It is still baffling that in a time when house show attendance was the major income driver, they would broadcast these cards locally (live and replays) in most the major cities on the east coast (NY, Boston, Philly, DC), but I'm guessing they were still selling out during most the Hogan era.
In one of his recent podcasts, Bruce Prichard said the deal with MSG Network ended (in the mid-late 90's) because they decided it was bad for business and that it likely hurt attendance as they were struggling to draw crowds pre Monday Night Wars.