Details On USA Network's Influence Over WWE RAW

Newsweek.com has an interesting story about USA Network CEO Bonnie Hammer today. The article states that USA is the top earning network in the NBC Universal family, which is impressive considering that family also includes NBC. The article includes the following passage, which sheds some light on the way things are done in WWE:

"Unlike the network's boss at the time, Hammer fashioned a warm working relationship with WWE owner Vince McMahon. She also approached the wrestling franchise like any other show, offering notes on how to improve plotlines and story arcs. Hammer even persuaded McMahon to hire soap-opera and comedy writers, and used cross-promotion by casting wrestlers in USA shows. She arbitrated some of WWE's less tasteful tendencies: for one live episode, in which one wrestler used a machete to attempt to castrate an opponent, Hammer stayed on the phone with the cameraman while watching from home, instructing him on precisely when to pull the camera away. WWE's ratings, already high, soared further, helping push USA toward the top of the cable rankings."