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The problem is that now people are conditioned to turn away from squash matches. Back in the day thats all we got, so we watched, but nowadays fans see squash matches and they turn the channel.
Heat got shafted when SD came on because they had to run 4 hours vs 2 hours of storyline advancing TV. However, now with the brand extension, they should go back to making Heat and now Velocity play a larger role in storylines. Believe me, if nothing happens on Heat or Velocity, it doesn't matter who shows up on the show, people wont watch.
IMO they should do three things to improve those shows:
#1. Have at least on match with top level guys. On Heat I would have a guy like HBK or Goldberg or Kane or whoever appear every week against at least a mid level opponent. For example, have HBK vs Test or something along those lines. Also, they should have the occasional title match on the show.
#2. Storylines have to advance. As I mentioned, if storylines dont advance, people dont watch. It will take people a while to realize they have to watch Heat/Velocity to keep up, so you have to run highlights on RAW/SD about what happened on the secondary shows.
#3. Embrace the fact that Heat/Velocity feature younger talent. I would mention every now and then say on SD that Spanky and Paul London are tearing it up on Velocity. Then on Velocity have Spanky/London win some type of match where they get to wrestle on SD. On Velocity you promote that for a couple of weeks, and then on SD when they appear the announcers can talk about what a big opportunity it is for them to appear on SD. So what you do is you let people know that some young talent is on Velocity, but at the same time there is a good chance they will make the jump to the main roster. As a fan it would be like watching a young prospect in the minor leagues, and then watching him make it in the big leagues.
If you combine all three things, you have stroyline advancement, weekly appearances by major stars, and the focus on younger up and coming talents.
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