# please spread the word



## JDenz (Dec 16, 2002)

For any sport to be a major, financial success, it must be televised. This has been the case for decades in the U.S., and is well-known by anyone involved in running or planning sporting events. 

This fact creates a dilemma for the 2003 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships, to be held Sept. 12-14 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Right now, according to Larry Nugent, USA Wrestling's Director of Development, the only way it appears that even the finals would be broadcast in the U.S. would be on cable, and on a tape-delayed basis. (Broadcast arrangements for other countries are being handled by broadcasters in those countries.) Being tape-delayed would undoubtedly dilute the impact of the broadcast. 

The other alternative for the U.S. is pay-per-view. 

A pay-per-view, however, can only be arranged if there is a strong likelihood that enough people would buy it to make it financially viable. Since real wrestling has not been on pay-per-view television, it is very hard to judge just what audience an event like the 2003 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships would draw. 

This is where the task of trying to gauge the size of that audience comes in. 

To attempt to take a crack at measuring this audience, USA Wrestling's Nugent has set up an online survey to see if enough people are willing to purchase a pay-per-view to make this a viable enterprise. 

The article discussing this project, including a link to the survey itself, is reproduced below from TheMat.com. While the article first appeared as a way of measuring interest among readers of TheMat.com, Nugent agreed that readers of sites like this one should also be polled about their interest in such a pay-per-view. 

So all of a sudden fans and supporters of wrestling, who love to voice their opinions, are handed an opportunity to do something to help the world's oldest sport in a very concrete manner, and in a way that would let them witness, at least via television, the greatest freestyle wrestlers in the world competing against each other. 

Take the survey, let your voice be heard, and put your money where your mouth is! 


2003 World Championships Pay Per View - It's all about Choice 
12/9/2003 
Larry Nugent/USAW Director of Development 

Click Here to complete Survey: 
http://www.themat.com/ppvsurvey/add.asp 

Over the next two weeks, USA Wrestling is asking everyone that visits TheMat.com to participate in a survey that will measure the interest in a pay-per-view offering of the 2003 World Championships from Madison Square Garden next September. The survey will be used to predict if it is feasiblegiven the cost of broadcasting a Pay-Per-View event. 

It would be great if everyone could attend the Championships in person. It is our goal for a sell out! The reality is that many simply cannot attend. USA Wrestling wants to give the wrestling fans of America a CHOICE. If you cannot attend in personwatch the Semi-Finals and Finals in their entirety and via Pay-Per View. 

Another bit of reality is this: If the event is not pay-per-view, the best we can expect is a tape delayed broadcast on cable in which the matches are shown as highlights and only some of the matches can be featured. 

Imagine every match shown completely, with 'live' interviews, features and highlights of how the competitors got to the finals or semi-finals. Imagine the excitement that your wrestling buddies will experience IF Cael Sanderson makes the USA Team and then reaches the Semi-Finals and then the Finals of the Worldsperhaps against Russian superstar Satiev or Cuba's popular Romero! 

Our research shows that USA Wrestling will need at least 3000 pay-per-view customers to break even on this venture. If successful, it could pave the way for future Pay-Per-Views of other important and popular wrestling events. 

So please, participate in the survey and ask anyone else that might be interested to fill out a survey as well. 

Five participants will be randomly selected to receive a 2000 Olympic Team Poster Set and a TheMat.com T-shirt. Winners will be contacted by E-mail following the conclusion of the survey. 

Click Here to complete Survey: 

http://www.themat.com/ppvsurvey/add.asp


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## arnisador (Dec 16, 2002)

I'm glad they're trying, but I don't believe that it can work.


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## JDenz (Dec 16, 2002)

Well three thousand buys is not that much There are more then 3000 wrestlers in New York alone so I mean if they only need to hit 3000 buys they can do that.


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## arnisador (Dec 16, 2002)

Yeah, I suppose you have a point.


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## JDenz (Dec 17, 2002)

Lol so tell every wrestler that you know about the survey


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