Tag: BT Sport

Daily Update: Keiji Muto retirement fallout, Paul Wight, TNT Sports

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Daily Update

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

In this week’s issue:

  • One of the biggest history issues of the year with the lead story on Jerry Jarrett and the glory days of Tennessee wrestling
  • Jarrett’s booking the wrestling war in Atlanta
  • Jarrett outside of wrestling
  • The start of TNA Wrestling
  • Jarrett’s departure from TNA wrestling
  • The original premise of TNA
  • How Jarrett first got into wrestling
  • Jarrett and Bill Watts discussion of fighting
  • The Mario Galento story from the Jarrett side, the Lawler side and the Galento side
  • The court case, exposing the business, and how the business did
  • Jarrett building the promotion with he, Jackie Fargo and Tojo Yamamoto as the big three
  • Jarrett’s booking philosophy
  • How Tennessee wrestling was viewed outside Tennessee
  • How Saturday morning wrestling became a tradition
  • How Dave Brown got into wrestling and how his career as a newsman changed due to wrestling
  • The wrestling war in Memphis
  • How the NWA title matches changed when Sam Muchnick was no longer booking the champion and why Muchnick was taken out of the position
  • The booking that led to Jerry Lawler being the king of Memphis wrestling
  • The key people Jarrett wanted to win the wrestling war
  • Details of the brief war
  • How popular was the TV show
  • What happened when Lawler threatened to start up and go against Jarrett
  • The fall of the promotion
  • Jarrett attempts to buy WCW
  • Jarrett’s ideas after wrestling
  • Jarrett’s last matches in the ring
  • Wrestling moving weekly to the Mid South Coliseum
  • How Jarrett figured into the first shows
  • The first sellout at the Coliseum
  • Jerry Lawler’s first big crowds
  • How a local rock band played into Memphis wrestling
  • What star much bigger than Andy Kaufman was talked with about doing wrestling
  • The Jimmy Hart era
  • Major names who got their start in wrestling
  • The boxer vs. wrestler angle they did and how it could never work now
  • The Lawler vs. Dundee feud
  • Jarrett selling the company and the attempted revivals
  • Why the MLW vs. WWE lawsuit was thrown out and what happens next
  • Tony Khan talks issues with WWE and the story behind the new Japan story
  • Khan talks about new business deals
  • The big question about Elimination Chamber
  • Full coverage of Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski and UFC 284
  • Keiji Muto about to retire
  • What next for Jay White
  • New Japan’s big events for the next two months
  • New Beginning in Osaka coverage
  • Billy Two Rivers, a cultural icon among native Americans and a celebrity in Europe passes away and his life story
  • The life of flying Eric Froelich, a 60s and 70s star
  • The most complete look at the ratings of all the major shows over the past week
  • Update on Jon Moxley’s planned European tour
  • Debut of ROH television
  • A look at the Revolution card
  • Upcoming ticket sales for WWE & AEW shows
  • Changes in UFC contracts
  • International TV ratings

This Week’s Retro Observer Newsletter:

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Tuesday Update

WWE

AEW

  • AEW Road to Phoenix, which focuses on the upcoming tag team battle royal and Jon Moxley vs. Evil Uno.
  • Paul Wight talked to Metro about his recent health issues. ‘Well, I spent 11 weeks in a wheelchair because I was waiting for them to build the implant for my knee because of my size. ‘I had crushed all the bone in the knee, I was bleeding into my shin. So, I’ve got a good pain tolerance, but when I say I rode the tyre down to the rim, that’s exactly what I did. But, luckily I still have all my ligaments in that knee, everything’s good there, it’s a nice, brand new titanium joint so it’s good for 35 years. So, I can parachute if I want to – not that I’ll ever jump out of an airplane, we all saw the movie Operation Dumbo drop, I don’t think that’s me, we’re good!’”
  • Tony Khan appeared in a photo with Dave Brown at Jerry Jarrett’s memorial service.
  • Ricky Starks is celebrating a birthday today.
  • This week’s Sammy Guevara vlog.

Other Wrestling

  • NOAH announced an attendance of 30,096 for Keiji Muto’s retirement show on Tuesday morning.
  • After appearing in the undercard during Tuesday morning’s show, Satoshi Kojima announced that he would be leaving Pro Wrestling NOAH for the time being.
  • Jake Lee challenged GHC Heavyweight Champion Kaito Kiyomiya backstage following his loss to Kazuchika Okada on Tuesday morning.
  • AAA announced that Pagano is undergoing surgery for an undisclosed issue.
  • Jungle Kyona will be undergoing surgery for a meniscus injury in her left knee following NOMAD’s Freelance Summit Vol.3 event on April 14. 

NXT and NXT UK to air on BT Sport in UK and Ireland

Posted on by Joseph Currier

NXT and NXT UK will be part of WWE’s new television deal in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

BT Sport announced today that NXT and NXT UK are joining their lineup of WWE programming. WWE’s deal with BT Sport goes into effect tomorrow (January 1, 2020).

Like Raw and SmackDown, NXT will air live on BT Sport at the same time as it airs in the United States. The first show on BT will be this week’s taped episode of NXT, which begins at 1 a.m. local time on January 2 for those in the UK and Ireland.

BT Sport wrote that “as well as airing all Raw, SmackDown and NXT shows live, BT Sport will also show primetime same day repeats. In addition, customers can catch up on all the overnight action whenever and wherever they like via the enhanced video player on the BT Sport app on mobile and BTSport.com.”

BT Sport noted that full schedule details are to be announced for NXT UK. The show airs on the WWE Network on Thursdays.

After a 30-year partnership, WWE closed out their run on Sky Sports with last night’s Raw.

WWE & BT Sport confirm multi-year TV deal for UK and Ireland

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE is officially headed to a new television home in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

WWE and BT Sport confirmed today that they’ve agreed to a “new multi-year exclusive pay TV agreement that will make WWE’s weekly flagship programming available live in the UK and Ireland on BT Sport.” The deal will begin in January 2020.

The exact length of the deal wasn’t disclosed, nor were financial terms. The Telegraph first reported news of the agreement last month.

Raw and SmackDown will air live on BT Sport every week, and WWE pay-per-views will be available on BT Sport Box Office. BT Sport will air replays of Raw on Tuesdays and SmackDown on Saturdays. A two-hour version of Raw, a one-hour version of Raw, and a one-hour version of SmackDown will also air across BT’s channels.

The start of the agreement will mark the end of WWE’s 30-year TV partnership with Sky Sports. Dave Meltzer wrote that the BT deal “does weaken the WWE’s television situation, since Sky is currently in 8.56 million homes and BT is in 2.19 million homes.”

“We are incredibly excited by our new partnership with WWE. It is the most successful sports entertainment brand in the world, with a rich, fun and colorful history, loved by fans across the UK and Ireland. This is a brilliant addition for our customers and we can’t wait to get going in January,” said Andy Haworth, Managing Director Content and Strategy, BT Consumer.

“We are pleased to begin an exciting new chapter for WWE in the region as we join BT Sport’s innovative offering and impressive portfolio of premium sports content,” said Stefan Kastenmüller, WWE Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, EMEA.

The press release announcing the deal stated that WWE and BT Sport will “partner across digital and social media platforms to create new content for fans that will increase reach for WWE and drive engagement across the UK and Ireland.”

Report: WWE agrees to UK TV deal with BT Sport

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE is reportedly heading to a new television home in the United Kingdom.

The Telegraph reported today that BT Sport is “set to announce plans to screen WWE as part of a dramatic shake-up in broadcasting rights for the wrestling franchise.” Sky Sports had been WWE’s TV partner in the U.K. for the past 30 years.

The Telegraph’s report noted that BT Sport declined to comment on the reported deal with WWE. Further details on the agreement, including the financials of it, have yet to be revealed.

WWE’s last deal with Sky was announced in 2014 and runs through this year.

WWE had noted last year that they expected to reach an agreement for their next U.K. TV deal by the end of 2018.

It was revealed last week that All Elite Wrestling’s pre-show for Double or Nothing will air live on ITV4 in the UK, with Double or Nothing itself available to purchase via ITV Box Office. A special called “Before the Bell” will also air in the lead-up to Double or Nothing.

UFC returns to BT Sport in latest UK, Ireland TV deal

Posted on by Josh Nason

In a move discussed earlier this week on Wrestling Observer Radio, BT Sport officially announced they are back with the UFC, signing a multi-year broadcast deal that will bring 100+ yearly hours of fight content to UK and Irish fans.

The UFC had briefly signed with upstart digital service Eleven Sports, but trigged an exit clause after Eleven failed to secure distribution deals with entites like BT, Virgin Media, and Sky. According to The Guardian, Eleven could be shutting down after just four months as a service.

The deal calls for all numbered events and Fight Nights to be available on broadcast via BT Sport and on their two digital platforms.

BT has held the UFC UK and Ireland broadcast rights for the last five years. This iteration will begin in January 2019. Financial terms and length of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Earlier this year, the UFC signed a five year deal with ESPN, moving away from primary rights holder Fox Sports.