NESN/WWE

> Hi Scott,
>
> Does the New England Sports Network have any claims to the WWF house shows they aired from the Boston Garden in the 80’s and early 90’s so they could show them now if they wanted or are they strictly WWE property? Why did they and the other east coast sports networks stop airing the shows in the 90’s?
>
>
>
> Thanks
>

Depends on the exact deal they had with WWE. WWE would certainly own the master tapes, but TV stations typically retain the right to rebroadcast shows they already aired, as long as they pay royalties. I can’t imagine NESN ever wanting to show them again or that they even kept the tapes, but I think it’s pretty safe to say they could I’d they wanted.

As to why they stopped showing them, WWE basically cut all those deals loose in the 90s because house shows were falling and they didn’t want to compete with their own TV product.