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WWE Mulls Own Cable Channel

World Wrestling Entertainment, banking on the fact that its programming consistently ranks among cable’s highest rated programs, is exploring the creation of its own cable network.

WWE has not yet revealed any potential carriage deals with cable or satellite distributors or any specific plans for the channel.

The move would be counter to the current industry trend of standalone networks closing their doors because of lack of leverage with distributors, writes the New York Post, which points out that the Hallmark Channel is on the brink of bankruptcy and that NBC bought Oxygen last year for just $925 million, compared with an original asking price of $2 billion. Still, WWE’s strong track record will likely be hard for cable and satellite companies to ignore.

Too, WWE has some pull with distributors, due to its 14 yearly pay-per-view events which snare between 500,000 and 1.4 million buys.

Despite potential difficulties, WWE chairman Vince McMahon said he hopes to gain carriage on cable’s basic tier, the most difficult one to get on. He wants to launch the channel within two years, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The network would not remove its Monday Night Raw from USA, McMahon has said, adding that the new channel would offer a companion to currently available content rather than a replacement for it, similar to the NFL Network, Golf Channel and Tennis Channel, all of which see the main events from those sports typically licensed to other networks. Of course, having its own network will increase WWE’s leverage in negotiations with those partners.