WCW, whose ratings have been lagging far behind those of their rival faction, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), for well over a year, released a statement saying they would be going on "hiatus" effective March 27th, making the March 26th Monday Nitro the last WCW broadcast.
More will be revealed about this hiatus during a meeting on March 28th.
Advertisers, who up until now had a choice of which broadcast to sponsor, now have one less place to advertise if their target audience is wrestling aficionados.
But, after the 26th, a good number of viewers may be switching to TNN on Monday nights and UPN on Thursday nights to watch WWF programming, giving those two a potential ratings boost. Already one of the top draws on cable television, the WWF could see a rating jump into the high 6's for their Monday night "Raw is War," program if it scoops up even half of WCW's viewers.
- Adam Bernard may be reached at AdamBernard@mediapost.com