The Secret History Of ECW | Wrestling Timelines
August 27, 1999 - TNN
It finally happens.
The wrestling craze is so insatiable by 1999, in no small part as a result of Heyman’s influence, that TNN broadcasts the promotion nationally. The deal struck is so poor that it catalyses ECW’s demise.
ECW receives publicity and minimal revenue generated through advertisements; in exchange for it, ECW pays for the production costs and upgrades. In a different time, there is no rights fee in play. The deal only works if ECW significantly grows its other revenue streams, and even then, TNN parent company Viacom secures itself a portion of future gross revenues that will dwarf everything.
Even the name of the new show underscores the state of things: ‘ECW On TNN’. This is poor. WWF Monday Night Raw promises an unfiltered look at pro wrestling wildmen. At its peak, WCW Monday Nitro promised explosive in-ring action. There’s a lack of imagination and passion in ‘ECW On TNN’. It doesn’t promise controversial live action. ‘ECW On TNN’ is no ‘Barely Legal’, is it?
It reads like a highlights show - and that’s precisely what the Friday premiere episode is. Heyman opts to air highlights from ECW’s history as a ‘Best Of’ primer for new, curious viewers. The network is not happy.
The mutual loathing between two sides is apparent immediately. Heyman wants TNN to run commercials for ECW on its other programming; this isn’t granted. TNN wants a toned-down version of ECW, despite knowing it had agreed to broadcast Extreme Championship Wrestling; Heyman is so incensed that he creates a heel stable, the ‘Network’ led by Cyrus (Don Callis), in a meta-commentary on the disastrous relationship.
Heyman’s conspiracy theory - that TNN was a pilot for the WWF - is not so cynical, when you consider that ECW On TNN actually draws strong ratings by network standards with almost zero promotional support. That said, the average rating is still below the minimum threshold mandated by TNN - an expectation forged by the rampant success of the Attitude Era.
ECW On TNN lasts little over a year; it is cancelled two weeks after TNN begins to air Raw as part of a network rebrand. This is the worst news imaginable - the surging operating costs of the attempted national expansion cannot hope to be offset - and the WWF’s previous home of USA Network is not interested in Heyman’s racy, low-budget, star-bereft product. To them, and it’s a grim irony, ECW is a diluted imitation of Raw. Obviously, given WCW’s struggles with Turner, that conglomerate isn’t interested in wrestling, either.
It will take two full decades for a major station to get past the stigma that wrestling fans are too poor to afford the products and services sold via advertisers.