The Rainmaker
Mr. Money in the Bank
Unless there is an award for best video packages...
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alfred...-what-this-could-mean-for-overlooked-genre/2/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alfred...-what-this-could-mean-for-overlooked-genre/2/
WWE is attempting to parlay its recent financial fortunesinto critical acclaim as the promotion is preparing to host its inaugural "For Your Consideration" (FYC) Emmy event in North Hollywood.
Select members of the media in the Los Angeles area have been invited to the FYC event on Wednesday, June 6, which is advertising appearances by Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, The Bella Twins and Ronda Rousey. Top stars Roman Reigns, The New Day, Charlotte Flair and Braun Strowman are also scheduled to appear.
Following a red carpet event, WWE will showcase private screenings of Raw 25, the Mixed Match Challenge and WWE 24: Empowered, which focused on WWE's ongoing women's revolution and centered around the first-ever women's Royal Rumble this past January.
The idea of the over-the-top genre of pro wrestling even being considered for an Emmy nomination is far-fetched. Fair or not, pro wrestling has long since been the b*stard child of entertainment. The optics of the holier-than-thou Academy of Television Arts and Sciences taking WWE seriously enough to warrant consideration for the highest honor in TV could compromise its own prestige.
Still, WWE has to start somewhere. And while an Emmy victory, let alone a nomination, remains highly unlikely, WWE's obvious push to become Emmy material appears to be yet another strategic branding move with an end game of WWE being accepted as a mainstream property.
WWE's controversial decision to become TV-PG paid off long-term as evidenced by The Hollywood Reporter's recent behind-the-scenes report of Fox's record $1 billion deal to air SmackDown Live on the Fox broadcast network. Per the report:
"We could not sell UFC at Fox," says a former staffer. "And wrestling is family friendly. If you have wrestling you can find cash. I think it's a big win for Fox; it's a great trade-off."
With WWE established as a family-friendly product on a major network with a larger platform, now seems like a better time than ever for WWE to throw its name into the Emmy race amid a saturated sea of content from an exhaustive list of content providers.
It's worth noting that WWE chose to submit specialty programming for Emmy consideration as opposed to any standard episode of flagship shows Raw or SmackDown Live. Given its uplifting story and the critic-friendly format of documentary programming, Empowered seems to have the best chance of any WWE submission for Emmy consideration.
In any event, WWE's first FYC event is a significant moment representing yet another sea change of sports entertainment. As the market leader, WWE's once-ludicrous ambitions to win an Emmy demonstrates a potential long-term plan to revamp its product as more than only niche entertainment.
