2. Time Warner
Where things would go:Raw - TBS / TNT
Smackdown - TNT / TBS
Total Divas! - TBS / TNT / TruTV
Main Event/Superstars/NXT - TBS / TruTV
WWE Studios - Airing WWE cartoons on Cartoon Network, continuing to work with Warner Bros., putting WWE Horror movies on Cinemax.
Why they might win: Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. hasn't broadcast Professional Wrestling since the final WCW Nitro episode on March 26, 2001. Then executive Jamie Kellner looked at the debt-riddled WCW and decided to cancel the programming. Without a television contract in place, the only interested party was Vince McMahon who bought World Championship Wrestling's assets at dirt-cheap prices. Since then, Turner has not expressed interest in getting back into the wrestling game - notably staying out of the 2005 Viacom/NBCU battle. However, with a strong head-to-head fight for Cable ratings supremacy against NBC Universal, stealing
Raw from USA may give Turner a strong upper-hand. Turner has two stations (TNT, TBS) which are in the
top five cable networks among Adults 18-49. With some potentially expensive sports right fees battle coming up (including Fox trying to nab the NBA contract from TNT), spending on WWE may be a clever investment to both destabilize USA and provide a cushion against the possible loss of Basketball programming. Also, moving WWE programming to Time Warner Inc could also signal a closer relationship with news site CNN and sports news site Bleacher Report.
Why they might lose: It's surprised some industry observers that Turner was now interested in acquiring WWE programming. After staying out of the wrestling game for more than a decade, they've been successful relying heavily on TBS re-runs of "Big Bang Theory" along with original hits like TNT's "Rizzoli & Isles". Unless Turner has a solution to the fundamental issue, low ad rates for pro-wrestling, it's unknown whether they'd want to spend their war-chest just to secure WWE.