Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 24, 2015 22:32:24 GMT -6
Backstage News On Lucha Underground Going On Hiatus, Financial Issues & More
As things stand right now, it’s looking like there will be a second season of Lucha Underground. Afer the finale of the 39-episode first season, the show will be going on hiatus due to Executive Producer Eric Van Wagenen’s commitment to work with Mark Burnett on the upcoming season of “The Apprentice” on NBC.
Executives from Lucha Underground are said to be in talks with Univision and if they are able to secure a deal, it would be considered a big deal because Univision is available in most homes in the United States.
One of the key problems with Lucha Underground is how the money is being spent on the product. The company has been buying advertising on WWE RAW in certain cities, but it reportedly hasn’t helped them generate any additional buzz past the talk on the internet among die-hard fans who would be aware of the product anyway.
It’s also worth noting that the idea for Lucha Underground to run non-televised live events during the summer has been dropped.
According to a source close to the company, Lucha Underground spent approximately $15.6 million, not including start-up costs, on production for season one of the show. Jim Ross noted on his podcast that he heard they have spent $20 million, so that could be the amount with the start-up costs included. Regardless, it’s a lot of money and the fact that they aren’t running live events to try and make up for some of those loses isn’t helping their bottom line.
On a positive note, Lucha Underground did get a Miller Lite sponsorship deal at the recent television tapings, something that is considered to be a good sign and a step in the right direction. The hope is that they can continue to get licensing deals and a major North American sponsorship deal for the second season of the show, a season where they will need to cut back on production costs.
Those within the industry are said to be amazed at how many people Lucha Underground has hired to work at their shows, so much so that the running joke is that the company has more workers than fans in attendance. One person noted that when a top rope broke during one of their tapings, there were a ton of people there to fix it, many who didn’t know what they were doing to the point that it took twice as long for them to fix it had they used one or two regular ring-crew workers.
Another positive for the company is that they reportedly have the best morale of any promotion in North America. The wrestlers love working there, particularly because they are allowed to do their spots and not hold back, which is why you see so many crazy spots during matches on their shows.
Many of the regular Lucha Underground talent are looking to secure bookings for the months of May and June now that the first season of the show is wrapped up.