sources: WWE.com, PWInsider.com
It appears as though that ECW will be around for the long haul. The Sci-Fi Channel announced today tha it will keep its new hit program, ECW, on the network through at least the end of 2007. More specifically, Linda McMahon said at today's WWE first quarter quarterly earnings press conference that ECW will remain on the Sci-Fi Channel until at least December 2007. Here is the official press release:
SCI FI CHANNEL EXTENDS ECW
New York, N.Y., August 31, 2006 - SCI FI Channel today announced it will keep its new hit program, ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling), on the network through at least the end of 2007. ECW is produced by World Wrestling Entertainment®, the producer of the No. 1 weekly basic cable TV series, "Monday Night RAW" on USA Network.
ECW debuted on SCI FI as a summer series in June on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT, providing an alternative brand of wrestling suited to fit the Channel's commitment to fuel the imagination. The program met with immediate success, with its premiere attracting more than 1.8 million new viewers to SCI FI; 43% of the ECW's premiere audience had not watched the SCI FI Channel during the prior 4 weeks. The debut also set a Channel record for a series premiere attracting 1.07 million viewers 18-34, the most ever in the demographic.
ECW has remained consistent throughout its summer run, averaging about 2.7 million viewers and ranking as one of SCI FI's highest rated weekly programs. It has consistently been one of the top-rated programs in primetime on Tuesday among male teens and one of the top-rated cable programs in households.
