However you want to spin it, there are a whole lot less people watching WWE these days compared to how many there were in previous decades. And now, Variety Intelligence Platform has published a new piece detailing four of the main reasons just why WWE has seen such a slump in viewership.
With the threat of a further drop in WWE stock, this new report claims that the four biggest threats to WWE’s future are:
- The clear decline in TV ratings
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- The specific decline in TV ratings amongst younger viewers
- Money owed as part of the 10-year arrangement with Saudi Arabia
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- The recent backlash over the continued labelling of WWE superstars as independent contractors
On the general TV ratings front, Raw is said to have lost approximately 2 million viewers for the majority of the 2020 outings for WWE’s red brand. And in a YouGov poll, the main reason for this drop in viewership is *insert faux shock* down to the poor quality of WWE storylines.
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In this survey, other major reasons for avoiding WWE programming were the fact that the current product seemed too cartoonish, that the characters themselves were simply not interesting, and that the matches on offer were dull.
We can all see that WWE isn't great TV these days, and it's interesting to see this backed up with some hard facts and figures.
Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics.
As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic.
Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.
