Sunday, June 23, 2024

Jamie Kellner

It was announced yesterday that TV executive, Jamie Kellner, has passed away at the age of seventy-seven.

If you were a fan of professional wrestling during the early 2000s, you may have heard of him. 

Kellner was the person who made the decision to end World Championship Wrestling's run on the Turner Network of TV stations. This resulted in WCW's assets being acquired by the World Wrestling Federation because another potential buyer - Fusient Media Ventures - pulled its bid due to the loss of a television broadcaster for WCW programming.

That one decision changed the landscape of professional wrestling. Some may say for the bad, but some could argue for the good.

Ironically, the Vice channel in the US has currently been airing a documentary series titled 'Who Killed WCW?' and its final episode is scheduled for the coming week. 

The episode in question is titled 'The Final Nitro' and there is no doubt that Kellner's name will be brought up in it because  - even though he was not completely responsible for World Championship Wrestling fall from being, at one point, the number one pro wrestling company in the mid-90s - he was certainly the person who shot the final bullet.

With all that said, Kellner's career shouldn't be defined for his decision to end WCW's run on the Turner Network.

And it won't.

He was responsible for launching both FOX and The WB channels in the US. 

For the former, he is credited for putting the likes of The Simpsons onto the station. And we know how big that became. 

It wasn't just The Simpsons. The Variety article I read last night, written by Michael Schneider, throws out a plethora of hit TV shows which were around during Kellner's reign in the industry. 

Jamie Kellner Dies

No comments:

Post a Comment