By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
The Major League Wrestling Underground television series is in the midst of a ten-week run on Reelz network, according to Variety.com. The show business website published a story that focused on Reelz’s new distribution deal with the Peacock streaming service. The story states that Reelz will not stream on Peacock when MLW Underground is airing on Tuesday nights due to the streaming service’s exclusive agreement with WWE. “But Major League Wrestling wraps up after 10 weeks, making Reelz’s Tuesday 10 p.m. linear offerings available after that,” reads the story. Check out the full story at Variety.com.
Powell’s POV: The fourth episode of MLW Underground aired on Reelz last night, meaning there are six episodes remaining in the ten-week run. I’ve pointed out several times that the initial press release that announced MLW Underground on Reelz did not include any mention of the deal being “long-term” or a “multi-year agreement.” As such, I can’t say that I’m surprised to learn that it was a short-term deal. Conversely, the deal between Reelz and Peacock did catch me by surprise and seemingly creates a roadblock that will prevent an extension of the Reelz and MLW partnership beyond ten weeks. If the Variety piece is correct, then it seems like MLW has to hope that the viewership and ratings they deliver for Reelz over ten weeks will be enough to generate interest from another network. H/T to Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com for spotting the MLW note in the Variety story.
So far the show has gotten extremely low ratings, so that is not helping the show’s chances.