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KELLER'S TAKE
KELLER: A restructuring idea for ROH to attract new customers, add revenue, sell more DVDs (plus related new Poll) Oct 29, 2008 - 6:10:16 PM
I suggested this in the PWTorch Newsletter earlier this year. I'll restate it here now since ROH may be open to some changes given the events of this week.
-Sell subscriptions to ROH DVDs: I can't believe ROH relies on customers to order each and every DVD separately. They should start a service where for, say, $30 or $40 per month, a customer can receive a package of two all-new DVDs (in one box if they want to save a little on postage and packaging).
-The first DVD should be a nearly three hour showcase event from a few weeks earlier. The second DVD should be a two hour "Best of" version of their other shows of just match highlights and a post-produced documentary on an ROH wrestler, feud, or title. The documentary need not be fancy and overly slick, as that may out of their budget. But a series of clips with some on screen graphics that timestamp the events and put them in perspective is all that's needed. A little narration would be good, too.
-Each of the two monthly DVDs would have content intermixed that would push past great releases from ROH and also other new complete shows from that month that can be ordered at their website. Someone could still pre-order all ROH DVDs, just as they have that choice now, but the subscription package would give a fan with limited time and budget a true sense they could follow the best of ROH each month and get a complete picture of ongoing storylines.
-Gabe Sapolsky, to a fault, had an attitude that everything ROH did was must-see and to choose a best show or best footage for a month was like picking a favorite child or favorite pet from a family. He just couldn't do it. And he may have disagreed with the concept, thinking that those who were buying three or four DVDs a month would cut back to the subscription only. I strongly disagree. I strongly believe it was at least worth trying to sell a year's sub at a time which could be pre-purchased at a discount or a monthly auto-withdrawal from Pay Pal that a subscriber would have to cancel rather than activate each month.
-Include with the monthly DVD package a newsletter-style program that would, in print, present a list of matches with pictures next to the wrestlers' name and some backstory to put the match, feud, or title into proper perspective. Include ads for other ROH products in the newsletter, which could just be one 11-17 sheet of paper folded in half to create a four page primer for the DVD. Include on that a list of upcoming dates and the release date for the next PPV.
There are other obvious changes that could be made, such as the long overdue improvement of the in-ring mic work, quicker turnaround time, better coordination between PPVs and DVD releases, better lighting, and some other ideas laid out by two guest editorials posted earlier on the site today.
But I think one of the hurdles to getting new customers was an overwhelming choice and no good place to start when it came to DVD releases, and a sense that there's no way one could truly keep up with the product when they put out 12+ hours a month of new matches, sometimes out of order, sometimes containing feuds that ended a month or two earlier on a more timely PPV release.
If ROH asked for $30-40 a month for a full show and a two hour second DVD production, I think a lot of people would budget the time and money for that. Forcing customers to guess which shows are must-see or have to watch all shows to keep up on feuds and storylines is just unrealistic given people's busy lives and all of the options for cable wrestling and DVDs on shelves from various groups.
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