As we noted earlier in the week, Tele 5 in Germany will be dropping Monday Night Raw when the contract expires in March. Although they were pulling in good ratings, the decision might have been made because Tele 5 had enough of WWE because WWE is looking to get other stations to bid against them.
Stefan Kastenmuller, VP of WWE Europe, told the German media that Smackdown may not be renewed but there is interest from broadcast, digital and pay-TV channels in the country. I’m sure WWE will be able to secure a new deal in the region by March. Kastenmuller says that Tele 5 and ProSieben Maxx’s ad rates are above the station average.
One of the problems with WWE programming is that advertisers are not willing to spend the same as they would for mainstream sports programming. It’s also an issue in the United States. UFC shows draw less viewers but they can make much more for each 30-second spot because the feeling is that their audience would spend more than the wrestling audience. WWE has been working very hard over the last several years to break the stigma and that’s why you see so much charity videos on their programming.
Kastenmuller claims that WWE pulls in above average ad rates in the region but if that was the case then one would think that their current stations would make a better effort to keep them, unless they feel that WWE is asking for too much money for their next contract. It might be cost effective to keep them under the current terms but WWE’s asking price for a renewal might not be worth the investment. There is speculation that a new deal will be announced when WWE tours Germany in November. Former German goalkeeper Tim Wiese, who is signed to a WWE deal, will be part of those shows.
