USA Network and NBCUniversal officials are reportedly happy with the immediate WWE changes that have been made in the wake of former WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon retiring in late July.
A new report from Fightful Select notes that a longtime network source who has worked alongside WWE said the recent increase in RAW ratings is more in line with the numbers the network expected when they signed the new major RAW TV deal in the summer of 2018, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic changed “everything.”
It was reiterated that the network never really imagined a world where RAW drew under 2 million viewers each week, outside of holiday episodes, and much less consistently. The source added, “The following weeks [will] be the real test, but the results from the first Monday had me personally very excited.” The source said at one point they also didn’t expect RAW to be back over 2 million viewers regularly, which is almost what happened in the month of August.
A source at NBCU that said they keep up with pro wrestling more than others has remarked how they didn’t personally expect the changes to be so drastic, but the buzz created around RAW can’t be argued with. They also noted that they expected SmackDown’s numbers on FOX to see an increase as well, adding that they hoped it exceeded the impressive viewership the show did when McMahon put himself on TV after the initial Wall Street Journal scandal story dropped earlier this summer.
USA Network sources were also asked about the direction of RAW and the content itself. One source said they’ve personally seen the show as more appointment viewing, and that it felt more natural. It was also said there’s more discussion about RAW within the network, more than there has been since the new rights deal was inked back in 2018.
A longtime USA Network employee reportedly said the WWE-USA relationship has long been an easy-going, business-as-usual one. However, it was noted that many in the company were happy to see creative changes implemented in August after new Executive Director of Talent Relations & Head of Creative Triple H took over that end of the business. The same source indicate how they’d be surprised if USA didn’t make a play to renew WWE programming next year when negotiations are expected to start, and they believe WWE has put themselves in an even better position in the last month.
The first RAW episode without Vince in charge was the July 25 show, which drew 1.901 million viewers with a 0.50 rating in the 18-49 demographic for the Rey Mysterio 25th Anniversary Celebration from Madison Square Garden, though Vince likely had a hand in writing most of the script. The first major RAW without Vince took place the following week, drawing 2.230 million viewers with a 0.61 rating in the 18-49 demographic for the post-SummerSlam episode. The August 8 episode drew 1.956 million viewers with a 0.54 key demo rating, the August 15 episode drew 1.978 million viewers with a 0.53 key demo rating, and the August 22 show drew 2.005 million viewers with a 0.55 key demo rating. As noted just this evening, this week’s Clash at The Castle go-home edition of RAW drew 2.107 million viewers with a 0.59 rating in the 18-49 demographic.
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