Last night’s ECW on SCI FI scored a 2.3 cable rating with a 4 share according to Nielsen Media Research and PWInsider. According to PWInsider, the first quarter hour got a 2.0, and the show’s rating improved each quarter throughout the show, ending with a 2.6 for the overrun. This, while down from last week’s 2.7, is still being considered a strong rating internally at WWE. According to Dave Meltzer at WrestlingObserver.com, “They were very happy with that number since the NBA finals took all sports oriented programming down head-to-head this past week.”
Meltzer is also reporting an interesting tid-bit about RAW wrestlers being a part of the ECW program (something discussed on my blog (cheap plug!), TheWrestlingBlog, our reader forums and everywhere else on the ‘Net). According to the Observer, NBC Universal – who owns USA and SCI FI – wants to continue shooting angles on Monday to build an audience for Tuesday across their two brands. Cross-promotion remains in the plans, at least for now.
Another thing revealed today is that WWE is willing to give ECW its own tapings — possibly shooting one or two episodes in one night in front of a smaller, more “ECW-like” crowd — when RAW and SD “supershows” are scheduled. For example, PWInsider wrote today that WWE has moved the July 31 taping of ECW, originally scheduled for the RAW/SD supershow at The Meadowlands in New Jersey to Tuesday, August 1 at The Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. The other recently-announced ECW-only taping will take place at The Wachovia Center in Philadelphia on July 4. For more details on this, see the below press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
EXTREME CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING LIGHTS UP WACHOVIA CENTER ON INDEPENDENCE DAY
THREE WRESTLING EVENTS IN TWO DAYS PUT WACHOVIA CENTER IN NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT ON UPN, USA NETWORK, AND SCI FI
On a night when the Philly skies will light up with fireworks, Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) brings the most hardcore wrestling extravaganza to light up the Wachovia Center on Tuesday, July 4 at 9 p.m. Tickets go on sale this Friday, June 23 at 10 a.m.
With the WWE SuperShow on Monday, July 3, the Wachovia Center will be in the national spotlight an unprecedented three times in two days with all of WWE’s properties including Smackdown! (tape delay on UPN), RAW (live on USA), and ECW (live on Sci Fi).
Due to overwhelming popular demand in its founding city of Philadelphia, ECW hits the Wachovia Center after selling out Philly’s 1,100-seat New Alhambra Arena (a.k.a. ECW Arena) for a live show on Saturday, June 24 – an event that sold out in four minutes.
ECW, complete with Superstars Rob Van Dam, Kurt Angle, and more, made a full-time comeback with its formal partnership with the Sci Fi channel beginning June 13 and continuing live on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. The partnership marks the first time in five years that ECW is broadcast on a network.
Tickets at $22 and $32 will go on sale this Friday, June 23 at 10 a.m. at the Wachovia Complex Box Office, ticketmaster.com, or charge by phone at 215-336-2000, 856-338-9000, or 302-984-2000.
Comcast-Spectacor (comcast-spectacor.com) is the Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment company which owns the Philadelphia Flyers (NHL), the Philadelphia 76ers (NBA), the Philadelphia Phantoms (AHL), the two arenas in which their teams play, the Wachovia Center and Wachovia Spectrum, four Flyers Skate Zone community ice skating and hockey rinks and Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia. In addition, Comcast-Spectacor is also the principal owner of Global Spectrum, the fastest growing firm in the public assembly management field with more than 50 facilities throughout the United States and Canada; Ovations Food Services, a food and beverage service provider; New Era Tickets, a ticketing and marketing company for public assembly facilities; Front Row Marketing Services, a commercial rights sales company; and 3601 Creative Group, a full-service in-house advertising agency. Comcast-Spectacor also owns the Bowie Baysox, the Delmarva Shorebirds, the Frederick Keys baseball teams, all affiliates of the Baltimore Orioles. In a partnership with Disson Skating, Comcast-Spectacor annually produces 10 nationally televised figure skating spectaculars on NBC.
