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With numbers down significantly for RAW and AEW losing viewers as well, in an era in time when people are at home watching TV. How can you explain that? Is it that the content just isn’t appealing or in your opinion is no crowd wrestling shows turning viewers away?
I think the sterile environments are the biggest problems. AEW is doing a much better job of making the shows fun, but I think to a lot of people It’s just not wrestling there without fans to interact with the wrestlers. Segments that work when there is a crowd to play off of fall flat without one. And to some, the actually matches can look like dress rehearsals more than “fights”. With no live sports and fewer and fewer regular TV shows to compete against, there is an opportunity for growth if they can find the right formula.
With the coronavirus impacting the WWE shows, in that no audience can be there live, we've seen the shows at the PC feel long-winded and at times, outright boring. Seeing that there is no end in sight to the audience-free shows, could this be an opportunity for USA to allow WWE to shorten their shows on Mondays to two hours, for the time being? They could even replace the third hour with a WWE feature - WWE 24 documentary, Broken Skull Session, Ride Along, or something else Network related. WWE has been partnering with ESPN, FS1, and others to show the documentaries, why not partner with USA too? That way the creative team just has two hours to fill, and the ratings wouldn't be as affected seeing that the rating for these documentaries have been adequate.
I would love to see that, I really would. But USA would have to make the call and the third hour of Raw, even as the numbers have dropped, are probably significantly better that whatever they could air in its place. Plus, WWE wouldn’t want to give up the revenue that the third hour generates, especially with no live events. So, it probably won’t happen.
Ok, I know the WWE aren't dumb, but how concerning is it for them that the ratings for RAW since the outbreak are pretty consistent with the ratings going all the way back to April 30th of 2018? Looking at your list they have only topped 2.5 mil like 5 times in the last 2 years. That has to be a bit alarming or am I reading to much into things.
I don’t think they have to be alarmed at all. As I mentioned above, it’s not the same show without the fans and the big buildings. It’s not even close. So they don’t need to be concerned. You can’t really compare what they were doing before with what the product is now.
What do you think was going through HHH’s mind during his anniversary segment on Smackdown?
I have no idea what he was thinking but if it were me I would be thinking, “I work for a lunatic!” I think that segment is still going on as I type this.
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