TV ratings do matter. They matter to NBC Universal who use the ratings to determine how much WWE shows are worth to them on their network based on who is advertising on their show.
WWE cannot afford to go off TV or any lesser network for the good foreseeable future. They need the TV exposure to make all the other aspects of their company continue to work like live attendance, merchandise, movies, video games, and Network subscribers.
WWE does need to be concerned about diving TV ratings no matter what excuse their could be for other competition on TV and other forms of media.
WWE needs to focus on creating a format of the show that is consistently appealing and gripping for pro wrestling fans. Yes, pro wrestling fans. Not fans of "sports entertainment" because nobody is a fan of "sports entertainment" because that is exclusively WWE and WWE will NEVER get away from being pro wrestling with fluff.
I still can't believe the quote from Vince McMahon during the Monday night wars when he said to Ted Turner they are not in the same business. McMahon said he's in the entertainment business when Turner said he was in the pro wrestling business.
While Vince is right in the sense that pro wrestling needs to be entertaining. It has to be entertaining as professional wrestling.
Even if WWE wants to appeal to kids it should not be a show that would look in place on the Disney Network or Family Channel.
When Vince steers Raw and SD to be all things for all people he definitely loses would-be fans because those segments are far too frequent and take would-be new or returning fans out of interest in the product and almost encourage them to find something else to watch.
Now, is there hope? Sure. I think NXT and everything connected to it from the recent Cruiserweight Classic to the NXT special events is how PRO WRESTLING should be consistently produced. When done this way it is cool and gritty and interesting.
NXT takes advantage of everything that pro wrestling does and can do better than other types of shows like the created drama, athleticism, showmanship and pageantry and memorable moments of speech and action.
It's amazing how much you can tell how Vince has nothing to do with NXT and Triple H has the reigns.
Vince is stubborn in his views on how Raw and SD should be produced and while they do have some good segments and matches there is just FAR too many segments that fall flat or short of compelling.
The problem I see is that ratings may not matter to many fans of WWE because THEY are happy to just watch the show later on YouTube/online, DVR or even just read the results but the Nielsen ratings DO matter to the network WWE is on, especially when it nears the time the contract is up and NBC have to decide what WWE is worth to them.
When WWE gets closer to that contract expiring and if their ratings aren't up to where they were last time or better then they'll need to pull out all the stops to make consistent and compelling reasons for fans to watch LIVE on TV or they risk getting less money in the deal or much worse; needing to go to another network.
The good news is WWE can make the tweaks necessary to make 2 days of 2 hour compelling live PRO WRESTLING content because they do it on NXT and in shades on Raw and SD. But they will need to cut out the fluff and be more coherent and engaging with storylines.
The bad news is Vince may not fully let them do that or he might just do it enough to squeak out enough high-rating shows in just the right time to get a decent contract renewal.
Honestly, the best case scenario for pro wrestling fans is that when NBC's contract with WWE is up in a few years and WWE is still doing this 50/50 booking and while doing some great things also wasting a lot of time trying to be all things to all people that they LOSE money in their next contract and they are FORCED to improve and really find what gets fans to tune in live on TV to their product.
In the meantime, just enjoys the things they do well and ignore the things they don't do well. You could complain about it but unless you have a Nielsen box you watching or not watching won't affect their TV product.
WWE cannot afford to go off TV or any lesser network for the good foreseeable future. They need the TV exposure to make all the other aspects of their company continue to work like live attendance, merchandise, movies, video games, and Network subscribers.
WWE does need to be concerned about diving TV ratings no matter what excuse their could be for other competition on TV and other forms of media.
WWE needs to focus on creating a format of the show that is consistently appealing and gripping for pro wrestling fans. Yes, pro wrestling fans. Not fans of "sports entertainment" because nobody is a fan of "sports entertainment" because that is exclusively WWE and WWE will NEVER get away from being pro wrestling with fluff.
I still can't believe the quote from Vince McMahon during the Monday night wars when he said to Ted Turner they are not in the same business. McMahon said he's in the entertainment business when Turner said he was in the pro wrestling business.
While Vince is right in the sense that pro wrestling needs to be entertaining. It has to be entertaining as professional wrestling.
Even if WWE wants to appeal to kids it should not be a show that would look in place on the Disney Network or Family Channel.
When Vince steers Raw and SD to be all things for all people he definitely loses would-be fans because those segments are far too frequent and take would-be new or returning fans out of interest in the product and almost encourage them to find something else to watch.
Now, is there hope? Sure. I think NXT and everything connected to it from the recent Cruiserweight Classic to the NXT special events is how PRO WRESTLING should be consistently produced. When done this way it is cool and gritty and interesting.
NXT takes advantage of everything that pro wrestling does and can do better than other types of shows like the created drama, athleticism, showmanship and pageantry and memorable moments of speech and action.
It's amazing how much you can tell how Vince has nothing to do with NXT and Triple H has the reigns.
Vince is stubborn in his views on how Raw and SD should be produced and while they do have some good segments and matches there is just FAR too many segments that fall flat or short of compelling.
The problem I see is that ratings may not matter to many fans of WWE because THEY are happy to just watch the show later on YouTube/online, DVR or even just read the results but the Nielsen ratings DO matter to the network WWE is on, especially when it nears the time the contract is up and NBC have to decide what WWE is worth to them.
When WWE gets closer to that contract expiring and if their ratings aren't up to where they were last time or better then they'll need to pull out all the stops to make consistent and compelling reasons for fans to watch LIVE on TV or they risk getting less money in the deal or much worse; needing to go to another network.
The good news is WWE can make the tweaks necessary to make 2 days of 2 hour compelling live PRO WRESTLING content because they do it on NXT and in shades on Raw and SD. But they will need to cut out the fluff and be more coherent and engaging with storylines.
The bad news is Vince may not fully let them do that or he might just do it enough to squeak out enough high-rating shows in just the right time to get a decent contract renewal.
Honestly, the best case scenario for pro wrestling fans is that when NBC's contract with WWE is up in a few years and WWE is still doing this 50/50 booking and while doing some great things also wasting a lot of time trying to be all things to all people that they LOSE money in their next contract and they are FORCED to improve and really find what gets fans to tune in live on TV to their product.
In the meantime, just enjoys the things they do well and ignore the things they don't do well. You could complain about it but unless you have a Nielsen box you watching or not watching won't affect their TV product.
