4. Handling The Internet Age Is Difficult
When it came to broadcast television's era of dominance, many contenders to Saturday Night Live's 40-year run of TV dominance came and went. Fox, ABC and CBS all have made attempts at ensemble-style comedy, but none have had SNL's staying power. However, in the digital age, between cable, Hulu, Netflix and Youtube, there's now a plethora of options for top-tier comedic presentations. If an American viewer, there's now literally a world (and history) of laughs at your fingertips. Of course, similar to WWE, SNL has made its entire history of programming available on Hulu, while also breaking down its collection into a series of streaming and DVD options. However, while SNL's ratings continue to dip, the brand has expanded into the global and digital sectors enough to off-set any significant losses of net income. Similarly, when WWE purchased WCW and ECW, it effectively ended the era of major-league competition in pro wrestling. However, with New Japan Pro Wrestling planning to air the Wrestle Kingdom PPV in America on January 4th, Lucha Underground's successful launch, and independent organizations making strong efforts to break even in the iPPV and online content markets, WWE's market share is not as strong as it once was. As well, it's notable to mention that WWE has revolutionized it's own content with the WWE Network, as well as nearly wholly divesting itself out of the physical DVD market, too. WWE's recognizable place as dominating the global pro wrestling marketplace has offset the stateside failings due to evolving into a streaming product, as well as a decline in ratings and net revenue.