As we reported yesterday evening, the Sci-Fi Channel has renewed ECW through the year 2008. WWE had prepared for the worst by announcing that the show would air on Wednesdays each week commercial free on WWE.com. This was a backup plan in case the series was not renewed and would give the company an outlet to broadcast the show. WWE had asked USA/NBC/Universal for a long-term extension for ECW, however, the one-year renewal was not open for negotiation. Vince McMahon of course took it, but was not happy.
It is believed that the new deal signed by WWE and Sci-Fi to air the ECW show through 2008 comes with a number of clauses that Vince is not to happy about. Firstly the sum of money paid to WWE for delivering the show is believed to have decreased following their poor performance. There is said to be an unwritten deal that WWE will try everything in their power to boost the ratings up. Also from a business standpoint they will also have to be more receptive to ideas pitched from the network to keep things smooth.