Over the last few weeks we have seen the ratings and overall number of people watching Raw fall to a low not seen since the Attitude Era. A lot has been said about why this might be the case but the fact of the matter is that the figures speak for themselves. I'm not interested in getting into a war of words about the merits of each of those arguments. The fact remains that Raw isn't being viewed the same way as it used to be. A lot has to be said about the way people consume their TV shows now and that brings me onto the whole point of this thread.
Is the WWE gearing towards having their TV shows exclusively on the WWE Network?
I remember before the WWE Network went live in the UK, the WWE were seemingly "locked in negotiations" with Sky Sports over the future of WWE on British TV. I recall, at the time, the WWE were also looking to grab a whole channel for the WWE on the Sky Sports network that easy eventually nixed. Since then, the WWE Network has gone live and the UK fans still get Raw and Smackdown every week on Sky Sports. That said, it strikes me as odd that the WWE would make such a request to Sky Sports. A request, that I feel, shows the hand of the WWE going forward.
Lets face it, the number of people watching Raw and Smackdown live has been dwindling and only ever really goes up during WrestleMania season. The WWE are no fools and, I would assume, realise that their negotiating position is going to be more challenging given that more people are tuning out. So with that in mind, would it make sense for the WWE to wholly transition to the WWE Network to show all of their original content? I agree that they make a lot of money from international broadcast rights. But should they keep all of their programming on the Network, could the WWE stand to be better of by increasing prices and being able to produce the show the way they want to? I don't really want to talk about how it could deliver an edgier product but it is a possibility, I suppose.
I just wonder, is this a fail safe that the WWE are or would consider in the face of falling TV ratings?
Is the WWE gearing towards having their TV shows exclusively on the WWE Network?
I remember before the WWE Network went live in the UK, the WWE were seemingly "locked in negotiations" with Sky Sports over the future of WWE on British TV. I recall, at the time, the WWE were also looking to grab a whole channel for the WWE on the Sky Sports network that easy eventually nixed. Since then, the WWE Network has gone live and the UK fans still get Raw and Smackdown every week on Sky Sports. That said, it strikes me as odd that the WWE would make such a request to Sky Sports. A request, that I feel, shows the hand of the WWE going forward.
Lets face it, the number of people watching Raw and Smackdown live has been dwindling and only ever really goes up during WrestleMania season. The WWE are no fools and, I would assume, realise that their negotiating position is going to be more challenging given that more people are tuning out. So with that in mind, would it make sense for the WWE to wholly transition to the WWE Network to show all of their original content? I agree that they make a lot of money from international broadcast rights. But should they keep all of their programming on the Network, could the WWE stand to be better of by increasing prices and being able to produce the show the way they want to? I don't really want to talk about how it could deliver an edgier product but it is a possibility, I suppose.
I just wonder, is this a fail safe that the WWE are or would consider in the face of falling TV ratings?