10 Ways WWE Can Turn Around Its Ratings Woes
With ratings at an all-time low, how can WWE turn things around?
WWE ratings are on the decline. Over the past four years, RAW's numbers have dropped by over 40% and despite the odd bright spot here and there (usually for special reunion shows featuring Superstars from the Attitude Era), it doesn't appear as if they're going to rebound any time soon.
SmackDown's numbers aren't much better as they've declined significantly since the show first debuted on FOX and the blue brand doesn't pull in ratings much higher than RAW despite being on network TV rather than cable. NXT, meanwhile, is back to being beaten by All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite on a weekly basis after that boost from Survivor Series last year.
As if that's not all bad enough, WWE struggles in the key 18 - 49 demographic and has a relatively old audience, something which doesn't bode well for the future. With all that in mind, something obviously needs to change.
It's not too late for WWE to turn things around and while it's going to take a while, there are ways for ratings to increase and potentially return to where they were just a few short years ago. Here, we delve into 10 ways the sports entertainment giant can recover from its current ratings woes and significantly improve the product in the process.
10. Cliffhanger Endings
RAW ratings frequently fluctuate by hundreds of thousands of viewers from week to week and it's clear that there are a lot of people out there who don't consider the show appointment viewing. One sure-fire way to change that would be to increase the number of cliffhanger endings so that fans actually have a compelling reason to come back.
Remember when CM Punk turned heel and attacked The Rock? How about Seth Rollins turning on The Shield or Shane McMahon buying WCW? Of course you do because those left a lasting impact and saw wrestling fans talking for an entire week about what comes next. These days, social media is key and if lapsed viewers see people speculating about major cliffhangers like those, even they will be curious about watching the follow-up.
Too often, RAW and SmackDown end the same way; the heels or babyfaces gain the upper hand, end the show standing tall, and then the cycle repeats itself the following week. Increasing the frequency of shocking cliffhangers makes the shows vastly more exciting, creates buzz online, and generates headlines.
WWE's creative team just need to up their game to make it work.