SD/RAW Ratings are in - SD almost tops RAW this week!

[slik]

The September 12th 2016 edition of RAW had 2.7 million viewers overall. This is down from last week's 3.1 million viewers. This was the first week of NFL football season competition.



Below is the hourly breakdown:

8PM: 2.8 million viewers
9PM: 2.7 million viewers
10PM: 2.5 million viewers


credit : nodq.com

[Mr. Nerfect]

What can we gather from this? We can gather that people just aren't staying through the show. We can gather that the main events just aren't keeping interest. And we can gather that maybe Kevin Owens as Universal Champion isn't the interest-garner people were hoping for. I thought he was really good on RAW, to be honest -- mainly in that first backstage segment with Tom Phillips and in the ring in the main event. I'm not sure if people "believe" in him though.

[Mr. Nerfect]

What is the share here? Lately RAW has only barely been sitting above a 2.0, and they don't have much of that 18-49 demographic share.

[Emperor Smeat]

Going be some really serious issues for the WWE if Smackdown doesn't tie or beat RAW this week.

Even when compared to the low expectations, RAW still did worse this week. Was expected to be in the 2.9 million range and ended up doing less than 2.7 million instead.

Last night's Raw did 2.68 million viewers, barely beating out the 2.62 million for the July 4th show this year. Aside from that show, from a ratings standpoint this will probably be the lowest rated show since October 14, 1996, and that's when it was going head-to-head with another wrestling show, major league playoffs and an NFL game.

[slik]

The third hour of RAW typically drops a lot, which is the opposite of what people would expect, since it's the main-event the program is built around. The first hour is always the highest, which is interesting since the least amount of noteworthy stuff typically happens there, outside of the opening segment.

While I would love to see RAW go back to 2 hours, there is zero chance of that happening since WWE makes more revenue having a third hour and there isn't anything that would garner the rating the third hour gets on the USA Network.

[Mr. Nerfect]

The third hour does trickle off, but that itself is a problem.

[Emperor Smeat]

What can we gather from this? We can gather that people just aren't staying through the show. We can gather that the main events just aren't keeping interest. And we can gather that maybe Kevin Owens as Universal Champion isn't the interest-garner people were hoping for. I thought he was really good on RAW, to be honest -- mainly in that first backstage segment with Tom Phillips and in the ring in the main event. I'm not sure if people "believe" in him though.

RAW is doing a bad job carrying momentum from week to week which pretty much was the case pre-Brand Split as well.

Last week erased all the interest built up from previous weeks and people just didn't care about this week. Also pretty much continues the trend of main events with Reigns resulting in really bad 3rd hours.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Very good points there. Episodically, RAW does often feel thrown together. I do feel that they built on some storylines here -- but when that's Enzo & Cass vs. The Shining Stars, you have to wonder just how glued to their sets people will be.

[Emperor Smeat]

Apparently the ratings for this week managed to tie the lowest ever rating Nitro got during the Monday Night Wars with a 1.8 according to NeoGAF's wrestling thread.

In regards to TNA, their highest ever for Impact was a 1.5 which was the Hogan debut episode for the company.

[Droford]

At some point last night around 9 someone behind me said "this is what they're going to put up vs football tonight?" at that point it had been the 15 minute opening promo, commercials, triple threat match, commercials and backstage stuff. 1 match in an hour..

[slik]

As noted, this past Monday's WWE RAW drew 2.69 million viewers. PWTorch reports that the final rating for the show was a 1.88.

It was the lowest non-holiday rating for the show since 1996. It would have been the lowest rating for the show since 1996 including holidays, however the 4th of July episode this year was slightly lower, garnering a 1.87. Below is the audience for RAW against the Monday Night Football season-opener for every year since 2012, when the show went to three hours. The fall from 2015 to 2016 was the largest yet:


2012: 4.136 million viewers
2013: 3.886 million viewers
2014: 3.987 million viewers
2015: 3.397 million viewers
2016: 2.69 million viewers

- wrestlinginc.com
I wonder how many people watch RAW "not live" and how the # increases over the next 7 days?

[Mr. Nerfect]

Does that really matter to the WWE's success? If they're trying to sell themselves as live entertainment, yet people don't really watch them live, it's pretty scary. They're under a 1.0 in the 18-49 demographic. NFL, SportsCenter and Love & Hip Hop is beating them out. Family Guy and Teen Mom are catching up.

The WWE has managed to land some good sponsors recently, and that family-friendly demographic will probably get them through this period, so I don't expect things to change much or get any better.

[slik]

I think I read once the largest demographic was watching WWE programming was actually significantly older than the 18-34 demographic.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Not sure what this means to anyone, but both of the Monday Night Football games were fucking terrible too.

[Destor]

Not sure what this means to anyone, but both of the Monday Night Football games were fucking terrible too.
Nah Steelers always draw big

[Triple A]

Really feel like the amount of live viewers dropping lower and lower each year has more to do with ppl not watching live TV on a TV as much anymore... Feels like it doesn't take live streaming into account, or DVRs, or Hulu and stuff...

Tbh it "feels" like WWE is more popular these days than it has ever been in the "post-Attitude era"

[Destor]

I dont know what poeple expect though when Steen and Styles are your champions. These guys should be "the greatest IC champions of all time" not headlining.

[Big Vic]

Nah AJ styles has been money lately, Steen yeah, I agree.

[BigCrippyZ]

Really feel like the amount of live viewers dropping lower and lower each year has more to do with ppl not watching live TV on a TV as much anymore... Feels like it doesn't take live streaming into account, or DVRs, or Hulu and stuff...

Tbh it "feels" like WWE is more popular these days than it has ever been in the "post-Attitude era"

While I agree that's true to a degree, it doesn't take into account the "buzz" factor and ratings other shows on cable are able to still pull off today simply because of their quality content. Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Better Call Saul, Mr. Robot, American Horror Story, etc.

Granted I don't watch any of those shows myself but I know tons of non-fans of WWE as well as current and former WWE fans who talk more about those shows today than I ever hear anyone talk about Raw, SD or PPVs today.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Nah Steelers always draw big

I'm certain lots of people were watching, but I'm saying the games were terrible to watch as a football fan. The NFL gets a pass on poor quality games, but WWE doesn't. Not really fair.

[Emperor Smeat]

I think I read once the largest demographic was watching WWE programming was actually significantly older than the 18-34 demographic.

If I remember, its like in the 40s for the age average and a huge reason is due to Cena's target audience not carrying over after a few years. WWE spent 10+ years on trying to make Cena the next Hogan and its not showing in ratings or viewers.

Sort of like the Pokemon effect where the biggest groups are kids and young adults while the middle group lost interest. Except in WWE's case the middle group isn't really coming back.

[Anybody Thrilla]

Really feel like the amount of live viewers dropping lower and lower each year has more to do with ppl not watching live TV on a TV as much anymore... Feels like it doesn't take live streaming into account, or DVRs, or Hulu and stuff...

Tbh it "feels" like WWE is more popular these days than it has ever been in the "post-Attitude era"

True. I'm a diehard wrestling fan, and I usually don't watch live outside of the PPVs because commercials are annoying. During the Attitude Era, I just had to stay home on Monday Nights.

[slik]

Really feel like the amount of live viewers dropping lower and lower each year has more to do with ppl not watching live TV on a TV as much anymore

That's how I feel to. I know the "Live + 7" ratings take into account any content watched or streamed up to 7 days after the show airs. I wonder how much higher that raises their rating...the news sites never report on it.

[Destor]

Nah AJ styles has been money lately, Steen yeah, I agree.
Their work is fine. They both dont look the part and it translates in "non-fan" viewership. Their core base will watch anything they feed them. They may draw... 0.7(?) off work rate. Guys like AJ and Steen arenot going to bring in numbers.

[Big Vic]

AJ has been money on the mic, and he's a heel so he doesn't need to be the face of the brand. Just the heel that people want to see taken out.

[Frank Drebin]

So who does now? Who should headline if those guys don't draw? Options seem limited outside of Brock, or hitting the Rock or Cena or Undertaker panic buttons.

[Destor]

So who does now? Who should headline if those guys don't draw?
Exactly the issue theyre facing. They pushing guys that thier base will like because it's all they have to offer. Same thing they did in the mid 90's when they almost went under. Tough times ahead.


But the point remains: what more can you ask of the guys theyre pushing? They'll never be numbers guys. They dont have what it takes.

[Frank Drebin]

Correct. This is a product of going to the well one too many times with Cena or part time/old guys. Wtf do they expect going forward if the main event of WM is HHH and Roman? They're telling people that's the best they have to offer?!

[Frank Drebin]

Makes me wonder where their betting their chips. Like, what's the important figure they look at to determine success? Triple A said it about traditional ratings. Do they care? Should they care? Do those numbers mean what they used to?

What is/are they looking at? Network subs? Ratings? DVR replays? House show gates? Merch sales? Other? That's a question as I have no idea.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I think I read once the largest demographic was watching WWE programming was actually significantly older than the 18-34 demographic.

I've heard that it's mainly older men.

[Mr. Nerfect]

AJ Styles is the best wrestler in the world today. His ring work is good and his promos are good. I think he's charismatic as well. That doesn't necessarily mean he'll draw. He sort of reminds me of Shawn Michaels circa '96/'97. He's the best guy they've got and he deserves his position, but they are sort of spinning their wheels because they don't have that epic babyface like Austin on the swell. Owens I'm completely on board with not being a draw. He's a great performer overall, but his very presence in the main event sort of buries whoever he is working with, because he's often smaller than them, but he also looks worse. This implies that he's got to be tremendously gifted in the ring, which means an opponenet who struggles with him is not.

[Mr. Nerfect]

The WWE will choose to measure itself by the metric that makes them appeal most to shareholders. Their focus has been on WWE Network subs. They will mention overall profits and television revenue -- given that they get paid for that shitty third hour and Total Divas, Bellas, etc. Ratings are going down, but it's that share that isn't being reported, and just how low that it is. Less people, proportionately, are watching wrestling live, which doesn't translate well for that next round of rights fees offers, unless USA Network still has nothing keeping it afloat.

What are the patchworks the WWE will offer to this? If I had to guess, it would be to pander harder to kids and add a third hour to SmackDown. Anything they can do to make more money short-term.

[RP]

AJ Styles is the best wrestler in the world today. His ring work is good and his promos are good. I think he's charismatic as well. That doesn't necessarily mean he'll draw. He sort of reminds me of Shawn Michaels circa '96/'97. He's the best guy they've got and he deserves his position, but they are sort of spinning their wheels because they don't have that epic babyface like Austin on the swell. Owens I'm completely on board with not being a draw. He's a great performer overall, but his very presence in the main event sort of buries whoever he is working with, because he's often smaller than them, but he also looks worse. This implies that he's got to be tremendously gifted in the ring, which means an opponenet who struggles with him is not.

wrong

[Mr. Nerfect]

Random little point on money: I wonder how wise it was for the WWE to box themselves in with $9.99 for the WWE Network. I personally feel they threw way too much content onto the Network right away -- PPVs were still making money, but even if you took them away from traditional PPV companies, you could have ordered them through the WWE Network for an engorged price.

To my knowledge, the Network subs have remained largely around the same mark. With things getting tighter, a price raise for the Network would be an instant response, but the WWE drilled "$9.99" into people's heads in such comical fashion that I can actually imagine outrage over even a slight increase.

[Mr. Nerfect]

wrong

Care to elaborate, Mr. Pertruder?

[slik]

SmackDownLIVE almost topped RAW for ratings this week.




Last night's live WWE SmackDown, featuring the fallout from Backlash with new champions plus John Cena and Dean Ambrose vs. WWE World Champion AJ Styles and WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz in the main event, drew 2.66 million viewers. This up from last week's show, which drew 2.45 million viewers. RAW this week had 2.69 million viewers

[Ruien]

So who does now? Who should headline if those guys don't draw? Options seem limited outside of Brock, or hitting the Rock or Cena or Undertaker panic buttons.

Rollins. Rollins. Rollins.

[hb2k]

SmackDownLIVE almost topped RAW for ratings this week.

It almost topped it for viewers. The rating (a percentage) might actually be higher.

[Destor]

I'm certain lots of people were watching, but I'm saying the games were terrible to watch as a football fan. The NFL gets a pass on poor quality games, but WWE doesn't. Not really fair.

Games dont draw as much as teams do

[Ruien]

Going to laugh when Vince takes Cena and AJ from Smackdown and brings them to Raw.

[Ruien]

He has to ensure Raw stays the flagship show after all.

[DAMN iNATOR]

Really feel like the amount of live viewers dropping lower and lower each year has more to do with ppl not watching live TV on a TV as much anymore... Feels like it doesn't take live streaming into account, or DVRs, or Hulu and stuff...

Tbh it "feels" like WWE is more popular these days than it has ever been in the "post-Attitude era"

I dunno about that, dude...I think it was still pretty popular through the "Ruthless Aggression" era...I think it might be close to on par with the early RA Era, but not moreso.

[Mr. Nerfect]

SmackDown got 0.9 in the 18-49 demo. This breaks it even with RAW. I can't find anything on the overall share.

[BigCrippyZ]

Yikes. I stopped watching RAW or SD months ago and was just watching the Network events. I just cancelled my Network sub though because nothing interests me enough to justify the financial and time expenses to watch the Network during football season. I'd rather spend my time and money watching football. Will probably signup again though around Rumble time once football season ends.

[Snob Goblin]

Someone already said it, but the drop in recent years also has to do with less people fucking around with cable and watching on DVR and Hulu. Viewership is down but financially the company is fine. More than fine.

Smackdown also seems like the more fun and enjoyable show.

[BigCrippyZ]

Someone already said it, but the drop in recent years also has to do with less people fucking around with cable and watching on DVR and Hulu. Viewership is down but financially the company is fine. More than fine.

Smackdown also seems like the more fun and enjoyable show.

Until their television rights fees drop significantly on the next renewal. That's where the company gets a large % of their guaranteed annual revenues every year. In addition, last time the WWE's stock tanked on the release of the actual tv rights deal financials.

[Mr. Nerfect]

This is going to be a problem when it comes to renegotiating television deals with NBC Universal in a few years, and they have less money to spend on television that fewer people are watching. RAW and SmackDown are still close enough to the top that they are going to warrant offers, but they may not be as high as Vince McMahon would like -- especially considering how much money they are spending on production.

The E! Network's love for Total Divas may dry up in time too, and that might extend to Total Bellas. I think it'll extend the worth of The Bellas short-term, given that it's "new," but I don't think it will be distinct enough from the Divas franchise to remain fresh for as long. Those television rights also give the WWE a lot of income, and they don't really have another big hit lined up.

The fact that people don't feel the urgency to watch RAW and SmackDown in itself is a poor reflection on the product. We're always talking about the millions of viewers watching, but the ratings share is very rarely talked about. That is a percentage of people watching cable at that point in time watching RAW and SmackDown. That is a lot lower than it has ever been. It's not just a case of fewer people watching live; it is a case of a smaller PROPORTION of people watching live.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Until their television rights fees drop significantly on the next renewal. That's where the company gets a large % of their guaranteed annual revenues every year. In addition, last time the WWE's stock tanked on the release of the actual tv rights deal financials.

This. :y:

[BigCrippyZ]

Everything's just so... the same... just there... I just don't know how else to describe it. Characters, bleh, all the same. Matches, bleh, pretty much all the same. Feuds, almost nonexistent. Drama, likewise, basically nonexistent.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

The third hour does trickle off, but that itself is a problem.

It doesn't trickle off as hard as a replay of Crisley Knows Best or a replay of NCIS would.

[Mr. Nerfect]

It doesn't trickle off as hard as a replay of Crisley Knows Best or a replay of NCIS would.

Actually, I was looking it up, and Judge Judy got over 9 million viewers this week. I'm not sure how many NCIS would get, but Law & Order repeats got a 3.8 for 5.4 million viewers.