On the heels of WWE announcing that it has moved RAW from The Sports Network to The Score (full story; expert analysis), WWE issued the following press release about ECW’s new TV home in Canada:
WWE(R)’s Extreme Championship Wrestling(TM) finds a home on the Global Television Network in Canada
TORONTO, July 21 /CNW/ – World Wrestling Entertainment(R) Canada Inc. announced today that its wildly popular new show, Extreme Championship Wrestling (“ECW(TM)”), which debuted in the US on June 13 on the SciFi Channel, will be premiering on the Global Television Network nationally on Friday August 11 at Midnight. This Friday night timeslot will be the home of ECW in Canada. In addition to its airing on Global Television Network across the country, ECW will also be shown on Xtreme on Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. and Sundays at 4:00 a.m. ET.
Adam Ivers, Vice President Programming, CanWest MediaWorks said, “This news is very exciting for us – WWE creates successful and vibrant television programming that we’re sure our viewers will enjoy.”
Carl DeMarco, President, WWE Canada said, “This is great news for WWE and ECW fans in Canada. We’re very happy that we’re able to deliver ECW to 12.2 million homes in Canada.”
In addition, Global Television Network has also committed to adding both “Monday Night RAW(TM)” and “SmackDown!(R)” to their programming lineup in Quebec, beginning with RAW on August 7 at Midnight on CKMI. SmackDown! will air on Saturday nights at 12:30 a.m. ET on CJNT starting on August 11. This news complements the announcement earlier this week that RAW will be moving to a 10 p.m. ET timeslot on The Score Network in Canada and will be of particular interest to WWE fans in the province of Quebec.
In the 1990’s, Extreme Championship Wrestling was a hardcore wrestling promotion whose fearlessness and innovation caused a tremor that is still being felt today. With its take-no-prisoners mindset, ECW quickly won a loyal following whose fevered chants of “ECW! ECW! ECW!” rang to the rafters of the bingo hall the company called home and made stars of wrestlers such as Sandman, Sabu, Rey Mysterio(TM), and Canadian Chris Benoit(TM).
By the beginning of the millennium, ECW had grown from local sensation to national phenomenon. ECW stars had been seen on Monday Night RAW and in 2003 WWE acquired the rights to the ECW trademarks and library.
The success of 2005’s pay-per-view event ECW: One Night Stand set the stage for the DVD release The Rise and Fall of ECW. This DVD has gone on to become one of the highest selling titles in WWE history proving that the ECW concept is alive and enjoys a cult-like following: from DVD’s to PPV’s to books. RAW, SmackDown and ECW now represent a portfolio of WWE brands for fans of all ages and interests to enjoy.
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Trademarks: The names of all World Wrestling Entertainment televised and live programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans and wrestling moves and all World Wrestling Entertainment logos are trademarks which are the exclusive property of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ECW is a trademark owned by WWE Libraries, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
