Fan numbers...

[Xero]

Does anyone have a general idea if WWE currently has more fans than their height in the Attitude era and Hogan era?

I'm interested because while the WWE is in a sub-par state in terms of storylines they're constantly breaking previous Mania PPV records. While that likely attributes to the fans who only watch for Mania, the WWE is pretty much main stream now and draw that crowd more easily.

So, do they have more fans now?

[Jeritron]

I think because of how much time has gone by, and how many generations have watched, Wrestlemania has grown in popularity.
It's a tradition for 3 eras of WWF/E fans.

I think with time, the gimmick of it as a huge cultural event has also grown. That's why they do bigger and bigger buyrates, and sell out bigger and bigger venues.

However, if you look at normal buyrates and ratings they're way down. Live event attendance is also way down. So it's tough to say. I think there's more people out there who care about WWE in some capacity, and are willing to partake in their biggest annual tradition. I also think there are less people who honestly care about/follow the product.

[Jeritron]

Define "fan".


Seriously though, that's what it comes down to. I say they have far less full-time fans, but more once a year fans.

[thedamndest]

DID YOU KNOW? THE WWE HAS MORE FANS THE THE NFL AND THE NHL COMBINED!

[AKin3D]

I'd say so, just on the fact of how many countries and parts of counties that already had access to WWE, now can watch.

[The Mackem]

Which Mania records are they breaking? I thought buys were going down and prices were going up.

[Kane Knight]

Define "fan".


Seriously though, that's what it comes down to. I say they have far less full-time fans, but more once a year fans.

This. WWE gets stellar buyrates with Mania, but most of the PPVs are down, some by quite a bit. I think the Rumble still draws more each year, but I can't remember offhand.

Fewer people have been watcing the shows, fewer people in attendance...Except Mania and a couple big venues (MSG) that always will sell out.

[Xero]

Fan = someone who watches at least twice a month.

I think the biggest determining factor in this is whether there is a huge spillover from RAW to SmackDown! to ECW or not. Most fans don't buy PPVs - even at the height they were pulling maybe 700k per PPV vs anywhere from 1 to 5 million for RAW (yes, I pulled those numbers from my ass) - and the ratings tell a better story.

Does Nielson give viewer numbers, not just ratings?

[Kane Knight]

Fan = someone who watches at least twice a month.

I think the biggest determining factor in this is whether there is a huge spillover from RAW to SmackDown! to ECW or not. Most fans don't buy PPVs - even at the height they were pulling maybe 700k per PPV vs anywhere from 1 to 5 million for RAW (yes, I pulled those numbers from my ass) - and the ratings tell a better story.

Does Nielson give viewer numbers, not just ratings?

Yes, but the problem being their site only displays one at a time, and most of the sources you'd find online, whether from dirt sheets or otherwise, care more about the X.Y rating and will only post that.

The current listing is from the Raw where Vinnie Mac returned, and it is phenomenal by comparison to prior ratings. It's a 3.5 with 6 million viewers. There's no direct correlation between ratings and the actual share, because it largely hinges on the number of viewers, so it's hard to really correlate with prior numbers.

I stopped saving the ratings, though I have a couple of years worth, consistently. However, since we don't have real ratings from the Attitude Era and lack an understanding of how that translated to fans....

[McLegend]

DID YOU KNOW? THE WWE HAS MORE FANS THE THE NFL AND THE NHL COMBINED!

DID YOU KNOW THAT ON FRIDAY NIGHT MORE MEN WATCHED SMACKDOWN THEN 20/20 AND DATELINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[McLegend]

So the answer is Yes.

[hb2k]

Depends what you want to use as an indicator. The Mania PPV numbers that get released since 2004 are worldwide figures and not just domestic (last years did something like 600,000 domestic but over a million worldwide), while X7 did a million buys purely on domestic. Its all in how they release it to maximise these things, but popularity was blatantly stronger during those peaks...

[The Mackem]

You also have to factor in price as well. Wrestlemania is something like $55 now, isn't it?