WWE Raw back to 2 hours

[vicd71]

It looks as though Raw is back to its old 2-hour format. According to Comcast's interactive guide, on Monday, NCIS: Los Angeles will be the 2-hour episode, "Deliverance" at 7 pm EST followed by WWE Raw in its old 9-11:05 pm EST time slot.

In my opinion... long overdue.

Discuss.

 

[JohnJohnson]

I personally am against this. Raw experienced lower ratings in it's last hour when it was only 2 hours as well. I know a lot of people on here were against the 3 hour format, but most every comlplain was about the extra recaps and filler. This isn't a quantity issue but a quality one. 3 hours of quality TV time would be great. Also scheduling "big feel" main events surrounded by drama and controversy would help that final hour. For instance nowadays we pretty much have almost guaranteed a monthly tag team main even featuring 2 sets of feuding opponents that really have little to nothing to do with each other. A lot of the rest of it is just pretty routine stuff. There are no serious title defenses for the main events. And what I mean by that is there aren/t any matches where fans actually believe the title might change hands. I remember back in the days there would be main events announced that I would be really excited to see. These were true main events and sometimes included serious title defenses. I think with 3 hours they should use something like a WCW formula wherein they showcase their young fresh talent in early matches while building up the drama of the main eventers to form a main event later. Throw in some solid uppercard matches and I think 3 hours could work very well. Also if they used the whole Warzone strategy again wherein the 2nd hour used to be a little bit more adult oriented. With that in a 3 hour show, kids would still get to see 2 hours of wrestling featuring their comedy favs and what not, it would also be a good way to keep Cena out the main event picture for a while as he could finish off the 2nd hour and leave some room for more stars to blossom at the top. I think that would get more people tuning in, especially considering the amount of fans here that claim they like to DVR Raw and fast forward through the BS. This would give them a reason to start tuning in to the final hour as the BS will have been exhausted in the first 2 hours. Just my thoughts on it.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

According to a report I read just a few minutes ago, it's said to be a guide error as the poster above me mentioned. At least, that's what F4WOnline.com is reporting. According to the site, WWE officials comfirmed with them that Raw will remain a three hour show.

"I personally am against this. Raw experienced lower ratings in it's last hour when it was only 2 hours as well."

It's true that Raw did sometimes experience a drop off in viewers during its two hour run as well. However, the drop offs were never as severe as what the show experiences in the three hour format. The 8 pm & 9pm hours of this past Monday's Raw drew between 4.147 and 4.126 million viewers respectively according to tvbythenumbers.com. Those numbers are about average for what Raw usually drew in its 2 hour format during the fall television season going against Monday Night Football. The 10 pm hour saw average viewership drop to 3.488 million viewers. That's a decrease of almost 700,000 viewers. The third hour of Raw has drawn significantly less viewers during Raw's entire 3 hour run, except for the 1,000th episode of Raw. As a result, the overall rating of the show gets dragged down to what's well below normal compared to the same time last year with Raw at 2 hours.

It can be hard watching a three hour wrestling program each week. Even when WWE just had the occasional 3 hour special episodes of Raw, the show was sometimes tiring to watch. Me personally, I don't have all that many issues with Raw being three hours. The additional recaps do get on my nerves sometimes and featuring 3 minute matches on the show serves no point but to take up air time. Apart from those two issues, I'm generally fine with Raw being 3 hours. Sure, there's the occasional skit that has me rolling my eyes or matches that are beyond unnecessary. But it was like that sometimes when Raw was 2 hours.

However, I do think WWE will go back to Raw being 2 hours at some point down the line. If Raw's third hour continues to falter like this during WrestleMania season, then returning to a 2 hour format, at least in my opinion, will be something that both WWE and USA will consider in a more serious light.

 

[Wrestling101]

I hope it stays 3 hours for a while longer. It's the only way to get more air time for the non-main event portion of the roster. There's no way WWE can rebuild the mid card and tag team divisions as effectively as they have if they have less air time to devote to it.

I don't care about ratings....and in this case, neither should Vince. Without that top tier of talent like they had years ago, they need more air time to give certain wrestlers so that A) they can work on properly building the future of that top tier with what is the mid card today, and B) keep giving the time to today's top tier to keep it alive and moving forward until the next generation of main eventers are ready to step up and carry the WWE.

Without 3 hour RAWs, there'd only be enough time for them to develop and give good storylines to 1 or 2 younger guys at the same time, so most of Sandow, Ryback, Cesaro, Bryan, Miz, Ziggler, Barrett, Kofi, and The Shield would be suffering, and that's not to mention the attention and air time they've given to PTP, 3MB, Rey and Cara, Kidd and Gabriel, etc that wouldn't be available for those teams in the tag division.

It's pretty clear to me that the 3 hour RAWs are needed right now in their attempt at building A) new stars to get to the main event level and stay there, hoping that someone can take a hold of the wrestling world the way Austin and Rock did, and B) building the rest of the card to have legit characters with personality, regardless of whether or not they'll ever get to the main event (like 3MB.....wrestlers and stables and teams like them are needed...they'll never be main event guys, but the WWE always was at it's best when even the lower card guys are given time to develop a character).

 

[Mustang Sally]

The 8 pm & 9pm hours of this past Monday's Raw drew between 4.147 and 4.126 million viewers respectively according to tvbythenumbers.com. Those numbers are about average for what Raw usually drew in its 2 hour format during the fall television season going against Monday Night Football. The 10 pm hour saw average viewership drop to 3.488 million viewers. That's a decrease of almost 700,000 viewers.

It's too early to make a decision on the 3-hour format, but drops that severe in the last hour certainly indicate that the show is too long......and if Vince McMahon gets upset at slight decreases in viewership, imagine what he must be thinking when he loses 700,000 people during what should be the most event-laden hour, which includes the main event?

Personally, I like the 3-hour format because it gives me more of what I've always enjoyed. Still, it seems like overkill. I keep pointing out that the original Raw from the Manhattan Center in New York City was 1 hour, and I don't remember feeling the show was too brief.

Consider: if the 3rd hour was gaining viewers over the first two, would McMahon think of going to 4 hours?

Burn-out city

 

[Dagger Dias]

This is disappointing if it ends up being true. WWE had a golden opportunity to showcase more of its talent and build up the lesser angles for PPV events using the third hour. I hope they keep the third hour honestly. It can benefit them if they use it properly. Of course that works both ways though, if they plan on just doing a ton of recaps then yes it makes the third hour a waste of time. People complaining about the ratings gets very old very quickly. It's WWE's own fault for not using the third hour to the best of their abilities. Hmmm, if you have guys that are struggling to get over for a match no one cares about and an entire hour of television time that you do not know what to put onscreen, you'd think that WWE would be smart enough to make the right call there and not be lazy with the booking. Goodness knows they've NEVER been lazy with the booking before.

The federation has tag teams, midcarders, and divas who all need showcasing. The midcard divisions have been looking better, but all of the attention remains on the main eventers. PPV events keep having matches thrown in that either no one cares about due to lack of build or matches that are thrown in at the last minute. We would not have that problem if they used the third hour to promote more angles and make the fans care about ALL divisions. Or they could go back to the two hour format and be right back where they were before the third hour was added. More can be done with the third hour than without it, so why waste this opportunity?

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Cable providers make mistakes all the time. If/when WWE goes back to two hours they will promote it a little bit more. Not as much as they promote an extra hour but they will still promote it.

I am happy with three hours. If I am not interested in something I will just fast forward through it. The shows can be bad here and there but I think they've upped their game creatively here and there and the matches feel more competitve.

As far as the drop off in the third hour. It doesn't matter as long as the extra first hour is delivering more total viewing hours for USA, paid attendance stays up, PPV buys don't fall, wrestlers stay healthy, and SD can maintain it's strength.

If anything programming for WWE at 8/7 CT is probably more profitable than 10/9 CT so if they do go back to two hours I could see them dropping the third hour instead of the new hour everyone assumes they will drop.

 

[Martin Gabriel]

Not every show has been bad, but I'm tired of them giving away big matches (Bryan/Mysterio for the first time ever wasted on the night's mid-card? Really? Cena/Ziggler on television instead of saving it for TLC? FUCK!) all the time and the incessant fucking replays. Ugggggh, replays. Go back to two-hours, give us two 10-minute matches a week, time replays more efficiently to periods of the show when more people will see them so you don't have to play them a ton of times throughout the night -- just be efficient with the two hours instead of padding out three hours with bullshit.

 

[boywithbluehanger]

Personally, I'm glad about this change. There really was too much filler for me to justify watching it for 3 hours.

Like I said a few times before, 3 hours is a lot of effort to sit through for most movies. Imagine what it is for a show! Add to that the fact that I watch Smackdown too and that's another 2 hours. So that's a total of 5 hrs a week that I'm giving to WWE. 4 hours is too long as it is. Adding anything to it is just ridiculous. If I wanted an extra hour, I'd have been watching NXT online, Superstars or whatever that Wednesday show is called now.

 

[info62]

If I were still in highschool then maybe I would have time to watch a 3 hour RAW live, but I can't devote that much time of my night to a show thats 3 hours and 50% filler&commercials anyway. So I'm definitely glad if RAW goes back to 2 hours. I still won't watch the show live until the quality improves, but at least a 2hour show means I am capable of watching it live if I want to

I thought nothing good came out of 3 hours. They didn't use it to show more talent or give them storylines, they used it for more filler. I don't have faith that this would change in the future. I'm glad if it's really reverting back to 2 hours.

 

[SEMM]

I feel as if I should add that it hasn't changed on the schedule over here in the UK. Whether or not that's just Sky being slow I don't know.

However, I would love it to go back to 2 hours. Three hours is way too long and is filled with recaps and filler. It's also too tiring, what with Smackdown being another 2 hours, NXT being an hour and on certain weeks PPV's being 3 hours.

The only thing that would worry me if it went back to 2 hours is the Tag teams. The division has been getting a fair amount of focus and for the first time in a while is good. No idea if 2 hours is enough time (for "creative") to fit the tag teams on as well as the other stories.

 

[Wrestling101]

A lot of you guys are basing your opinion on 2 hours vs 3 hours on how it makes you feel, whether you personally get bored, on whether you have the time to dedicate 3 hours, etc......you're looking at it all wrong.

The only question that matters is 'Will it help the wrestlers (main event level, mid card, low card, etc) in developing their characters, get more air time, more wrestling, better storylines to spotlight the talent, etc.?' Because that's the ONLY thing that matters. And if the answer to the question is YES, and I think we can all agree that it has helped, then it's a success, regardless of how it personally affects you and how hard or easy it is for you to sit through those 3 hours.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

I would love for them to go back to 2 hours for a few reasons.

For one they haven't done the best job of filling up those 3 hours with quality content, we really don't need an hour an episode talking about social networking, its just a waste of time. I don't care what people say on Tout and I've never been a big fan of the fans deciding what's going on. On paper it sounds a lot better than the overall result.

Another reason is it's simply too much every week which makes the product feel diluted. Now I admit this is the old school in me but frankly I'm not the biggest fan of seeing the champ wrestle every week or seeing Cena wrestle every week, I'm even less of a fan of seeing Brodus Clay wrestle every week. Once again just my opinion.

The show feels a lot more boring now that it's 3 hours. Although they have had some 3 hour Raw's that just flew by they've mostly felt very boring indeed. Also with PPV's being 3 hours it seems odd to me that their weekly show is also 3 hours, I'm just saying their free show is longer than their PPV's almost 100% of the time, not to mention almost every match we see on PPV we will see on Raw as well. That's not really a 3 hour issue though as its more of a booking issue.

Lastly (and don't quote me on this as I haven't bothered to look) but the overall ratings haven't been doing to well since they went 3 hours. They didn't do too amazing with 2 hours but I think they are worse than the norm. Also with Raw numbers dropping in the 3rd hour when its competing with prime time Monday shows in some regions (like mine for example) it seems like people either lose interest in watching the 3rd hour or some of them (like myself) would rather watch How I Met Your Mother or the 4th quarter of whatever game is playing on Monday Nights. I felt much more inclined to watch all of RAW when it was 2 hours for the simple fact it didn't fall over into other shows I wanted to watch.

Overall I think all problems can be solved if they do a better job putting together a 3 hour Raw as there is so much dead weight on that show its absurd. They haven't used the extra hour to make the show better, they basically made a 2 hour Raw and stretched into 3 hours by promoting Tout, Twitter, Facebook, and going on and on about all the things the WWE is doing outside the ring (like Breast cancer, Make a Wish, ect.). Its great they do that stuff but I don't need to see it as much as I do, I'm not more inclined to watch Raw because they help fight breast cancer, I think its awesome they do it but I don't need it shoved down my throat either. You can mention each thing in about 30 seconds each (so 3-4 minutes of a 3 hour show) and move on, I don't need to see a 5 minute video package of how great of a guy John Cena is outside the ring.

I'm not against a 3 hour show, I'm against they do nothing with that extra time. If they can do just as much in 3 hours as they do in 2 hours then just go back to 2 hours.

 

[SaveUsCMPunk]

The current product is not good enough for Raw to remain 3 hours. It would be so much easier to sit through a 2 hour Raw. How awesome would it have been to have 3 hour Raws during the Attitude Era when the product was red hot? (Especially when Raw and Sunday Night Heat were the main programs.) We've got Raw, Main Event, Superstars, Smackdown and Saturday Morning Slam for the main roster. That's more than enough WWE programming in a week.

Also, they haven't featured the lower card wrestlers that much with the extra hour, anyway. I'm not a big fan of Yoshi Tatsu or JTG, but how often do you see them? (Aside from being squashed.)

 

[Wrestling101]

Are some of you really using Saturday Morning Slam in your arguments for saying that there's too much WWE programming? You guys do realize Slam is not for us right? I consider it non-canon. Main Event is close to that too.

 

[Pedigree1]

I am for Raw staying at three hours! Three hours is a good idea. It gives the company a chance to showcase their younger talent and stars who dont get a chance to get one! I think the third hour suffers a little bit cause one of monday night football and two if you dont have DVR and DirecTv your talking midnight on the west coast going into the third hour. Thats kinda of late.

Plus its entertaining to me. Three hours is fine with me. There doing more with the Mid-carders but still the main dogs get the lions share of the time slots! I do wish the mid-carders would get a little more time and the fact that they show replay after replay! That shit is annoying one or two times fine but any more than that uggg stop please! Other than those two issues i am okay with three hours

 

[JVel]

The problem with the 3 hour format is that it's not being utilized properly. Instead of using an entire extra hour to give us more storylines, more matches, utilize the undercard, etc, we're given what feels like 30 minutes worth of recaps and 30 minutes of commercials. I was for the idea of the 3 hour Raws, assuming they would be using it to showcase more talent and more storylines. We don't need recaps of what happened on the first 5 minutes of the show starting at the 45 minute mark and replaying 6 times over the remaining course of the show.

Dropping back to the 2 hour format and managing the time more efficiently would be far better than keeping it at 3 hours and having half the show feel like filler garbage, while not tiring out people by the third hour. I'm not so much opposed to the 3 hours and still watch the 3 hours but I just fail to see how the new format is bettering themselves or the product in the long run.

 

[DirtyD79]

It ain't happenin' that was just Comcast fuckin' up. Face it, WWE is not going back to 2 hours anytime soon. The USA network (the ones who were actually behind the decision) until the ratings get so low it becomes more profitable to start showing reruns of Silk Stalkings during the 3rd hour.

 

[HBsam31]

I agree that the problem is more of how they are using the extra hour. The tag division or divas could really use that time. Why not give us one title match a week non WWE or World title. The extra hour should give them plenty of time to get the midcard title defended more often. All they ever seem to add is recaps. I like wrestling so I can watch it all night if that is what they want to do, but at least make use of the extra time that they have to showcase talent.

 

[Peoples_Champ]

The only way I watch this show (and any show on TV to be honest) is by downloading it. I don't care if I see it a couple days after everyone else, I don't have the time or the patience to sit from 8pm to 11pm on any night (I don't have a PVR, which would also make sense). Watching it without 45 minutes of commercials and fast forwarding through replays (although I do end up watching 1 out of every 4 or 5 replays just in case I missed something) makes it so much easier for me.

I will admit that I really enjoy the three hours. There are more storylines, but the tag division, midcarders like Cesaro and Sandow and even diva matches have all been more enjoyable to watch. Going back to two hours would be a mistake, especially leading up to the Road to WrestleMania

 

[strongbad]

I DVR it and start watching it 1 hour later than normal. I skip through the "replays" and the diva matches. It actually comes out to slightly above 2 hours, and much more action packed that way.

It seems they are finally finding their stride. They have at least one great matchup per week, and something that would be a decent draw at a PPV.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

Could the reason for the third hour drop off be because WWE is geared towards kids? Most parents that I know don't let there kids stay up past 10 on weeknights anyways, and those parents watching the show with them aren't staying tuned in because the product kind of stinks. I don't know if it's because of that exactly, but it does seem like a likely case.