Eric Bischoff On TNA's Production Schedule

In his latest blog on ericbischoff.com – Bischoff discusses WWE's ability to get real-time feedback from audiences each week, compared to TNA's production schedule:

There are some things I like about the production schedule of iMPACT (mostly not having to travel 52 weeks a year), but some things that I continue to find challenging. Most notably is the inability to read the crowd and "litmus test" an audience's reaction to a story, scene or character.

In reality television, networks and the companies that produce these formats usually produce a "casting tape" to get a sense of characters. Once a casting tape passes network muster, a "pilot presentation" or actual pilot is produced based on a treatment or outline that can range from in-depth to exhaustive depending on the network and the project.

The pilot typically goes through a series of network and producer notes BEFORE it goes to a research/focus group and then is re-edited (unless said project messes the bed) and then re-tested.

Should said project be green-lit, each episode goes through a grueling process of notes, edits, more notes, more edits, more notes and more edits and so on until (hopefully) the show sees a place on a schedule.

WWE (and WCW before it) has the ability to "test and focus group" their concepts in front of 5,000-15,000 live fans in an arena every Monday, dissect ratings information by Tuesday and make changes accordingly.

The fluidity of this process cannot be under-estimated.

While I am not sure I would want to sign up to be on the road 52 weeks per year at this point in my life, I do covet the real-time "research" and process that only a live television series like WWE Raw enjoys.

[Bischoff also discussed Hulk Hogan and the Presidency of Barack Obama]

Source: EricBischoff.com