TV has changed, will WWE ever be as popular as they were?

[Radical]

Here's the situation. TV has undeniably changed. With other mediums becoming much more popular through the Internet like Netflix, Crave, ShoMi, as well as just the ease for many people to download and stream shows from legal places like YouTube and some not-so-legal places plus the expansion of the number of different channels to watch on cable and standard TV has contributed to viewership declines across most channels and shows.

I think other than a few select shows; maybe Big Bang Theory, NCIS, Game of Thrones ... viewership isn't as high as it once was.

And perhaps only Live sports has seen steady or perhaps increased viewership numbers that rival the years preceding it. This is probably due to the fact you can't replace the real drama and intrigue of a Live sport with any other show or medium if you are someone who enjoys Live sports.

So, with that said, I think WWE was very, very lucky that their Attitude Era came when it did. They were very lucky that they did have very dynamic and talented performers and they were lucky that they had a big rival company to push them to their limits.

WWE was also lucky that the Attitude Era came just before the Internet became so accessible to all and reliable for streaming video and before YouTube and Netflix became highly attractive alternatives.

People don't just sit and watch a TV show that much anymore. I think it is a very fair statement. Plus, I don't think TV ratings account for anyone who records a show and watches it later and obviously it doesn't account for anyone who streams the show online.

So, does this mean that I'm suggesting that the WWE TV product is great right now and the numbers they are getting are good and they don't need to improve their presentation? No. I'm not saying that.

In fact, I think WWE has been so mediocre for so long with only a few flashes of brilliance that casual to hardcore fans have trouble sticking with it because they don't know when they tune in if it'll be worth it or not.

But, look at the ratings. Even when they are up or down from week to week they still usually are between the #1 - #3 show on cable that night for 18-49 demographic. That means that whatever their number is, if they were the #1 show that's the TOP for viewership. So why would WWE or people think that they should be getting Attitude Era numbers like 8, 9 or 10 million when that is not the case for like 95% of TV shows?

One more quick point. WWE still gets decent attendance at Live events. No. Nothing like the Attitude Era but, again, since people have so many entertainment options to choose from even if it was the Attitude Era TODAY, I don't think they would be selling out house shows. Yet, the WWE today still can get sell-outs for Raw or SmackDown as well as PPVs. That's pretty amazing considering how low profile WWE and Pro Wrestling is in today's culture.

So here are the questions:

Considering how TV has changed should WWE and fans stop expecting ratings to be anything comparable to the Attitude Era?

What should WWE's realistic expectations be in today's Internet Age full of millions of entertainment options?

 

[Baldy42179]

I believe that current ratings are in-line with what to expect at least for the foreseeable future. Back in the Hulkamania and attitude eras you had to tune in to find out what was going on, or wait for the magazines to come out in order to keep track of what was happening. Now with the internet it is so much easier just to DVR it and look up the results in watch the parts that you are interested in.

Also with more and more people turning off their cable TV and utilizing streaming entertainment I think the WWE will be hard pressed to return ratings to their glory days.

 

[FromGlasgow]

I disagree as ratings didn't seem to effect other sports too much it perhaps effects it a little but not enough to warrant such a drop as it has been, Back in the day nearly the whole roster were household names now its just a handfull of guys if your lucky. It feels like I can talk to anyone about Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Andre The Giant, Roddy Piper, Steve Austin and The Rock are for example and they would know who I'm talking about but try mentioning Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose or Roman Reigns and I'd bet most non wrestling fans wouldn't have a clue.
I lived through it in Hulkamania and Attitude era days I used to hear people talk about wrestling as much as they talk about shows like Walking Dead and Game of Throwns today but now I never hear anybody mention wrestling.
I hope it gets back to even near that kind of level again back to when wrestling seemed cool.

 

[Radical]

I disagree as ratings didn't seem to effect other sports too much it perhaps effects it a little but not enough to warrant such a drop as it has been, Back in the day nearly the whole roster were household names now its just a handfull of guys if your lucky. It feels like I can talk to anyone about Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Andre The Giant, Roddy Piper, Steve Austin and The Rock are for example and they would know who I'm talking about but try mentioning Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose or Roman Reigns and I'd bet most non wrestling fans wouldn't have a clue.
I lived through it in Hulkamania and Attitude era days I used to hear people talk about wrestling as much as they talk about shows like Walking Dead and Game of Throwns today but now I never hear anybody mention wrestling.
I hope it gets back to even near that kind of level again back to when wrestling seemed cool.

I see your viewpoint and take on the matter. I agree, that I would like to see pro wrestling somehow become more popular to the point where you'd hear the average person talking about it. But I have a few counter points to offer.

I believe a large part of the reason why pro wrestling was as popular as it was in the Hulk era and Attitude eras was because it was a unique form of entertainment on TV when there wasn't all that many other channels and types of shows back then. And most people only watched the standard channels and WWE was on them and had prime time slots.

Sure, the top stars on WWE probably aren't 'house hold names' to anyone who doesn't watch it. But doesn't that go for pretty much ANY performer on any TV show? There is SO MUCH CONTENT to watch these days that even the most popular shows like Game of Thrones still leaves many average people unaware of the characters on the show.

So it's fine to think that the WWE could or should to better but then the question becomes: How could the possibly do that in today's swamped entertainment landscape?

 

[Charismatic Enigma]

Ratings aren't really the issue as much as show attendance, merch sales, and ad revenue.

As long as the product is performing financially at the level it needs to be, WWE probably doesn't put that much stock in ratings. It mattered more when it was a direct barometer between who was winning the Monday Night Wars, but with DVRs, streaming, illegal downloading, etc. etc. You'd never get accurate numbers anyway.

What WWE really needs to be concerned about that they actually could have some control over is will they ever have another super hot period again? Or rather, "Will wrestling ever be cool again?" How do they make it so that you see people out in public wearing 3:16 shirts, going around using catch phrases like "do you smell what the Rock is cooking" "Suck It" "That's the bottom line" etc. How do they get wrestling to become a true part of the mainstream popular culture again. That is the part is the difficult intangible. When you see things on Netflix like "Making A Murderer" or "Stranger Things", or apps like "Pokemon Go", that get the whole world talking, it proves that it is still possible for something to make a huge mark on pop culture and effect the world the way WWE did in the late '90s. It might not come in the same exact form as it did then, because the platforms have changed, but it can be done. They just need to figure out how to tap into the zeitgeist again.

 

[Navi]

I remember wrestling when it was on Saturday afternoon with Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler as commentator's. Once in a long while you would then get a Saturday Night Main Event, but that was about it. Now we are initiated with the WWE 24/7 if you subscribe to the network. What with RAW, SD, Main Event, Superstars and NXT, you can pretty much park yourself in front of the TV and watch till your eyes fall out of your head.

Maybe that's part of the problem as well. Maybe we get too much and some people have started to tune out. I mean I know myself that it's gets tiring watching what seems to be the same matches over and over again. A feud starts, they have a month of matches then they go to the PPV. Usually this happens for about 2-3 months in a row before we finally decide who is the big winner. In all of this the fans ultimately end up as the loser's.

Also with the increased amount of PPV's and more on the way, I don't expect this cycle to end anytime soon. There is only so many wrestlers to go around. You also have a lot of former wrestling fans who now consider the WWE as a kiddie program and they have gravitated to other sports like UFC. In the old days all you had was boxing, and I was never really into that.

Talking about how it used to be then and how it is now though is really talking apples and oranges. We didn't have the amount of channels running 24 hours a day. Usually you got the late news and then the national anthem, and that was it till 6 the following morning. So people watched TV back in the day. There were no DVR's, Netflix or the channels like the network, you watched it when it was on or you missed it completely. It wasn't rerun later.

No internet meant no spoilers or recaps, no Youtube to get you caught up on matches that had already happened. It was like that will everything, and still is with some sports today. If you miss a Maple Leaf game, you get the score and the highlights later but that's it. Wrestling didn't even have that, it was never even then considered a main stream sport.

You also didn't have social medial where we knew all about the wrestlers and what they were doing. Not that I care personally anyway. Maybe too much information isn't a good thing in some areas.

Something else the OP brought up is the decreased attendance at house shows. I live in Toronto, and have been to the last half dozen. I can tell you from personal experience they are always sold out. The WWE might in their infinite wisdom come back to cities where they do well more often, instead of some of these places where arena's have to be tarped off to make the place look full. I have friends that would love to attend a WWE show every couple of months, but they only get them once or twice a year. Might be time to dust off the map and make some changes.

All in all society has changed from what it was 20 years ago. People have busier lives for some reason, and the nuclear family is a thing of the past. The nights of sitting around the TV after dinner are long gone. I know is my house we eat dinner and then everyone has things to do. Sure I'm not alone in that regard. I'm positive the WWE has realized this and is making do with the way things are now.

No wrestling will never be as popular as it once was. It's not down to the fact that Hulk Hogan isn't wrestling anymore, the fanbase has changed and it's time to move with the times. If they don't they will get left behind.

 

[King Patrick Star]

My views on this topic are probably not shared by many, but here goes.

Considering how TV has changed should WWE and fans stop expecting ratings to be anything comparable to the Attitude Era?

WWE and fans should stop expecting ratings to be anything comparable to the Attitude Era.

What should WWE's realistic expectations be in today's Internet Age full of millions of entertainment options?

WWE’s realistic expectations in today’s Internet Age full of millions of entertainment options should be trying to be the number 1 and number 2 shows in the World.

Raw and Smackdown should try to be the top 2 shows on television today. The number of viewers is moot at this day and age. If you’re opponent scores 99 points, all you need to do to win, is score 100. If you’re opponent scores 1 point, all you need to do to win, is score 2. People just don’t watch TV like they used to. I “try” to watch Raw and Smackdown on Mondays and Tuesdays at 8, but if there’s something else going on (my Son just got a PS4 for his Birthday), I know I can just watch it later on my DVR, or someone (the WWE themselves) will spoil it on social media. Honestly, if what’s on WWE TV doesn’t catch my interest at the moment I look up at the screen, but I’m still in the mood to see Professional Sports Wrestling Entertainment, I’ll just tap the W icon, and I’m surfing the WWE Network.

Things have changed, times have changed. No matter what though, there is nothing like the WWE, in any form of entertainment, ever. It’s the only show(s) that can provide Sports and Entertainment, with no offseason like every other good show on TV. I used to get the case of the Mondays on Tuesdays, because Raw gave me something to look forward to every Monday night since I was 13 years and 364 days old. Now with Smackdown airing live on Tuesdays, and of course Wednesday being hump day, I’m completely cured from the case of the Mondays. Even if I don’t get to see Raw or Smackdown on any given week, I’m still in a good mood because I know something is happening that I can check out whenever I get the chance to.

Who am I kidding, I’m just really excited for new Gold and Leather coming to the WWE, cause…

New Belts Rock!! New Belts Rock!! New Belts Rock!!

 

[Phenomenal]

I think WWE as a brand is more popular than ever, maybe the first time in the company history. Before it was always about that ONE GUY, be it Hogan, Warrior, Sting, Hart, Goldberg, Austin or The Rock.

Now it is about the company as a whole, the company has not produced a mega-star since the Attitude era and death of WCW, to an extent only Cena, Batista and Brock come to mind. It is hard to produce stars when you cater to the marks, most of the current roster look like jobbers or mid-card at best.

 

[enviousdominous]

Ratings don't seem to be as big a deal these days, especially with no rival pro-wrestling show to compare them to and the status of having the number one rated shows on whatever network they're broadcast on. The WWE seems to be diving right into the whole social media frontier with every type of social media platform that I'm willing to be aware of.

Considering how TV has changed should WWE and fans stop expecting ratings to be anything comparable to the Attitude Era?

I've never expected current programming to come anywhere near Attitude Era levels. I mean, weren't they up around 8 back then? I don't think that the WWE is that crazy that they would think it's at all possible to match those numbers. I really think that the fans couldn't care less about the ratings given that -- as you pointed out -- TV is just one of a dozen options they have to see their favorite programming.

What should WWE's realistic expectations be in today's Internet Age full of millions of entertainment options?

I think the most realistic perspective that the WWE can have is "fake it 'til you make it". There may be millions of generic options for entertainment, but there's only WWE and TNA for most pro-wrestling fans. The only thing that the WWE needs to worry about is appearing as though they're acclimated to current trends, and as you know these trends are more difficult to predict than the weather. I think they kind of overdo it by seemingly forcing their popular performers to get official WWE Twitter handles, from which they can only share kayfabe thoughts. But whatever; these days they're one of the most normal forms of entertainment that anyone can find when compared to the kaleidoscopic mess that is the rest of the internet.

 

[dsotm5150]

You have to do a lot more research these days to get accurate ratings for WWE programming, the live rating that comes out on Tuesday doesn't take into account DVR, on-demand, Hulu or the replay on NBC Universal. I personally watch it on demand later in the week so I can skip around. With so many ways to get your WWE fix, you really can't base off of standard TV ratings. Ratings are nowhere near the numbers they were a decade ago let alone 20 years ago during the ratings war, but you used to have to tune in to know what was happening.

 

[agentmichaelscarn]

Also they show every important thing on their youtube channel. You basically get all the endings and all the promos on there, so why watch the regular unless you have the 3 hours to spare? You get all the good stuff without the filler. On most of their Raw videos they get between 500K-1m+ views so a good chunk of those people probably weren't even watching the show live.

 

[HBKperfect23]

I don't see the ratings ever getting back to where they were in the late 90s. The reason why: Too much tv. To follow all WWE tv, you need to watch 5 hours in two days. That's a ton of time to dedicate to wrestling. Weeks with pay per views, add 3 hours and you have 8 hours of wrestling in 3 days. I couldn't imagine watching that much. During the attitude era, you had one can't miss 2 hour show and Saturday morning recap show, very easy to keep up with.

Plus the WWEs demographic has changed to younger fans. What 10 year old kids are staying up past 11 on a Monday to see the end of Raw?

 

[therockiswwf]

I disagree as ratings didn't seem to effect other sports too much it perhaps effects it a little but not enough to warrant such a drop as it has been

I don't know many people who DVR sports. They might DVR specific games but not regularly. I find people want to watch sports live. WWE has a live show on the east coast. It is not live in the rest of America unlike sports. WWE tried to make a case in their last TV negotiation that they are just like sports and have a compelling reason to watch live. NBC disagreed. This is not comparable situations.

With DVR, you don't need to watch WWE live. Streaming and other ways to watch online hurt as well. Thousands of TV channels. A ton of other options and ways to not watch live. It is not realistic to think WWE can get those same ratings again. I don't care how hot they are. The current model has no reason to make you watch live, especially because it is only live on the east coast.

Interestingly WWE has had rising revenue 2009. In 2015, they shattered the record by over 100 million. This is different from profit but still impressive.

I think the most realistic perspective that the WWE can have is "fake it 'til you make it". There may be millions of generic options for entertainment, but there's only WWE and TNA for most pro-wrestling fans.

That doesn't mean wrestling fans don't have other interests that they will choose over WWE.

 

[rmp0012002]

WWE would love to be at that level again because it's a lot more fans to sell the product to but they are making so much money with lesser viewers they don't need to.

They do market their product to kids because they know adults don't buy into it but they also don't sell stars like Hulk Hogan, The Rock and Austin with their current roster as they sell the "WWE" as the star. Wrestling always thrived on stars but the WWE doesn't market it that way.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

You can choose to watch around 499 other shows on TV at the time of Raw. You can DVR Raw and watch it later. You can watch highlights of the show on Youtube. You can watch the full show somewhere else online. You can read a recap of the show on a site such as this one.

WWE produces 5 hours of TV in 2 nights. 8 hours in 3 nights when they have PPVs. That's just way too much programming. You can't expect people to tune in that much. Also why would you tune into Raw in the first place? What happened last Monday night that made viewers want to tune in? Nothing. They're also not creating stars. Ask a non-wrestling fan about Reigns, Rollins, Ambrose, or any of the other 'new stars'. They won't know who they are.

So no you can't expect WWE's ratings to be what they once were. However WWE isn't putting much effort into increasing the ratings. That's especially clear when you watch last Monday's Raw. Regardless they're making money, and that's what really matters, not ratings.

 

[rmp0012002]

My thinking is less is more. The territory tv shows gave you just enough in an hour and you couldn't wait for the next show to find out what happened. The WWE gives you three hours of filler on Raw then add in Smackdown plus the network and it's too much.

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

As long as it is a PG Product, it will never get close to the mainstream level it was at during the Attitude era. Nothing happens anymore that is "water cooler talk". A casual viewer puts on RAW and nothing of note ever happens that would make them tell someone else about it the next day.

Some Millenial revisionist-historians try downplaying the Attitude Era for whatever reason. Maybe because they feel left out on the fact that they didn't fully experience the best period in Wrestling history. But the fact is that it was compelling television. There's only so many places you can go with a PG rating, and this has resulted in the show basically just being "wrestlers wrestling".

Look at AJ vs. Cena. A solid feud. With nothing behind it. The casual fan doesn't give a shit.

18 years ago, the casual fan was interested in the Val Venis vs. Goldust feud because the porn star stole a guy's wife and was rubbing his nose in it. There is something there. It's not "i'm a better wrestler than you".

The product just is nothing like what it was when it was culturally relevant.

 

[Just Do It]

In my lifetime I have seen two booms. The second one came out of nowehere, so honestly, it's hard to say what is around the corner. Wrestling was so crummy eerywhere in the mid 90's, who would have thought the late 90's boom was coming? SOmetimes, it just needs a spark. Someone who really captures public imagination.

 

[Phenomenal]

WWE is more popular than ever but that's because they are pushing themselves as a brand. The WWE as a brand is making a lot of money.

As far as being cool and popular then that is a big NO! the WWE has never sucked so bad in my opinion, reason being they are catering to the marks. Most of their roster look like jobbers or mid-card at best, mind you these will be the same wrestlers who will be world champs and main event WM some day.

Wrestling only had 2 boom periods, Hulkamania and the NWO/Attitude era. Todays wrestlers don't have the larger than life look, charisma and character to pull of another era.

 

[Radical]

As long as it is a PG Product, it will never get close to the mainstream level it was at during the Attitude era. Nothing happens anymore that is "water cooler talk". A casual viewer puts on RAW and nothing of note ever happens that would make them tell someone else about it the next day.

Some Millenial revisionist-historians try downplaying the Attitude Era for whatever reason. Maybe because they feel left out on the fact that they didn't fully experience the best period in Wrestling history. But the fact is that it was compelling television. There's only so many places you can go with a PG rating, and this has resulted in the show basically just being "wrestlers wrestling".

Look at AJ vs. Cena. A solid feud. With nothing behind it. The casual fan doesn't give a shit.

You know, I think there are some things that the WWE can't do today because of the PG rating that probably hurts their ratings ... I mean, I guess I'm a little crazy because I did find that Hardcore division entertaining when guys were getting smashed with trash can lids and piledriven into pallets outside ... but WWE CAN still do NO DQ matches and they can still to Extreme Rules matches if they want to but they choose not to use it as much as they could.

But I agree with you that WWE isn't doing enough on screen regularly to draw a casual fan, they hardly do enough to keep a hardcore fan interested. Even a hardcore fan turns on Raw and sees two guys wrestling, ok that's fine but what happens after? Likely it's a jobber match and ends pretty quick, then maybe another team or person comes out to try and attack them and they run away. But it's WEAK tension. And also it happens once during the show and then done. In the Attitude Era major storylines were threaded through the entire show building and building with mystery and suspense. That doesn't really happen much anymore.


Also I really feel like WWE's 3 hour Raw and their horrible placing of commercials, often during matches, is KILLER to a viewing audience. Add to that the fact that there is rarely a building, on going, compelling storyline throughout the show that would keep you wanting to see more and even a hardcore wrestling fan is left with these two options:

A.) Watch 3 hours of Raw, 2 hours of SmackDown LIVE but with multiple commercials, almost ALWAYS during a on-going match, unless the match is a pure squash match and if that's the case, it's a pointless match, and lots of filler with commentators plugging the Network and merchandise

OR

B.) Wait one day after Raw and SmackDown, go to YouTube, spend an average of 4 minutes per video with NO pointless filler, NO ads (maybe a quick pre-video ad but many people can block them or get through them in 15 seconds) and be up-to-date on EVERY 'major' development in the show and do that all in a total of about 20 minutes!

Not only that but when you watch the show live you can't fast forward or rewind or skip segments that you know aren't interesting, while if you go to YouTube you can easily skip over or fast forward through any segments you don't want to see.


So why on EARTH would someone regularly watch 3 hours of Raw and 2 hours of SmackDown when commercials are aggravatingly frequent and during matches, there isn't a building and compelling storyline with mystery and serious tension threaded through the show that would intrigue you to keep watching because you never know when "IT" might happen?


Raw ratings since just 4 years ago in 2012 were an average of 3.0 and now in 2016 the average rating is 2.4.

In that time their Network has been introduced, they have put every important video on their YouTube channel and, I feel, made no significant attempt to make watching their show live any more compelling.



SO, how COULD WWE get their ratings up? Well, first, I think they should be just happen if they can ever get them back to up to an average of 3.0 and steady.

How could they do that?

1.) Time commercials to almost EXCLUSIVELY before and after matches and REDUCE out-of-show commercials by including more IN-SHOW ads that help them recap and build storylines ...

Like in the Attitude Era they had the "Boot of the Week" presented by Lugz. They basically have an ad for you but they then go to a clip from the show that recaps some sort of interference or attack that leads right into the next segment. It keeps the fans 'in the show' and still allows for ad revenue.

2.) They GOTTA let their talented mic workers work the mic more, even if its just in short promos before or after their matches. THAT is a big part of what made the AE so compelling. Talented mic workers running down their opponents, often with good digs, is part of the fun of pro wrestling. WWE HAS talented mic workers they just gotta let them free and tell them to smack talk more.

3.) They NEED to establish more mysteries and intense situations at the start of the show that gets multiple segments and builds through the night where the viewer doesn't know exactly when "IT" might happen so they are compelled to watch.

Have more title matches and/or #1 contenders matches. Yes, they will likely in because of interference either causing a win or a DQ but obviously that means there is some sort of feud or rivalry being built while the title match can act as a compelling reason to stay tuned.

Your main event stars storyline has to build and thread through the hole night and fans have to feel, like they did in the AE, that "oh, I better keep watching because this tense situation and storyline is building, more characters are getting involved and it could blow up at any time and it could get WILD, so I better keep watching"


Look, the Lana and Rusev with Reigns segment last week with Lana getting cake all over her was pretty classic pro wrestling wild and silly action. It later got over 2.3 million YouTube views. But that was ONE time in weeks when something WILD like that happened and ONCE during the show. WWE needs to have a OMG WILD moment EVERY show and probably 2 or 3 things during a show that could be WILD and OMG so people get used to the fact that each show will have something fun to watch.




Now, that said, it sees WWE is doing just fine in terms of show attendance, merchandise sales, Network subscriptions about 2 million I believe and obviously consistently 500 K or more views on YouTube which is fine.

But their model right now is NOT set up for live TV views. Not one, tiny, little bit.

I think they still, in general, need better storylines, more intense feuds, more crazy and wild segments but if they are ever serious about actually wanting to increase their TV ratings they better improve the way it is presented.

Because in the Internet age, they way their TV show is presented right now they are set up to drive more and more fans away from watching live to the point where they'll REALLY have to change it up or just put Raw and SmackDown on their Network!

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Viewership is down 10% year over year and has been forever. I don't mean for WWE, I mean for TV.

If you look at the top rated show (not anything in particular, just the top slot), it's down.

I watch Hulu, I watch WWE network, I haven't had cable in 5 years. You wouldn't say "WWE sucked at social media in 1998", so why would you use ratings in 2016?

The cable industry itself will probably be dead in 10 years. There's a reason MLB, NFL, etc are all starting streaming services. There's a reason Sling TV exists. Cable sucks and is going to die. WWE is still hugely popular. Look at their yearly revenues. Look at Wrestlemania's attendance. Look at WWE's pop culture presence. Is it at it's peak? Probably not. Is it still insanely popular, especially since it's a "niche" form of entertainment? Hell yes.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

You know, I think there are some things that the WWE can't do today because of the PG rating that probably hurts their ratings ... I mean, I guess I'm a little crazy because I did find that Hardcore division entertaining when guys were getting smashed with trash can lids and piledriven into pallets outside ... but WWE CAN still do NO DQ matches and they can still to Extreme Rules matches if they want to but they choose not to use it as much as they could.

But I agree with you that WWE isn't doing enough on screen regularly to draw a casual fan, they hardly do enough to keep a hardcore fan interested. Even a hardcore fan turns on Raw and sees two guys wrestling, ok that's fine but what happens after? Likely it's a jobber match and ends pretty quick, then maybe another team or person comes out to try and attack them and they run away. But it's WEAK tension. And also it happens once during the show and then done. In the Attitude Era major storylines were threaded through the entire show building and building with mystery and suspense. That doesn't really happen much anymore.


Also I really feel like WWE's 3 hour Raw and their horrible placing of commercials, often during matches, is KILLER to a viewing audience. Add to that the fact that there is rarely a building, on going, compelling storyline throughout the show that would keep you wanting to see more and even a hardcore wrestling fan is left with these two options:

A.) Watch 3 hours of Raw, 2 hours of SmackDown LIVE but with multiple commercials, almost ALWAYS during a on-going match, unless the match is a pure squash match and if that's the case, it's a pointless match, and lots of filler with commentators plugging the Network and merchandise

OR

B.) Wait one day after Raw and SmackDown, go to YouTube, spend an average of 4 minutes per video with NO pointless filler, NO ads (maybe a quick pre-video ad but many people can block them or get through them in 15 seconds) and be up-to-date on EVERY 'major' development in the show and do that all in a total of about 20 minutes!

Not only that but when you watch the show live you can't fast forward or rewind or skip segments that you know aren't interesting, while if you go to YouTube you can easily skip over or fast forward through any segments you don't want to see.


So why on EARTH would someone regularly watch 3 hours of Raw and 2 hours of SmackDown when commercials are aggravatingly frequent and during matches, there isn't a building and compelling storyline with mystery and serious tension threaded through the show that would intrigue you to keep watching because you never know when "IT" might happen?


Raw ratings since just 4 years ago in 2012 were an average of 3.0 and now in 2016 the average rating is 2.4.

In that time their Network has been introduced, they have put every important video on their YouTube channel and, I feel, made no significant attempt to make watching their show live any more compelling.



SO, how COULD WWE get their ratings up? Well, first, I think they should be just happen if they can ever get them back to up to an average of 3.0 and steady.

How could they do that?

1.) Time commercials to almost EXCLUSIVELY before and after matches and REDUCE out-of-show commercials by including more IN-SHOW ads that help them recap and build storylines ...

Like in the Attitude Era they had the "Boot of the Week" presented by Lugz. They basically have an ad for you but they then go to a clip from the show that recaps some sort of interference or attack that leads right into the next segment. It keeps the fans 'in the show' and still allows for ad revenue.

2.) They GOTTA let their talented mic workers work the mic more, even if its just in short promos before or after their matches. THAT is a big part of what made the AE so compelling. Talented mic workers running down their opponents, often with good digs, is part of the fun of pro wrestling. WWE HAS talented mic workers they just gotta let them free and tell them to smack talk more.

3.) They NEED to establish more mysteries and intense situations at the start of the show that gets multiple segments and builds through the night where the viewer doesn't know exactly when "IT" might happen so they are compelled to watch.

Have more title matches and/or #1 contenders matches. Yes, they will likely in because of interference either causing a win or a DQ but obviously that means there is some sort of feud or rivalry being built while the title match can act as a compelling reason to stay tuned.

Your main event stars storyline has to build and thread through the hole night and fans have to feel, like they did in the AE, that "oh, I better keep watching because this tense situation and storyline is building, more characters are getting involved and it could blow up at any time and it could get WILD, so I better keep watching"


Look, the Lana and Rusev with Reigns segment last week with Lana getting cake all over her was pretty classic pro wrestling wild and silly action. It later got over 2.3 million YouTube views. But that was ONE time in weeks when something WILD like that happened and ONCE during the show. WWE needs to have a OMG WILD moment EVERY show and probably 2 or 3 things during a show that could be WILD and OMG so people get used to the fact that each show will have something fun to watch.




Now, that said, it sees WWE is doing just fine in terms of show attendance, merchandise sales, Network subscriptions about 2 million I believe and obviously consistently 500 K or more views on YouTube which is fine.

But their model right now is NOT set up for live TV views. Not one, tiny, little bit.

I think they still, in general, need better storylines, more intense feuds, more crazy and wild segments but if they are ever serious about actually wanting to increase their TV ratings they better improve the way it is presented.

Because in the Internet age, they way their TV show is presented right now they are set up to drive more and more fans away from watching live to the point where they'll REALLY have to change it up or just put Raw and SmackDown on their Network!

Study the entertainment industry dude. They are still regularly top of the cable ratings for Mondays. Usually at least top 3. The number itself doesn't matter. Looking at ratings from 2012-present isn't even apples to apples. Would you look at Hulu views in 2012 vs today? Probably not right? Because it's totally different.

Think about this, cable is not only dying, but is dying at an even faster clip among millennials. Pretty much the only people keeping cable are old people. Guess who doesn't watch wrestling and who WWE doesn't give a shit about? Old people.

So, not only is your ratings measuring stick from a dying medium. It's a medium that is mostly popular with a demographic WWE doesn't even care about.

http://nocable.org/learn/cable-tv-cord-cutting-statistics



Using Cable TV ratings to measure WWE's success would be like using AM radio ratings to measure talk show success. WWE's format and quality has very little control over the fact that people simply aren't buying that medium. I watch WWE on Hulu and I watch Lucha Underground on SlingTV. They could have the greatest live show in the world. I'm still not paying $95 for cable.