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WWE Raw drops to lowest TV rating in 18 years

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R

RBH

Member
WWE Network is still thriving, but WWE’s television ratings aren’t exactly causing the company’s brass to celebrate. This Monday’s edition of Raw drew a 2.33 rating and 3.33 million viewers – still good for third-best on cable for the evening (behind Monday Night Football and the post-game SportsCenter), but down to a historic low.

The overall viewership from this Monday’s episode is the lowest for an episode on a non-holiday weekend since October 13th, 1997, back when Raw was regularly getting trounced in the Monday Night Wars by the dearly departed WCW Monday Nitro. And you can almost take that “non-holiday” part out of the equation – Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer noted that only a Christmas Eve show from 2012 drew lower ratings since 1997. Meltzer also points out that the 3.19 million viewers drawn for the third hour of the show is the second lowest audience for hour number three during its history.

Last year’s comparable Raw drew a 2.83 rating, and 2013’s drew a 2.68 rating. The “football excuse” doesn’t work either, because while Raw’s ratings have usually dropped once football season has started up, the first three episodes of Raw of the NFL season are down nearly 14% from the first three episodes last year.

Three million viewers is still a damn good number – the entire NHL Stanley Cup Playoff only averaged 1.43 million viewers on NBC’s family of networks, and they were thrilled. But for a company that was once regularly cruising with ratings above 5.0? Three million viewers is a disappointment.

What’s going on with the ratings? Uproxx’s Brandon Stroud suggested that Raw is bland and that all of the episodes seem the same. Back in July when another episode of Raw pulled a disastrous rating, I brought up the prevalence of DVRs and the ability to plow throw an entire three hour episode in a half hour to see what you want to see. James Caldwell of PWTorch suggested that drastic changes were needed to move the product in a different direction long-term.

It’ll be interesting to see what, if anything, WWE decides to do to combat these slipping ratings. The company just got its new TV deal, so there isn’t a worry about the money running out any time soon – but if business drops off elsewhere, they could be in trouble.
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http://awfulannouncing.com/2015/wwe-raw-ratings-hit-an-18-year-non-holiday-low-on-monday.html


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"Raw on 9/28 did a 2.32 rating and 3.32 million viewers (1.50 viewers per home), once again setting a new non-holiday mark for the show dating back to 1997, just under the 3.34 million viewers on 9/21 but well below the non-holiday record lows of a 2.42 rating set on 9/7 and 9/14.

The new record low they heading toward, which would be the lowest including holidays, would be a 2.24 rating and 3.14 million viewers for a show that aired on Christmas Eve in 2012. The last time Raw did a 2.3 rating non-holiday was October 27, 1997, a night they went not only against the NFL, but also against a WCW Nitro show that did a 4.6 rating. If you want to think of it in another way, Nitro, as horrible as it was in 1999, never came close to a 2.3 until the summer of 2000, and that was against a Raw show that did a 5.3 rating."

(...)

"The key losses are in Males 18-34, where Raw is down a whopping 21.7%. Raw is actually up 4.7% in Males 35-49, and in Women 18-49, Raw is down 13.0%. So the drop is not equal at all across the board, and what this says is in the 35-49 age group, Raw is doing better than usual against football, but there is something related to both football and wrestling in the 18-34 age group that is hurting Raw badly. The women’s drop is more than the seasonal pattern, but not far off it."
Click to expand...
-Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter
 
D

Downhome

Member
Good, I hope it keeps dropping.

I'm a lifetime fan (35 years old), and there have been a few moments over the last few months this Summer where I finally started asking myself just what the hell is the point in continuing to watch WWE.

I don't want to get to that point. I'm all for whatever it takes for them to turn this lull around, ugh.
 
A

ArtFuzzy

Banned
they need to start resorting to shock tactics. people only watched wrestling back in the day because it was shocking and trashy. stuff looks like a bunch of action figures fighting in a virtual ring these day,

PEOPLE WANT TRASHY
 
S

Shadowlink

Member
Are they still focusing on selling merchandise to children? I'm surprised that the only attempt they made to real in that 18-34 demo was Lesnar. Is he still on TV?
 
Q

QueenOfThorns

Member
This is kinda gloom and doom sounding, but isn't this inevitable? TV in general is increasingly dying, at least for live content stuff. I assume lots more people watch via DVR or Hulu or something that aren't counted in the ratings, right?

So, I dunno. It sounds bad, but it seems like it's just something that is going to happen as more people watch via the internet and DVR than as it's airing.
 
D

Downhome

Member
Bluekaveli said:
Welp time to call the old dogs back
Click to expand...

They are, on the next go home show, bringing all of the big names back.

It will mean nothing other than one week interest.

The most popular guys are those they don't have working full time right now, Brock and Jericho. They are about to bring back Hardy and are even considering Carlito.

These are not answers.
 
I

IdreamofHIME

Member
Sting as champ would have boosted ratings, but hey better to have the injury giving-Nazi loving charisma vacuum without a finisher the belt for a bit longer.
 
B

Bronx-Man

Banned
QueenOfThorns said:
This is kinda gloom and doom sounding, but isn't this inevitable? TV in general is increasingly dying, at least for live content stuff. I assume lots more people watch via DVR or Hulu or something that aren't counted in the ratings, right?

So, I dunno. It sounds bad, but it seems like it's just something that is going to happen as more people watch via the internet and DVR than as it's airing.
Click to expand...
Raw is bleeding ratings way faster than most shows though. They've already lost 2 million overall viewers since they expanded Raw to 3 hours.
 
U

User1608

Banned
I'm not shocked considering how bad it got after consistently being uneven in quality for a year, personally. I stopped watching 3 months ago. Vince, ya blew it.
 
O

Oddduck

Member
WWE's storylines are just too bland and predictable nowadays.

It's not very good television. It's not even "so bad it's good" television.

It's just..not fun to watch anymore. The product has become stale.
 
Q

QueenOfThorns

Member
Bronx-Man said:
Raw is bleeding ratings way faster than most shows though. They've already lost 2 million overall viewers since they expanded Raw to 3 hours.
Click to expand...

Oh definitely. The 3 hours sucks the energy out of the shows even when they're good. But I think they still have a few years left on the contract for the shows being 3 hours.
 
R

RBH

Member
mreddie said:
Cena to be champ again soon.
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WWE NEWS: JOHN CENA OFF EUROPEAN TOUR, TAKING TIME OFF FOR PERSONAL REASONS
BY DAVE MELTZER

WWE U.S. Champion John Cena will be taking time off from wrestling shortly for what the WWE has described as personal reasons.

While we don't know the exact time frame that he will be gone, the 38-year-old Cena isn't advertised on anything after the Hell in a Cell PPV special in late-October starting with the next night's RAW in San Diego, CA. As of now, he is being advertised for their December shows.

As part of the time off, WWE officials have confirmed he will not be appearing on any dates during the company's upcoming 10-day European tour that will see them do shows in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, and Germany.

Cena recently regained the U.S. title from WWE World Champion Seth Rollins at WWE Night Of Champions, and is set to face Rollins in a steel cage match for the title this Saturday at the Madison Square Garden show on WWE Network.
Click to expand...
http://www.f4wonline.com/wwe-news/w...pean-tour-taking-time-personal-reasons-198876


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D

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
USA secretly getting a new wrestling show
KINPwwA.gif

mreddie said:
LOLOLOLOL OF ALL THE FUCKING TIMES

Dunn and Vince have chained themselves to the production truck.
Click to expand...

Keep in mind, John Cena, if he was a human being, should be fucking dead or at the least in a wheelchair. He's lived mostly healthy so far past what any wrestler would have, they should have had Plan B in motion 6 years ago.

Unfortunately they started Plan B 3 years ago and pushed it too fast and now everyone hates Plan B or are completely lethargic to Plan B. Plan Baby Gurl.
 
B

Bluekaveli

Member
Bronx-Man said:
They already got Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, and Jericho comes back tomorrow. Who they got left, RVD?
Click to expand...
RVD, Lance Storm, Paul White, The Rock, DDP, Chavo, Goldberg, Edge, Christian, WGTT, Carlito, Kurt Angle, Ken Shamrock, Hardcore Holly, Lita, Trish, Jacqueline, The Hardyz, Essa Rios, Perry Saturn, Sexual Chocolate, Prince Albert, Al Snow, Headbangerz, X-Pac, Old Age Outlaws, Mean Street Posse, Razor Ramon, Big Daddy Diesel, Dean Malenko, Mankind, Vader,and Rey Mysterio Jr.
 
M

Man God

Non-Canon Member
John Cena routinely comes back in a third of the time from whatever injury he sustains and looks in better shape each time he does. He might really be a robot.
 
T

TheLastCandle

Member
The product is very bad right now. I still subscribe to the network and the PPVs are watchable, but holy hell is Raw terrible every week.
 
M

mreddie

Member
Data West said:
Keep in mind, John Cena, if he was a human being, should be fucking dead or at the least in a wheelchair. He's lived mostly healthy so far past what any wrestler would have, they should have had Plan B in motion 6 years ago.

Unfortunately they started Plan B 3 years ago and pushed it too fast and now everyone hates Plan B or are completely lethargic to Plan B. Plan Baby Gurl.
Click to expand...

The Bryan injury hurt them badly and the forced push to Roman has pretty much poisoned that well, everyone else has been stuck in rut or killed their pushes due to Vince thinking HE KNOWS WHAT WE WANT

Rollins/Kane makes no fucking sense. Bryan/Kane made no sense because they weren't picking up on how Team Hell No ended.

These writers know jack all and the announcers aren't helping. Three hours was a mistake.

Vince screwed Vince.
 
D

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
These are the kinds of ratings Nitro was doing in 2001.

Not when Nitro was dying. When it was a husk just waiting to be bought. When ALL the stars were gone.
 
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