Ratings down = no biggie?
By Scott Keith on 4 November 2014
Hey Scott,
Despite the fact that ratings are on the decline (or so I keep reading) – is the WWE actually making more money regardless, since Raw is now spread out over 3 hours instead of 2? I'm thinking maybe they could explain the ratings dip on the fact the show lasts 3 hours, but it's actually no big deal (to them) because they're taking in more revenue having an extra hour of airtime.
With that in mind at what point do ratings actually begin to trouble WWE, if they haven't already?
The point when USA cancels them, basically. Other than that, they're essentially paid in advance for their deal with USA and don't see any of the ad revenue (or at least not enough to factor in) so really ratings don't directly affect them. However, what does affect them is if ratings are so bad, like with Superstars and Main Event, that the TV station drops them rather than continue with the deal. But no, it's not like the old days of the Wars at all.