10 Misconceptions About AEW You Probably Believe

9. Dynamite Is A Failure When It Doesn't Exceed One Million Viewers

Dustin Rhodes Nick Comoroto AEW Dynamite
AEW

"One million" overall viewers is a completely made-up and arbitrary number that is projected onto AEW by people so desperate for AEW to fail that they have created their own criteria against which to categorise AEW as a failure.

There is no basis in "one million".

If anything, AEW and Warner would be happier with an overall viewership of 800,000 (provided that, of that number, 600,000 were persons 18-49) than with the mythical "one million" if, say, 450,000 were persons 18-49. Advertisement revenue rates are higher for programmes that draw strong "demo" numbers. Viewers aged 50 and above are considered creatures of habit that, by and large, aren't receptive to the pull of adverts. They've established what they like, what they'll buy, and where they'll go.

Demonstrably, WWE RAW and SmackDown are more popular programmes than AEW Dynamite and Rampage. The WWE main programmes also tend to perform better in the key demographic, SmackDown in particular - but the number '1' in front of the six figure number doesn't inform how the show is perceived by those who finance it. The six figure number within the six or seven figure number is what counts.

Dynamite is very rarely placed outside of the number three slots for the night. At this point, anything less is considered the real disappointment.

 
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Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!