On June 4, it was reported IWTV was suing GCW for breach of contract.
In December 2020, Game Changer Wrestling formally announced that they were looking to be released from their contract with IWTV with GCW owner Brett Lauderdale saying at that time, "our existing agreement with IWTV isn't sustainable & we need a change."
Speaking on The Business of The Business, Lauderdale explained why the IWTV model didn't work for GCW compared to FITE TV.
"IWTV is a great service for some and at times it's a great service for GCW, but in my opinion, if you're just relying on a subscription service like IWTV or any Highspots, if that's the sole distributor of your product, you're going to hit a ceiling and you can only grow so much. The consumer and the platform are only going to pay so much. With FITE TV, theoretically, there is no ceiling. 1,000 people can order it, 5,000 people can order it. As interested as people are, our revenue goes up the more we sell. On the subscription services like IWTV, there are only so many subscribers. After that, we're only getting paid X amount per hour. For us, is it worth it to put every show on there? Probably not. For some companies, it's a great deal because you're included in this network and there are eyes watching you that would not be buying on FITE TV. If you can get in front of them, whether you're getting 50 cents an hour or $1 an hour, that's great because you just want someone to watch your product. For GCW, people are already watching and we need to make more than 50 cents or $1 an hour to generate the revenue we need," said Lauderdale.
GCW continued to run pay-per-view events, which were hosted on FITE TV, after trying to be released by their IWTV contract.
IWTV issued the following statement on the lawsuit:
PUBLIC STATEMENT ON IWTV/GCW LEGAL MATTER
JUNE 4TH, 2021
On December 26, 2020, Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) announced via social media that they unilaterally wished to be released from their distribution agreement with IndependentWrestling.TV (IWTV).This agreement was signed in March 2020 and has been honored since then by IWTV. Over the past several months, IWTV has made multiple attempts to address GCW’s contractual concerns, including efforts to renegotiate and come to terms on a new agreement.
IWTV’s goal has always been to resolve this issue outside of the courts. While this is still our preference, unfortunately at this time we feel we have no option but to pursue legal action against GCW.
Lauderdale gave the following response:
My reply:
I have sent countless proposals including one as recently as Mid-April, trying to find an amicable resolution including for #ToS666 weekend.
I was promised a counter offer but it never came because Mike Burns was mad about Drew Cordiero’s Food Truck.
Still waiting.
In the lawsuit, IWTV says that damages cannot be calculated until GCW provides the full amount of revenue garnered by the pay-per-view events, “but it is believed the damages are in excess of $500,000.”
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