Update on Shane McMahon's Company: Major Wholesale Chinese VOD Platform to Launch by Year-End

A major new nationwide pay-per-vew and video-on-demand platform will launch in China before the end of this year called 'YOU On Demand', based on advanced content management and protection solutions from Ericsson.

The two companies are deploying a secure IP-based delivery system for digital content to be offered to cable operators throughout China. The system has been designed to guarantee sufficient protection for content owners and enable cable operators to deliver premium Hollywood and domestic content to their subscribers...More?

source: iptv-news.com

WWE Studios Does Disappointing Numbers in 3rd Quarter

WWE Studios earned $3.7 million in revenue in the third quarter of 2011. The same division earned $7.6 million in the third quarter of 2010. "Film profits declined $5.5 million from the prior year quarter reflecting the performance of recent releases; i.e., Inside Out, The Chaperone, and Knucklehead," reads the WWE earnings report.

"Lower home video sales than anticipated contributed to revised ultimate projections, which resulted in a $5.1 million impairment charge for these films. The decline in film profits also reflected lower receipts from our licensed films and the previously disclosed change in our distribution model for films."

WWE Network Updates from Quarterly Conference Call

WWE's quarterly conference call with investors was dominated by WWE Network discussion, with WWE offering some new details, but also holding back on specific details they're not yet ready to disclose.

Asked when WWE plans to launch the Network, CFO George Barrios he would "take the under on six months," which confirms WWE plans to launch before WrestleMania 28 in April.

"At some point here in the future, when the time is right, we're going to give a fuller exposition of how we view the Network model," Barrios said.

WWE CEO Vince McMahon noted WWE will not be partnering with any other company to launch the Network. "No partnership. Solely owned by WWE," McMahon said. Asked if WWE is still considering a hybrid model of a traditional cable TV network and some form of an online/on-demand function, management skirted the question and stressed they are still finalizing details on how the Network will look prior to a "very big announcement" in the near future.

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WWE Reports 2011 Third Quarter Results

Rumor Mill - The Undertaker’s Return and Triple H’s Storyline Injury

The Undertaker and his wife Michelle McCool were backstage at the October 24th RAW Supershow from Austin, TX. According to sources backstage, both Undertaker and McCool were talking to WWE officials about possible scenarios where they could both return to television.

Following Kevin Nash’s attack on Triple H from 2 weeks ago, WWE announced Triple H had sustained a “serious concussion” and a cracked vertebrae. The cracked vertebrae diagnoses was given because WWE has a new company policy where they will not be using the term “broken neck” for storyline injuries.

WWE said Triple H will be out past Survivor Series, so it’s possible his match with Kevin Nash will take place at TLC in December.

source: wrestling observer newsletter

This Day in Wrestling History

Joe Stecher defeats Ed "Strangler" Lewis in a tournament match designed to crown an undisputed World Champion in New York City. Stecher now has the most legitimate claim to a world championship.
November 3, 1919

Jesse "The Body" Ventura is elected the Governor of Minnesota.
November 3, 1998

WWE NXT Results 11/02/11

Mick Foley Comments on his Return to WWE

Mick Foley commented on his return to WWE at a live event that took place in Dublin, Ireland on Wednesday. "Thanks to all in Dublin for a great time tonight," Foley wrote. "I might be stopping by a few WWE shows on my days off." He noted that those days off are November 5, 7, 8. Follow Foley on Twitter at Twitter.com/RealMickFoley.

Foley also delivered a "there's no place like home" tweet regarding his return.

source: prowrestling.net

Indy Wrestler Involved in Steroid Ring

According to an article on by The Associated Press, authorities in Ohio recently uncovered a steroid ring that "used drugs imported from China and processed at a secret lab in Tennessee to peddle drugs to high school athletes and other customers with a business model that implemented techniques such as bonuses and rebates."

A grand jury in Warren County indicted 32 people, including an unnamed professional wrestler. Authorities seized around $600,000 in steroids and $300,000 in cash, vehicles and a number of firearms used as security for the lab.

Pwinsider.com is reporting that local wrestler Chris Carnage, real name Kris Shield, is the professional wrestler referenced in the article.

Paul Levesque Featured in 'High Spots and Hot Shots'

In the field of pro wrestling photography, George Napolitano's name has consistently been at the top of the list from wrestling's days as a regional, territorial attraction to the modern era of sports entertainment. A new 320-page coffee table book, High Spots and Hot Shots, collects over 400 photographs from Napolitano's personal archives that the native New Yorker and one-time wrestling magazine impresario suggests barely skim the surface of his back pages.

Two pages document some of the earliest shots taken of a young Paul Levesque, the future Triple H, alongside his trainer, Killer Kowalski. Napolitano remembers that Levesque was still doing spot shows in high school gyms around Connecticut at the time as he'd just begun climbing the ladder to the big leagues. "He was somebody who looked colorful and, usually, if I saw a guy that looked colorful I would take a few more pictures. Kowalski told me that was his guy and he was going to be good. I saw (Levesque) a few months after that picture was taken and, honestly, didn't even recognize him. He thanked me for taking the picture and using another one of him in, I think it was Superstar Wrestler. He said he'd used it and sent it around. Guys would use that stuff as promotion to show where they'd been and what they'd done. If they were in a magazine, it showed they were doing something."

source: slam wrestling

This Day in Wrestling History

In Houston, Texas, Vince McMahon creates the WWF "Hardcore Championship" and awards it to Mankind (Mick Foley). Ironically, Mankind would hold the title for less than a month, and never win it back. Despite this, the Hardcore Title is often associated with Foley.
November 2, 1998

WWE announces settlement in the Owen Hart case.
November 2, 2000

Harry Smith and Chris Masters were suspended by WWE for Wellness Policy violations. They were the first two workers to be named under the terms of the revised provision where Wellness Policy violators' names would be released to the public. Masters would later be released from the company.
November 2, 2007

source: pwinsider.com

Shane McMahon's Company Signs Its First Distribution Agreement

YOU On Demand Signs Its First Distribution Agreement With Jinan Cable

YOU On Demand Holdings, Inc., China's leading Video On Demand (VOD) platform, announced it has signed its first carriage agreement with the Jinan Branch of Shandong Radio and Television Networks Company in the Shandong Province.

YOU On Demand expects to launch in November with service available to a projected 100,000 digital HD interactive end users by November and approximately 600,000 when the two-way network becomes available across the entire city. Jinan is the capital and a key city in the province of Shandong and plays a pivotal role in the province's cable consolidation of all 17 million cable TV households.

"We are very excited to be in partnership with Jinan Cable," said Shane McMahon Chairman and CEO of YOU On Demand. "Subscribers in Jinan will be the first in China to experience the quality of YOU On Demand's extensive program offerings of over 100 Hollywood titles at any given time, like 'Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 1,' 'Inception' and 'Happy Feet' in the comfort of their home. We look forward to partnering with Jinan Cable to provide their customers with the best in home entertainment."