returned on both channels, while Bang Babes was relegated to just a couple of hours on Reloaded. However, there was no official announcement regarding these schedule changes, and most fans found out about these changes by accident while browsing through the Sky EPG.

It's important to also note that after twenty two weeks, The Bagpipe Report came to an end. Despite a shaky start, TBR earned a loyal following, especially with it's interview segments. But give the fact that so many stories about TWC's financial problems have been reported, you have to wonder if the series came to a natural end, or if it was cancelled as a cost-cutting measure.

Before and after TWC began, programme director Sean Herbert was a regular visitor to TWC's forum, as well as the UK Fan Forum. Sean spent a great deal of time promoting and defending the channel on the forums, but he hasn't posted on TWC's forum since November.

The last time Sean was seen on the forum was around the time that the TWC Supershow was announced. Scheduled for the Coventry Skydome next March, the channel promised to bring in stars from around the world. The first names were due to be announced at the FWA's British Uprising III show on November 13th, but no announcement was forthcoming.

Sean's disappearance from the forums, as well as others in positions of power at TWC, has left Mo Chatra as the channel's official spokesman on the forum, but despite the fact that he constantly denies the rumours that websites such as Wrestling Observe and Pro Wrestling Insider are reporting, the majority of fans are finding it hard to believe what Chatra is telling them, and many of them won't be happy until Sean Herbert returns to the forums and makes an official statement regarding TWC's current situation.
 

When The Wrestling Channel began, I was a big supporter, and I knew my viewing habits would change, and that I would have a great alternative to WWE shows. This is why Two Sheds On TV was born, and why I was glad that Greg Lambert approached me with the idea for the column. But with the chopping and changing of the schedules, and the lack of scheduling information on TWC's website and forum, arranging my viewing habits so I can write
my weekly review is becoming quite difficult.

Many fans believe that The Wrestling Channel will only last a year, that when it comes time for their show in Coventry next March, there won't be any show, because the channel won't even exist anymore.

Deep down in my heart, I really hope that The Wrestling Channel will be around for a long time to come, that they will be able to work through their current problems and come out stronger than before. But a small part of me is starting to agree with what the fans are saying on the forums, that perhaps TWC is on it's last legs. The punter inside of me hopes this isn't the case.