SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
As if the Raw TV ratings picture could not get any worse, Monday’s show fell to an historical low 2.21 rating despite the abundance of star power on the show.
WWE Raw TV Ratings Report
— October 19: Monday’s Raw scored a 2.21 rating, down from a mid-2.3 rating from the previous three weeks.
This was the same rating as a holiday episode on Christmas Eve 2012 to tie for the lowest rating in the past 18 years.
In the key demographic ratings, Raw was down slightly in males 18-49 to a one-month low. Raw remained flat in adults 18-49 and males 18-34.
WWE did not do as much as expected to promote the return of big names “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, The Undertaker, and Brock Lesnar on the show. Plus, Monday Night Football featured the New York and Philadelphia TV markets and a “Star Wars” trailer release, bumping up the football audience by about 13 percent.
– The bright spot is Raw’s overall audience increased by two percent. But, the third hour continues to be a problem.
Raw averaged 3.356 million viewers, up from last week’s year-low audience of 3.284 million viewers. However, the audience was smaller than two weeks ago.
Hourly Break Down: 3.600 million first hour viewers, 3.347 million second hour viewers, and a sharp decline to 3.123 million third hour viewers.
The drop-0ff from the First to Third Hour has increased each of the past five weeks.
9/21 – 4.7% drop from H1 to H3.
9/28 – 8.3% drop from H1 to H3.
10/5 – 8.8% drop from H1 to H3.
10/12 – 12.4% drop from H1 to H3.
10/19 – 13.3% drop from H1 to H3.
– One year ago this week, Raw drew a 2.75 rating, five-tenths of a rating higher than this week’s episode.
Caldwell’s Analysis: There are some big conclusions here. One is the Lag Effect kicked in from last week’s dismal show centered on Corporate Kane and whether The Authority’s plane would make the show. And, a longer-term Lag Effect of similar Creative leading to viewers dropping off over time. … Two is the lack of promotion for the big-name stars returning on Raw. It was stunning how little advanced promotion went into their appearances… Three is there seems to be no difference-makers available. Sting, Taker, and Lesnar did not make a difference in the ratings over the summer. Now, WWE is probably looking to The Rock to pull off his movie stunt of propping up a struggling franchise. But, it might not matter if he’s dropped in the current TV environment. … Four is there no quick fix. This will take a complete rebuilding effort, especially if WWE and USA Network stick with the three-hour format. They’ve simply lost too much of the audience with three years of the current Creative approach to three-hour Raws.
Maybe, at some point, WWE will learn that it IS about the wrestlers and not about the “brand”.
Their world champion has lost 19 of his last 20 matches. Not over. And, no one cares about Kane, Corporate or Demon or any other variant.
Charlotte, Sasha, Becky = over in NXT; “Team PCB”, “Team BAD”, “Team Bella” = not over. The Divas Revolution is DOA.
Your hottest heel act from less than a year ago (Rusev/Lana) = buried.
Reigns = not over. But, keep shoving HIM down our throats.
All of the above is a direct result of two dozen “creative” writers coming up with scripts directly aimed at pleasing one 70-year old man (Vince) instead of their 3 million+ viewers. And many of those 3 million+ are just giving up. The old man can’t leave soon enough.
They have GOT to scale things back to two hours. This is not the Monday Night Wars era, where such extra content would have been in more demand (although, even then, it still watered down Nitro’s product, over time).
Adam I dont think they have a choice on the three hour thing. I believe that USA requested the three hour block to sell more advertising. But even with two hours as badly written as the show is currently, it would still be atrocious
That’s a shame then, if you ask me. I believe it would have been better if the 3rd hour request was turned down, while explaining to the USA execs that pro-wrestling isn’t like, say, Major League Baseball, where having more content doesn’t necessarily cause ‘diminishing returns’. Ah, well…
And yes: Even two hours of WWE’s current product (as I’ve been hearing about, at least) would be atrocious, lol.
WWE RAW is still one of the HIGHEST RATED SHOW ON CABLE EACH WEEK.
WWE DOES NOT CARE ABOUT THE RATINGS THAT MUCH ANYMORE BECAUSE IT IS NOT IN WAR WITH WCW OR TNA.
3 million viewers during football season and baseball playoffs is nothing to sneeze at in 2015.
WWE ENJOYS AND NEEDS THAT REVENUE FROM THE THIRD HOUR SO THERE IS NO WAY WWE IS GOING TO GIVE THAT UP JUST BECAUSE THE NUMBERS ARE DOWN DURING FOOTBALL SEASON.
I am tired that these dirt sheet writers think they know what is best for wwe. WWE IS VINCE MCMAHON’S COMPANY
as long as nbc universal is happy with wwe , then that is what is important.
a nicheform of entertainment can never “compete” with a legit ratings monster like Monday night football or Thursday night football either.
if wwe wants better numbers on Mondays during football season, then it should move the show to Tuesdays and call it a day.
Hey, Vince — how long have you been going on websites and posting as “Chris?”
Vince McMahon has more important things to do with his life than post on wrestling forums. Maybe the iwc should accept the fact that wwe is a MONOPOLY. wwe beat wcw in 2001 and now has zero competition in the wrestling world.
Chris, you bring up valid points, but this is a disturbing trend. Even when the “boom period” of the late ’90s and early ’00s was over, RAW still managed to draw between a 3.8-4.5 for several years. A 2.21 rating is pathetic.
I am lifelong fan that hasn’t watched RAW since the night after SummerSlam. There just isn’t a need to do so. I am not invested in any character and would much rather watch football. Even if the game sucks, there is usually some type of fantasy football implications that will keep my attention.
As for RAW on Monday night, I saw Stone Cold kicked off the show via Twitter, so I started my DVR around 8:15 (I still DVR the show weekly, though I rarely watch it). Steve Austin’s promo was not the same Stone Cold that we all love. It was overly scripted and out of place. Once again, who really cared? If I lifelong fan doesn’t get hype for the return of Austin, who will? The one wrestler that keeps me coming back is Brock Lesnar and even he has been made out to be just another guy. He’ll probably beat The Undertaker this weekend, but then what? Do you really want to see him face Sheamus or an ice cold Rusev. The WWE needs help immediately, but Vince McMahon is so stuck in his ways that I’m not sure what it will take. Hopefully that rating keeps plummeting. As for Hell in a Cell, I may tune in for the Brock/Taker match, but then again, if I use Cam Newton as my quarterback in a tournament on DraftKings, I may just read the results and watch later if it’s recommended.
Chris the wwe used to compete with Monday night Football and do very well, every Monday. back before Vince decided to go senile and cripple the product. When the show is better more people watch, sounds stupidly simple but apparently wwe creative doesnt get it
Yeah, but TNA is about to go under, so they don’t really count.
Here’s the thing, Chris, WWE has an oversaturated product and no real stars outside of John Cena and Brock Lesnar and even then, both are watered down at this point. I don’t know if WWE needs more violence, more blood, more sex, better announcers, more squash matches, more cursing, less unfunny comedy, less overdone gimmick matches, or more character development, but I’d say it’s a combination of all of them. Here’s a bold prediction for you: RAW falls under a 2.0 before the end of the year. It may be on the Christmas show, but it’s happening.
Vince McMahon was once asked in an interview about his hobbies and interests outside of the wrestling world. He replied he had none and didn’t understand the concept of hobbies. And that’s a factor as to why the product is not very good these days. Maybe if he did have some kind of activity outside wrestling he enjoys, it might give him some fresh perspective or inspiration on how to better the WWE. It’s a good thing to step away and recharge your batteries once in a while. If you’re just constantly mired in the company just working all the time, you will lose perspective but then again, this is Vince we’re talking about. Same goes for his family. They are so full of themselves but the fans will let the numbers speak for themselves. When Raw dips under 2.0 maybe they’ll take notice but I doubt it.
Bob hit on it: “They are so full of themselves…”
If the rating continuing to fall is what needs to happen to get rid of these “creative” personnel, then let’s hope the rating PLUMMETS.