10 Reasons WWE's Audience Has Dropped 20% In 12 Months
1. It's Generally A Bit Rubbish
This is the most obvious factor, a hybrid of many of the previous topics. It's also the most significant. It doesn't take a Super Mario-sized leap of logic to deduce that the worse a television show is, the less people are prepared to watch it.
Now, it'd be easy to refute that statement by pointing to a slew of objectively dreadful programmes which managed to amass huge audiences. Big Brother was once a ratings powerhouse in the UK, despite possessing the guileless inanity of a round-the-clock local news bulletin. One-note odd-couple 'comedy' Dharma and Greg - anyone remember that? - was able to pull in over 12 million viewers at the peak of its run. If people were prepared to watch that dross en masse, why not Raw?
At the height of the Attitude era, they did. The show might have been base, and the quality low, but it possessed a specific appeal which captured the imagination of a generation. Like the other shows mentioned, as that original appeal wore off (although there really is no explaining Dharma and f*cking Greg), people naturally began to move on.
When most programmes go over the cliff, they are taken off the air as a consequence. Raw's ratings may have reduced drastically compared to its apex, but it started from a lofty base. It has consistently remained one of the highest-rated shows on cable television, and with that comes a cloak of immunity. As a result, it's been able to stick around well beyond its peak years.
Today, WWE's flagship brand is a mixed-bag. It certainly has the talent. Sometimes, they even deliver. But more often than not, it's a formulaic trial in which every predictable beat is dragged out across three hours. There's a feeling that the show's viewership is down to just the hardcore now - a solid group of stubbornly loyal fans who'll watch whatever the weather. But there's little hope of creating new interest in a product in a perpetual lull for the past 16 years. For most long-term viewers, it's more out of habit than enjoyment - an inexplicable devotion to a cause which offers no hope of benediction. For the rest: why bother?
In short, it's a bit crap.