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WWF buys rival WCW |
| World Wrestling Fed. ends 20-yr. rivalry, buys
World Championship Wrestling |
March 23,
2001: 7:00 p.m. ET
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The World
Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc. agreed Friday to
acquire rival World Championship Wrestling, ending a
near 20-year rivalry.
Stamford, Conn.-based World
Wrestling Federation Entertainment (WWF:
Research,
Estimates)
now has global rights to the World Championship
Wrestling brand, tape library and other intellectual
rights.
TNN is anticipated to be the new home of
WCW, a WWF spokesman said, and WCW will not air on TNT
or WTBS. Cross-brand storylines may start as soon as
Monday during the "WWF Raw is War" on TNN and Monday's
final performance of "WCW Monday Nitro Live" on Turner
Network Television.
 The WWF bought the wrestling firm from Turner
Broadcasting System Inc., a unit of AOL Time Warner.
CNNfn.com is also a unit of AOL
Time Warner (AOL:
Research,
Estimates).
The
two companies have been competing against each other for
18 years, and executives vowed that the WCW will not
fade away.
"WWF has been a rival organization to
the WCW for quite some time," said WWF CEO Linda McMahon
on a conference call open to journalists. "With the new
infusion of stars and the cross-branded story lines,
this does nothing but raise the specter potential for
us. We're very pleased to have come to agreement to
purchase that brand."
No financial terms were
released but McMahon said the purchase was not a stock
transaction.
WWF is the largest provider of
programmed wrestling entertainment, with such top-rated
shows as "WWF Raw is War" and "WWF Smackdown!" on the
UPN Network. Top stars also include The Rock, Chyna and
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
"We bought WCW because
it would be great way to propel our core business, the
sports entertainment genre, to new height," said WWF
spokesman Gary Davis.
WWF is also an equal
partner with NBC in the fledgling professional football
league XFL which scored record low ratings recently.
Executives said the WCW purchase has nothing to do with
the football league.
AOL Time Warner could not be
reached for comment.
 Atlanta-based World Championship Wrestling
produces live wrestling shows and competes against the
WWF. The World Championship Wrestling franchise includes
popular cable television show "WCW Monday Nitro Live"
and "WCW Worldwide," which is seen in syndication in 94
percent of the United States.
In January, Fusient
Media Ventures inked a deal to buy World Championship
Wrestling. However, the deal fell apart when AOL's
Turner Broadcasting decided to drop WCW from its TBS and
TNT channels.
The once-popular WCW is now losing
money and analysts estimate that last year the wrestling
franchise lost about $80 million. WWF executives
declined to discuss WCW's financial situation but said
they encountered no surprises when looking at the rival
firm's financials.
The WWF is still working out
many details of its agreement to buy WCW. The company
will be assuming some actor's contracts but others it
will not, executives said. The WCW also plans to expand
its pay-per-view offerings but not in the near
future.
Shares for WWF lost 1 cent to $12.10
Friday while AOL gained $2.75, or 7.48 percent, to
$39.52 Friday. 
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