By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Tony Khan spoke about his interest in expanding AEW’s television hours and the potential of regular three-hour blocks of programming during an interview with Shakiel Mahjouri of CBS Sports. “I love being able to do more follow-up with things that happened earlier in the night with more time,” Khan said. “Being able to cover more wrestlers and tell more stories, utilize more of the roster. I think it gives more opportunities when we have that three-hour block…
“You want to keep Dynamite as strong as possible. You look at the history of what happened with the two-hour wrestling show when that show was expanded to three hours. It’s interesting right now per hour the most we get per hour for any of our TV shows is Dynamite. Either way, five-hour weekly programming is the absolute minimum.
“So in some ways, you would say, ‘That would be a very lucrative opportunity.’ I think it’s a very interesting conversation to have about how many nights a week you allocate to programming. Is five hours the best? Should we do six? … I want to do at least five now. I’ve tasted blood and want more so I could easily be sold on doing more than five hours of programming.” Read the full story at CBSSports.com.
Powell’s POV: I’ll be blunt. AEW has never produced a truly strong three-hour block of television. Rampage is a wasteland of throwaway matches, and the Battle of the Belts shows have been disappointments due to the weak title matches make up most of the quarterly special’s lineups. AEW produces five hours of weekly television and most weeks it feels like Dynamite has the only two hours of relevant content while Collision and Rampage feature a barrage of matches with minimal storytelling. Producing more content would bring in more television revenue, but it could also have an adverse effect on the overall product. For instance, can anyone really say with a straight face that the overall AEW television product is in a better place nearly one year after the launch of Collision? Can anyone say that the company’s attendance hasn’t been hurt by the addition of Collision? How are the Dynamite ratings since Collision launched? Khan has developed a more is better mindset in a number of areas and it’s to the detriment of his company.
I’ve been fast forwarding through most shows including dynamite for months now,but still order the ppvs that are long however mostly good..
The dude struggles to put on a compelling 2 hour show with Dynamite. If you miss Rampage, you really haven’t missed anything meaningful. You can say the same about most of the Collision shows as well. They don’t need more TV time. They need to focus on how to better utilize what they have. If you don’t start there, it wouldn’t make any difference if you had 3 hour blocks every day.
I don’t think the Collision hurt AEW. I think, and I’ve been saying this for a LONG time along with everyone else, if AEW wants to grow, you HAVE to get someone on the staff that can write storylines. The talent there is undeniable, but throwing together good matches isn’t what brings in most wrestling fans. STORYLINES, that last both a short time and a long time, is what continues to be missing from AEW.
I think having Dynamite as the main show and Collision and Rampage as a couple of other shows to get eyes on the product was a good move, but STORYLINES will keep the fans that watch and keep fans who tune in just to see what’s going on.
I’m an AEW fan, and although I enjoy the matches at face value, I am really hoping good, ongoing storylines are coming sooner than later.