WWE, a global wrestling entertainment powerhouse, recently experienced a significant dip in its viewership ratings. The episode of WWE RAW which aired on Monday, 18th September 2023, has been marked as having the ‘least watched’ match in the show’s recorded history.
This revelation has sent shockwaves throughout the wrestling community and has raised questions about the future trajectory of the brand.
One of the primary reasons for this decline in viewership can be attributed to the episode going head-to-head with two NFL games. The overall viewership for WWE Raw saw a decline from the previous week, which had already set a record low (excluding a “best of” show). This week, the record was broken again.
Dave Meltzer shed light on the situation during Wrestling Observer Radio. He mentioned that the Raw episode had the lowest viewer total in its history, barring one of the ‘best of’ shows from a few years back. The episode garnered a viewership of 1,331,000. Interestingly, the viewership among the younger demographic (18-49) was up to 0.44, which is commendable considering the competition from the two football games. Those games attracted a combined viewership of approximately 22 million.
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WWE RAW: Changing Demographics
While the younger audience seemed to be tuning in, the overall decline indicates a drop in viewers aged 50 and above.
This demographic has traditionally formed the majority of WWE Raw’s audience. However, since the SummerSlam event in August, there has been a noticeable shift in this trend.
The decline in viewership among this age group began even before the football season, but it has accelerated in recent weeks.
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Historical Lows
Despite the challenges posed by external factors, WWE Raw’s performance over the past few weeks has been concerning.
The show had consistently outperformed the previous year’s numbers. However, this trend has reversed in the last couple of weeks.
Notably, while the first hour of the show did not set a historical low, both the second and third hours did. The match between Ciampa and Giovanni Vinci stands out as the least-watched Raw match ever, with a viewership of just 1,192,000.
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Looking Ahead
The recent decline in viewership ratings for WWE Raw is undoubtedly a cause for concern for the company. With stiff competition from other entertainment avenues and changing viewer demographics, WWE will need to innovate and adapt to retain its audience.
The wrestling community will be keenly watching how the brand responds to these challenges in the coming weeks.
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