Eric Bischoff On the Challenges Of Taped Shows, Why He Hates Spoilers

On the latest episode of 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff talked about the challenges of WCW taping TV from Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios) in Vista, Florida from 1993 through 1996. You can check out some highlights below:

On the expenses of running different venues compared to running Disney: “It was [expensive]. It wasn’t as significant as one might think, because it was an expensive shooting at Disney/MGM. The price of entry was fairly high. But if you look at those expenses over the course of 26 episodes, there was an economy of scale. Because we were shooting five shows in a day, or six shows in a day, for six days in a row or five days in a row, whatever it was. Initially, when you looked at the price tag of going to Disney and what that would really cost, it was kind of like, ‘Oh my gosh, is this really going to save us any money?’ But if you looked at that same expense over the course of 26 episodes and what that would cost compared to producing those episodes out on the road. Because you probably would have to travel — for 26 episodes, you’re probably on the road 13 times. You might be able to get two episodes per taping for syndication before the audience just dies out completely. So when you looked at the economy of scale compared to what we had been doing, it was a good move financially. And that was in addition to the look of the show and the production values of the show that I knew we could enhance at Disney. It was also a cost savings in the long run. And that’s one of the reasons why Bill Shaw was so impressed with the idea because it was the first time that anybody came to him with an idea to save money in production, not spend money in production.”

Eric Bischoff on challenges of having taped shows: “The continuity of the shows is important. Because keep in mind, WCW Saturday Night, which we taped every week so it was relatively live to tape. This means we’d shoot that show on a Monday, and it would air on a Saturday. You know, there wasn’t a lot of daylight. Whereas the syndicated shows at Disney, we would shoot a show on June 1st, and it wouldn’t air until August 5th. But in the meantime the show, the primary show, the show at that point in time was the WCW Saturday Night Show and the creative for that show, it would change rapidly. Now again, I wasn’t booking at that time. And I’m not shirking this responsibility, but just illustrating that there is kind of a disconnect between the creative side of the business and the production side of the business. The production side of the business needed to plan in advance. We need to schedule those tapings at the soundstage well in advance in order to have the availability. We had to shoot enough shows during the course of five or six, seven days that we were able to take advantage of the economy of scale that you and I were just talking about a few moments ago.

“So it’s not like we could go down to Disney/MGM Studios and shoot four shows a month’s worth. We couldn’t do that. We had to go down and shoot three months’ worth or four months’ worth. So that became an issue when, ‘Okay, we think we know what we will do over the next three months. We’ve got three pay-per-views here,’ or whatever. It was two pay-per-views. But the WCW Saturday Night Show, evolving every week, would often be inconsistent. You’d have somebody get fired for example, or perhaps injured. They were working during the syndicated shows that we produced out of Disney. Everything was fine. And then perhaps they get injured two weeks later or three weeks later. So they’re out of the storyline for the show. They’re no longer in the show because of injuries or contract disputes, or somebody just came up with a better idea, which happened all of a sudden. The show that’s driving your primary story going into your pay-per-views is different from a creative, from a storyline perspective. Then your syndicated shows, ideally they were produced closely enough in time to have continuity between what people saw on WTBS on Saturday night and what they saw on their local television market. That was a muckerfuther. That was a real challenge, and we got bit in the ass so many times as a result.”

Eric Bischoff on concerns with spoilers at the time: “The spoilers were absolutely an issue for me. It drove me bats**t crazy. I hated it, got angry about it, and still get angry about it when I think about it because it’s harmful to the business. And it takes away from the viewing audience’s pleasure. And a lot of — you know, the hardcore fans that like to live on the internet, Reddit, social media, and all that, that’s where they get their rush, right? But the average audience that just likes to watch a show doesn’t want to know in advance what the finish of a match is. It’s like learning how David Blaine does magic tricks. Once he teaches or shows you how he creates the illusion, the illusion isn’t fun anymore. And I got hot about it.

“But I had no choice. The financials didn’t allow me to do anything live in ’93 or ’94. Occasionally we would do a WCW Saturday Night Show live if there was something special about it, but that was from Center Stage, fixed base location, shitty little venue at the time. It’s cool now, but at the time it was a dump. It was hard to work in. I didn’t have the option. Spoilers were a challenge. They were a thorn — they were more than a thorn, they were like a spike in my side. But I didn’t have any choice. I just had to learn to live with it and do my best. You know, Dusty did the best he could creatively to maintain consistency. But you don’t have a crystal ball, you can’t predict injuries. Occasionally — and Dusty was a visionary. He was a big-picture guy. I think he found himself a couple of times caught in the middle of a syndicated series taping when all of a sudden he’s sitting in his office in Atlanta and he has a great idea, and he wants to execute it. But then it’s inconsistent with what the syndicated shows are doing. That was a real problem, but there was no way to avoid it.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit 83 Weeks with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.