ROH Wrestling Sold to Sinclair Broadcast Group

[EmpireWF]

Their big announcement this afternoon...

Bigger TV presence! FTW

http://www.rohwrestling.com/news/ring-of-honor-announces-sale-to-sinclair-broadcast-group/

BRISTOL, PA. (MAY 21, 2011)–Ring of Honor Wrestling owner, Cary Silkin, announced today the sale of the promotion to Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., one of the largest television broadcasters in the country and which owns and operates, programs, or provides sales services to 58 television stations in 35 markets across the United States.

ROH, currently the third largest wrestling promotion in the country, just celebrated its ninth anniversary, and Mr. Silkin is excited about taking the next step towards increasing the company’s visibility and expanding its operations.

“We have been waiting for and working for this opportunity for quite some time”, he said, “and of our 9 years in business, there has been no better roster of wrestlers than this one to expose the ROH product to the masses. With Sinclair’s resources and many avenues of distribution, we believe many new fans around the world will be as captivated as those who have followed Ring of Honor over the years.”

The month of September will see the debut of the new Ring of Honor television program which will be syndicated across the Sinclair network of stations, and with it, ROH will become the only wrestling promotion in the United States with a major, multi-market presence on broadcast TV. But if you don’t live in a market with a Sinclair station, fear not, says Mr. Silkin. “Through our revamped website we will be able to make the TV show available to anyone in the world with internet access.”

Sinclair officials are enthused about the project as well.

“We are very excited about this acquisition,” commented Steve Marks, COO of Sinclair’s Television Group. “Television and professional wrestling have a long history of successful partnerships and driving viewership. Unfortunately, the broadcast networks have not protected that relationship, allowing professional wrestling to migrate to cable network distribution. We believe that the powerful promotional platform that our TV stations provide, coupled with our 22% share of the U.S. TV households, will allow ROH to achieve name brand recognition and grow its share of the wrestling market. When you consider the makeup of our station mix and the number of CW, MYTV and FOX affiliates we operate, this is a perfect fit for our viewer demographics.” Mr. Marks also noted, “Longer-term, we can envision syndicating ROH wrestling to broadcasters in markets where Sinclair does not have a presence, and even internationally.”

Mr. Silkin assures the ROH fans worldwide that they will be seeing the same exciting, hard-hitting style of pro wrestling that they have become accustomed to. “We have established the name Ring of Honor as synonymous with the best in-ring action in the sport. The only thing that will change is that it will now be easier for fans around the world to follow. Our visibility will increase greatly–our production will be upgraded–but the work ethic of our incredible talent roster and our athletic style of wrestling will remain the same. This is what our fans have told us they want, and we will continue to give it to them.”

The current front office staff, including Cary Silkin, Syd Eick, and Ross Abrams, will remain with ROH going forward. Hunter Johnston, a favorite of ROH fans for years as the masked grappler Delirious, will still handle matchmaking, Jim Cornette will remain as executive producer, and other familiar faces like ring announcer Bobby Cruise and senior referee Todd Sinclair will be in place.”

Additionally, longtime wrestling broadcaster Kevin Kelly, already the voice of ROH internet pay-per-views, will assume the TV play-by-play chair this fall. Veteran NWA and WCW promoter Gary Juster will come aboard to be in charge of live event operations, which are planned to continue in current ROH markets as well as expanding into new locations concurrent with the increased TV exposure.

Mr. Cornette, who along with Mr. Johnston, will be in charge of talent and matchmaking, sees this as a new beginning for pro wrestling. “This is not old-school wrestling, and it’s not sports entertainment,” said Mr. Cornette. “This is wrestling for the 21st century, a new style developed by fresh, young stars that incorporates wrestling, mixed martial arts and high-flying, high-risk action with unique personalities, and it’s showcased by a sports-based presentation completely different from any other product out there. In my 30 years in the sport, it’s the most exciting live-event wrestling experience I’ve seen, and I’m thrilled to help bring it to broadcast TV.”

A major press conference, open to wrestling press and mainstream media alike, is being planned for Baltimore on Friday, June 24th. This event will feature a number of the ROH staff and wrestlers both announcing news about ROH’s future and answering questions. The media event will be presided over by new ROH COO, Joe Koff. Mr. Koff, a longtime Sinclair executive with an extensive background in TV sales and management, also has experience in pro wrestling television production and syndication. Most visible of his projects may have been the first-ever live, prime time syndicated pro wrestling events, the Battle of the Belts, which aired from 1985 to 1987. These Championship Wrestling from Florida-based cards were broadcast live to a syndicated network of stations and may be best-remembered for the classic Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham NWA World Title contest from St. Petersburg.

The press event will kick off a weekend which includes ROH’s next internet pay-per-view event, “Best In The World 2011,” live from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Sunday, June 26th at 4PM EST. In addition to all the top stars on the ROH roster, this event will feature the return of some favorite stars from Ring of Honor’s past, and can be ordered by anyone in the world with internet access through Gofightlive.tv for only $14.95. More information about Ring of Honor can be obtained through their website, www.rohwrestling.com.

As of today, here's the markets they have TV in (so unless they improve...still won't be able to see ROH TV unless it's through the web-site which is no buys)

http://www.sbgi.net/business/television.shtml

 

[SHOGUN]

The month of September will see the debut of the new Ring of Honor television program which will be syndicated across the Sinclair network of stations, and with it, ROH will become the only wrestling promotion in the United States with a major, multi-market presence on broadcast TV. But if you don’t live in a market with a Sinclair station, fear not, says Mr. Silkin. “Through our revamped website we will be able to make the TV show available to anyone in the world with internet access.”

 

[Leftwich]

DC doesn't get the Batlimore channels... oh well.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

This means very little in terms of TV exposure. This isn't that much stronger than HDNet, and at least HDNet hits the target demo better.

The key here, is the new ownership presumably has deeper pockets than Cary Silkin, who is nothing more than a ticket scalper. But are they willing to sink money into this, and take some losses? Or is this a television property aquisition, to fill airtime?

I'm withholding judgement.

 

[EmpireWF]

It means more than they have now. 20% or however much SBG's exposure is into, ROH will also brodcast their TV on the web (whether it's live, or on demand...).

Considering at the moment, they have zero television, it's a step forward.

As for selling the company, SBG turned a profit last year and ROH is notoriously low in expenditures. If nothing else, this all but guarantees ROH is not going to die anytime soon.

Like you mentioned, how invested SBG will be with ROH is something only time will tell.

I surmise ROH will use it to push DVD sales, merch sales and their IPPVs. A Saturday night timeslot on my9/cw/etc. in 20% of the country won't be doing anything close to great numbers, but it's a step in a hopefully positive direction.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Playing devil's advocate a bit, I can see this actually killing ROH faster than before.

For Silkin, ROH was a labour of love. Growing up a lifelong wrestling fan, he was willing to break even most years, lose a little some years, and basically never make serious profit. ROH will now be a small cog in the SBC machine. If its a money loser, or they find it difficult to run (this is not their cup of tea, dealing with athletic commissions, wrestlers egos, PPV distributors, etc), they may just throw in the towel rather than deal with the annoyance of a property that loses money.

Of course, if they can sell the show in the major marlets that they don't cover, and they really get behind it strong, this could be a game changer. I have no doubt a well produced and professional looking ROH show would catapult them beyond the TNA trainwreck. There is a market for good wrestling that isn't being satisfied by anyone.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

I will say this...I'm bummed that THE HOG won't be coming back to do play by play.

SLAP THE PORPOISE

 

[EmpireWF]

Sinclair press release:

Sinclair Acquires "Ring of Honor" Wrestling Franchise

BALTIMORE == Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI), the "Company" or "Sinclair," announced today that it has acquired the "Ring of Honor" wrestling (ROH) franchise. Ring of Honor is the third largest wrestling promotion in the country.

"We are very excited about this acquisition," commented Steve Marks, COO of Sinclair's Television Group. "Television and professional wrestling have a long history of successful partnerships and driving viewership. Unfortunately, the broadcast networks have not protected that relationship, allowing professional wrestling to migrate to cable network distribution. We believe that the powerful promotional platform that our TV stations provide, coupled with our 22% coverage of the U.S. TV households, will allow ROH to achieve name brand recognition and grow its share of the wrestling market. When you consider the make-up of our station mix and the number of CW, MYTV and FOX affiliates we operate, this is a perfect fit for our viewer demographics."

Mr. Marks continued, "We believe that ROH will provide us with multiple revenue opportunities. In addition to the advertising component, there are product sponsorships, Internet pay-per-view, live wrestling tour events, and sales of DVDs and other merchandise. Longer-term, we can envision syndicating ROH wrestling to broadcasters in markets where Sinclair does not have a presence and even internationally. We believe there are opportunities to broadcast ROH wrestling on our secondary tier channels or in a mobile environment. The acquisition also means less syndicated product that we will be required to purchase, and since we own the franchise, we control how many times, which dayparts and on which affiliates we want to air the matches without having the limitation on the number of runs or license fee costs."

"We have been waiting and working for this opportunity for quite some time," commented Cary Silkin, owner of ROH. "Of our 9 years in business, there has been no better roster of wrestlers than this one to expose the ROH product to the masses. With Sinclair's resources and many avenues of distribution, we believe many new fans will be as captivated as those who have followed Ring of Honor over the years."

This September, Ring of Honor will debut on Sinclair's network of broadcast television stations, and with it, will become the only wrestling promotion in the United States with a major, multi-market presence on broadcast TV. "But if you don't live in a market with a Sinclair station, fear not," says Mr. Silkin. "Through our website, we will be able to make the TV show available to anyone in the world with internet access."

ROH will be headed by Joe Koff, Chief Operating Officer of Ring of Honor. Mr. Koff, who has been with Sinclair since 2003 and most recently served as Director of Sales, has a long established career in television broadcasting sales and management, as well as managing wrestling content. Mr. Koff was responsible for personally creating, producing, marketing, syndicating, and selling barter inventory in what was to become "The Battle of the Belts I, II, III." "Battle of the Belts," which ran three consecutive seasons from 1985-1987, was considered breakthrough programming in its time. Mr. Koff syndicated the first ever, live, prime-time wrestling event and negotiated the international rights for the initial programming.

While the Ring of Honor acquisition includes primarily intellectual property and equipment, several existing ROH employees will be hired including longtime pro wrestling personality and matchmaker, Jim Cornette, who will serve as VP of Creative. Veteran promoter, Gary Juster, will join as VP of Operations, and Cary Silkin will remain in an advisory role. Ring of Honor features such stars as ROH World Champion, Eddie Edwards; World Tag Team Champions, Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin; and top contenders Davey Richards and the Kings of Wrestling. In addition, to Ring of Honor's "best-in-ring" wrestling talent, ROH fans can expect to see other familiar faces such as longtime wrestling broadcaster Kevin Kelly, already the voice of ROH internet pay-per-views, who will assume the TV play-by-play chair this fall, ring announcer Bobby Cruise and senior referee Todd Sinclair.

A major press conference, open to the wrestling press and mainstream media alike, is being planned for in Baltimore, Maryland on Friday, June 24th. This event will feature a number of the ROH staff and wrestlers. The press event will kick off a weekend which includes ROH's next internet pay-per-view event, "Best in the World 2011," live from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Sunday, June 26th at 4PM EDT. In addition to all the top stars on the ROH roster, this event will feature the return of some favorite stars from Ring of Honor's past, and can be ordered through Gofightlive.tv.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

I really like ROH, and I understtand why he said it, but Silkin's claim that the current roster is the best in the 9 year history is comical.

 

[FedEx227]

Playing devil's advocate a bit, I can see this actually killing ROH faster than before.

For Silkin, ROH was a labour of love. Growing up a lifelong wrestling fan, he was willing to break even most years, lose a little some years, and basically never make serious profit. ROH will now be a small cog in the SBC machine. If its a money loser, or they find it difficult to run (this is not their cup of tea, dealing with athletic commissions, wrestlers egos, PPV distributors, etc), they may just throw in the towel rather than deal with the annoyance of a property that loses money.

Of course, if they can sell the show in the major marlets that they don't cover, and they really get behind it strong, this could be a game changer. I have no doubt a well produced and professional looking ROH show would catapult them beyond the TNA trainwreck. There is a market for good wrestling that isn't being satisfied by anyone.

That's unfortunately how I see it as well. It's no longer owned by a guy who doesn't care if he makes $2 or $20,000. Now it's apart of a corporation and as such it has to be profitable. If it only runs even or even at a deficit there's no reason for them to keep it alive.

Kind of bummed they don't have a channel in the Chicago area, but the good news is I have tickets for the first TV taping in Chicago.

 

[BigBiss]

That's unfortunately how I see it as well. It's no longer owned by a guy who doesn't care if he makes $2 or $20,000. Now it's apart of a corporation and as such it has to be profitable. If it only runs even or even at a deficit there's no reason for them to keep it alive.

Kind of bummed they don't have a channel in the Chicago area, but the good news is I have tickets for the first TV taping in Chicago.

ROH is safer today then it was under Silkin.

 

[FedEx227]

Financially yes, no doubt we aren't arguing that but the game has completely changed. If they aren't profitable in a few months and TV ratings suck there's no real dedication or loyalty on Sinclair's side. It's not just another piece of their programming that can be swapped out for Seinfeld or Everybody Loves Raymond reruns as opposed to a labor of love like it was for Cary (even if not as financially stable).

 

[EmpireWF]

Financially yes, no doubt we aren't arguing that but the game has completely changed. If they aren't profitable in a few months and TV ratings suck there's no real dedication or loyalty on Sinclair's side. It's not just another piece of their programming that can be swapped out for Seinfeld or Everybody Loves Raymond reruns as opposed to a labor of love like it was for Cary (even if not as financially stable).

Bingo.

ROH will have to be productive in terms of ratings or whatever other tool they want it to produce in. Otherwise, a corporation is not going to keep a financial loser (although I can't imagine ROH being a money pit, what kind of expenses could they have?).

The sale itself does prove that Cary had to have been losing more money than he wanted to.

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

The more I think about it, its more of a boom or bust move for ROH. If they are lucky, they have a suitable financial backer that, if they support them half as much as the Carter's do TNA's awful product, has a chance to become a legitimate #2 brand on the marketshare of wrestling. If its simply a grab by SBC and they don't invest time behind it, it will probably leave ROH on the outs if they pull in too many red fiscal periods.

 

[FedEx227]

They are going to be in a death zone of a time slot Saturday nights.

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

1am on Saturday Night?

NOW NOW NOW!!

 

[EmpireWF]

Timeslot will likely vary based on what the specific networks need.