Tussling teenagers
Mandalay tags for youth wrestling skein on Net
Produced by Calgary-based DAG, "matrats.com" is an ambitious hour-long multimedia wrestling and music show in which both the target audience and the wrestlers are aged 14 to 21. On Thursday the company signed a two-year deal with L.A.-based Mandalay Sports Entertainment to promote and sell the show, which does not yet have a TV broadcaster. The equity stake in DAG has not been determined.
The deal is for 100 weekly one-hour episodes of "matrats.com" over the next two years. The first two episodes have already been completed, and until a broadcaster deal is inked, the programs will be shown exclusively on the Internet.
"Matrats.com" will be shot in high-definition TV in a 6,800-square-foot studio complex owned by DAG in Calgary. Executive producer and DAG COO Graham Owen projected eventual license fees of $350,000 per episode. "It's not cheap," he said. "We just decided that if we weren't gong to go big, forget about it."
Auds love kid grapplers
Owen said the idea for "matrats.com" came from his role as executive producer of Stampede Wrestling in Calgary where the audience seemed more enthralled by the youngsters in the ring than the adults.
Much of the talent for "matrats.com" comes from Stampede Wrestling.
"Wrestling superstars around the world have kids in that age group that would love to be on the show," he said.
Many of the wrestlers are from second, third, and in some cases, fourth generation wrestling families, he said.
One of the main characters on the show is a grandson of Stampede Wrestling founder Stu Hart and nephew of wrestlers the late Brett Hart and his brother Owen.
Global competition
DAG is negotiating with young wrestlers from Japan, Mexico, "all over the U.S." and Canada.
Some media critics have slammed the concept as setting up violent role models for kids. "First of all, these kids are athletes, and second of all, these kids are actors," Owen said, adding that the story lines are written by the kids themselves and will address issues relevant to the target age group.
