PWTorch.com - WWE NEWS: Raw TV ratings are in - Monday's show rebounds from year-low, but there is a concerning demo & viewership pattern

WWE News
WWE NEWS: Raw TV ratings are in - Monday's show rebounds from year-low, but there is a concerning demo & viewership pattern

Oct 15, 2014 - 12:57:13 PM

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By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

WWE Raw on Monday, October 13 scored a 2.74 rating, up one-tenth of a rating from last week's year-low, but down one-tenth from the episode two weeks ago.

Most concerning is the key males demographic ratings declined from last week's ratings in year-low territory. Compared to just two weeks ago, m18-34 was down 21 percent and m18-49 was down 18 percent.

Raw also took a dive among teen males, registering the lowest m12-17 rating in months. It appears what boosted Raw this week was an increase in older viewers outside of the m18-49 window, with Raw up against a weak Monday Night Football game on ESPN.

- Raw averaged 3.751 million viewers, down one percent from last week's audience. It was the fewest viewers since May 26.

Hourly Break Down: 3.833 million first hour viewers, 3.756 million second hour viewers, and another decline to 3.664 million third hour viewers. The third hour included WWE giving away their top PPV match of John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose.

Caldwell's Analysis: It's getting to the point where the top stars are way over-exposed, making it not that special to see the likes of John Cena, Dean Ambrose, and others on Raw. Cena, Ambrose, and various Authority members were in several segments and Cena & Ambrose were in two matches on Monday's show. It's just not sustainable over time.

This week, WWE took the first step of removing the gunk and filler from the show, but they still have to take the next step of re-building the mid-card if Raw is going to remain three hours. Things like throwing out Dolph Ziggler vs. Randy Orton without making that match feel like a very special encounter shows a lack of discipline to their approach. WWE cannot continue to over-expose Cena, Ambrose, and The Authority henchmen, as it creates so much repetitive programming. Case-in-point, another round of Cena & Ambrose vs. Orton & Kane & Rollins is scheduled for next Monday's Raw leading into the PPV.