6. The Ratings Plunge
WWE ratings are down right now. They are seriously down, reaching lows that the company hasn't seen since for nearly 19 years. The fallout show to Survivor Series (which should have seen big views, new champ and all that) drew a mere 2.964 million viewers, marking the first time since 1997 that company failed to average more than 3 million viewers. It's difficult to gauge exactly how much WWE are being personally affected by their declining viewership. After all, their paymasters are USA, not the advertisers, and NBCUniversal are sticking by WWE, judging from a recent press statement:
WWE programming delivers one of the most massive live audiences in cable on a weekly basis and is consistently a top performer for our networks
The subscriber count to the Network is still going up, as is WWE's stock, but then fans read conflicting reports from Dave Meltzer, calling the recent ratings dive a "disaster for WWE". Obviously, declining ratings are never good news. It's indicative of fan disinterest in the product, and if the numbers continue to fall to record-breaking lows, NBCUniversal might not stay quite so supportive of Vince and Co. Regardless of how much the company is actually suffering right now, whether a lot or not at all, the ratings issue is generating a constant stream of negative press and after it inevitably picks up come WrestleMania season, this is one broken record WWE won't mind the fans forgetting.