WWE President Nick Khan Says Making Business Decisions Based On Social Media Is Bad (WWE News)

WWE President Nick Khan has addressed the influence of social media on WWE's decision-making, offering a surprisingly strong stance on the matter.

Speaking at the National Association of Broadcasters event in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Khan made it clear that while social media voices can be loud, they shouldn't dictate the company’s business direction.

Khan noted that social media gives a "small percentage of voices" a large platform, but he believes it would be a mistake for WWE to base their decisions on online chatter. "It’s a mistake to respond to your business based off of that," he said. "You’ve got to base it off your gut and the results."

Acknowledging the massive reach of social media, Khan emphasised that WWE’s programming has to cater to a broad, diverse audience, and elaborated on the kind of content he feels WWE produces as a result. As he put it, “What do people like? They like dramas. They like conflict. They like to see conflict being resolved one way or another...We program for all 50 states and the world, especially with our new Netflix deal...As Paul [Levesque] mentioned, in our business, you get to knock each other out in a 20×20 ring. People like that too."

This comes as WWE continues to navigate the ever-changing media landscape, expanding its reach with deals such as the recent partnership with Netflix. WrestleMania season is perhaps the best time of year for Khan and others like him to be speaking on such matters - the build for the 'Show Of Shows' has been criticised online for a variety of different reasons including-but-not-limited to the Jey Uso Royal Rumble win and an uneven follow-up to John Cena's heel turn. In spite of that, the company will without doubt announce an all-time gate for the event thanks to sky-high ticket prices that are, for now at least, set to a level a majority of WWE fans seem relatively content to pay.