Regarding the NXT move to USA Network, Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com is reporting that this is a “groundbreaking” deal that will make NXT an “economically profitable brand” which it hasn’t been up to this point.
The belief is that the USA Network will be paying WWE in the $30 million to $50 million dollar range for two years. Guggenheim Securities analyst Curry Baker estimated that the deal is around $30 million a year while JP Morgan analyst David Karnovsky estimated that WWE could get as much as $70 million per year.
Besides the money, the idea for the USA Network move instead of FS1 is that USA is available in more households and Vince McMahon reportedly believes that fans are already conditioned to watch WWE programming on USA.
Regarding NXT talent contracts, Dave Meltzer noted that “the belief is that at least the top tier NXT talent will have new contracts at closer to main roster figures than current developmental figures.”
Unless the ratings are disappointing, it’s expected that Triple H will continue to run the brand without significant involvement from Vince McMahon or Kevin Dunn.
Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness and Beth Phoenix are expected to continue their announcing roles with NXT.
