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November 7, 2023
The CW Network To Become The Exclusive Broadcast Home To WWE NXT
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Labels: Shawn Michaels, Television Ratings, Triple H, Wrestling News, WWE NXT
October 11, 2023
WWE NXT Viewership Triumphs Over AEW Dynamite in Tuesday Showdown
On October 10th, AEW Dynamite and WWE NXT clashed, with the former airing a special Title Tuesday edition featuring multiple title shifts and Adam Copeland's debut match against Luchasaurus. This came as Major League Baseball playoffs were scheduled on TBS for October 11th.
September 21, 2023
WWE’s ‘Smackdown’ to Move from Fox to USA Network in New Rights Deal
WWE’s “SmackDown” is officially set to return to USA Network in a new five-year rights deal.
The weekly show currently airs on Fox but will move to its new network home in October 2024 when the Fox deal expires. “Smackdown” originally began airing on Fox in 2019 as part of a five-year deal between the network and WWE. It had previously aired on USA Network from 2016-2019 and had a number of network homes before that, including Syfy, The CW, UPN, and MyNetworkTV.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but sources say the new deal is worth roughly $1.4 billion, up from the $1 billion Fox paid in 2019. As part of the new deal for “Smackdown,” WWE will produce four primetime specials per year for NBC, marking the first time that WWE will air in primetime on the network. It is unknown at this time exactly what form those primetime specials will take, i.e. if they will feature live wrestling or if they will be more documentary-focused like WWE’s programming on A&E. According to an individual with knowledge of the deal, the exact nature of the specials is still being determined.
“NBCUniversal has been a tremendous partner of WWE for decades,” said WWE president Nick Khan. “We are excited to extend this longstanding relationship by bringing ‘SmackDown’ to USA Network on Friday nights and look forward to debuting multiple WWE special events annually on NBC.”
The rights deals for both “Smackdown” and “Monday Night Raw” were due to expire in the next year. While “Smackdown’s” future has been determined, there is no word yet on where “Raw” will land. It currently also airs on USA Network, as does WWE’s NXT. Sources say that there has been serious interest from a number of top platforms but no deal has been made at the time of this publishing. Neither of the other two shows is expected to continue to on USA Network, according to sources.
“It’s a privilege and thrill to continue NBCU’s decades-long partnership with WWE which has helped cement USA Network’s consistent position as the top-rated cable entertainment network in live viewership” said Frances Berwick, chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment. “With Friday nights on USA, primetime specials on NBC, and the WWE hub on Peacock, we’ll continue to use the power of our portfolio to superserve this passionate fanbase.”
Since 2021, NBCUniversal’s Peacock has been the exclusive streaming home of the WWE Network. That includes the company’s expansive library of wrestling shows as well as the home for annual events like WrestleMania, the Royal Rumble, Summer Slam, and more.
WWE was recently sold to Endeavor, which merged WWE with the UFC to form a new company dubbed TKO Group. Vince McMahon, former CEO of WWE, has assumed the role of executive chairman of TKO Group. Under the terms of the deal, McMahon — who was WWE’s controlling shareholder — will own 16.4% of the economic interests in TKO (and 16.4% of the voting power in the new entity). McMahon stepped down as WWE’s chief executive in 2022 amid an investigation by the company’s board into alleged hush-money payments to women who accused him of sexual misconduct. McMahon returned to the company in January 2023 as executive chairman to head up efforts to sell WWE.
source: variety.com
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Labels: SmackDown, Television Ratings, Wrestling News, WWE
August 11, 2023
Details On Endeavor Deal, WWE-UFC Merger And Plans For NXT
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Labels: Endeavor, Linda McMahon, Shane McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Television Ratings, TKO Group Holdings, Triple H, UFC, Vince McMahon, WWE, WWE NXT
June 12, 2023
WWE Media Rights Negotiating Windows With NBCUniversal & FOX Have Ended
A report from New York Post’s Andrew Marchand reveals the exclusive WWE TV rights negotiating windows for both FOX and NBCUniversal have closed for RAW and SmackDown.
WWE is free to explore signing a deal with other networks and streaming platforms.
One of the leading streaming platforms expected to enter into talks with WWE is Amazon Prime Video. The likes of Apple and Warner Bros. Discovery may show interest but are not expected to make a play for the broadcasting rights.
In regard to traditional broadcasters, FOX and NBCU are still reportedly the favorites to retain WWE broadcast, but Disney has shown interest in WWE programming to air on FX but not ESPN, as ESPN "can’t guarantee a specific night of the week due to their rotating slate of games."
The report noted something very interesting, “One nugget I was told that may interest wrestling fans is that Warner Bros. Discovery does not have to stay exclusive to AEW. It would be something if it got in on WWE. But I don’t see it yet.”
June 8, 2023
WWE Touts Nearly 90M U.S. Fans as CEO Says “It’s Time to Monetize” With New TV Deals
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Labels: Nick Khan, Television Ratings, Triple H, Vince McMahon, Wrestling News, WWE
April 7, 2023
Analysis Shows WWE's Fan-Driven Business Metrics Improved Under Paul Levesque
However you feel about the state of WWE programming and the specifics of how shows have or haven't differed when spearheaded by Paul "Triple H" Levesque as compared to Vince McMahon, there absolutely have been differences. Levesque brought back various wrestlers who had been cut by the previous regime, and under his guidance, the last-minute changes that were constant under McMahon had subsided. Past that, it becomes a matter of personal preference and business metrics. On Thursday, Wrestlenomics offered the latter, comparing TV ratings and live attendance for Levesque's eight months running creative to how McMahon's WWE was doing a year earlier. And the answers are favorable to Levesque.
On the TV side, "WWE Raw" averaged 1.80 million viewers each week under Levesque, up 4% from McMahon a year prior, which is doubly impressive considering USA's reach among cable customers has dropped. "WWE SmackDown," meanwhile, saw a bigger increase, going up 6%, from an average of 2.14 million viewers under McMahon to 2.28 million viewers under Levesque. Since "SmackDown" is on FOX, a free broadcast network, the caveat about its potential viewership does not apply, though.
As for ticket sales, that data is from WrestleTix, which is able to count tickets distributed, but without being able to distinguish between paid admissions and comps. With that out of the way, for every month of the Levesque era, "Raw" averaged a higher number of tickets out than the McMahon regime did a year prior, and "SmackDown" did the same for all but one month, even with the latter including the initial surge in interest when WWE resumed touring after COVID-19 precautions eased. Across the full eight-month periods being compared, "SmackDown" averaged 8,555 tickets distributed for Levesque vs. 7,532 for McMahon, a 14% increase, while "Raw" averaged 8,463 tickets distributed for Levesque vs. McMahon's 6,787, a 25% increase. And though the McMahon period had a 2% lead on Levesque's for domestic house shows, that gain was carried by August through November 2021, the early months of post-pandemic touring.
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9:20 PM
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Labels: Raw, SmackDown, Television Ratings, Triple H, Vince McMahon, WWE
March 7, 2023
Wells Fargo Analysis Says Fox Unlikely To Renew WWE SmackDown At Increased Rights Fee
WWE's domestic television rights are up for negotiation and renewal this year for broadcasts effective September 2024. This is at least the stated reason for why Vince McMahon returned to the company's board of directors, to steer an attempt to sell the company. In particular, given the expense of sports media rights, the idea was that one distribution partner might entertain buying the company outright. Last month, though, that idea was complicated by the report that Comcast — one of the most theoretically likely buyers, with its approximately $465 million/year commitment for "WWE Raw" on USA Network and WWE Network on Peacock – was not interested in buying the wrestling company.
On Tuesday, a new wrinkle surfaced that throws another wrench into what's going on: If Fox were to renew "WWE SmackDown," it would not be at an increased rate over its current $205 million/year.
Forbes SportsMoney editor Mike Ozanian tweeted a screenshot from a presentation generated by Wells Fargo Securities analysts about WWE's domestic media rights prospects. The main takeaway was that they don't think Fox is willing to do a new deal at a higher price. He adds that it's "possible" that this could lead to the price of "SmackDown" being partially underwritten by a streaming partner in the new contract or the show outright leaving its current spot on Fox.
In May 2018, The Hollywood Reporter, in detailing the WWE/Fox negotiations, noted that Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch played heavily on the McMahon family's insecurities during their talks, including that Comcast/NBC Universal was "embarrassed by your product." His son, CEO Lachlan Murdoch, laid it on thicker, reportedly adding that, in reporter Marisa Guthrie's words, that the deal "would herald the marriage of the Murdochs and the McMahons, rebel outsiders who had built media empires."
September 24, 2021
The Way TV Ratings Are Measured Is Changing, WWE & AEW To Be Impacted
August 28, 2021
Friday's WWE SmackDown Soars To Almost 3 Million Viewers On FOX
July 23, 2021
Triple H on WWE Taking a ‘Hard Look’ on How to Attract More Fans to the Product
The North State Journal recently spoke to WWE executive Paul "Triple H" Levesque who said that WWE would “take a hard look” at how to attract more fans to the NXT product every week.
“It never is one thing. We see this as a moment in time to shift everything. I think you’ll see it in just the layout of everything, the set designs, the way it’s presented. There’s a greater emphasis on utilizing the spaces that we have and the TV aspect of it while still engaging the fans. A lot of that comes from the time we had to experiment inside the ThunderDome.”
July 22, 2021
WWE NXT Scores Best Ratings In Months Despite NBA Finals Competition
June 16, 2021
Triple H Comments On AEW Ratings ‘Lie’
In a recent sitdown with Wrestling Inc. Daily, Wrestling Inc, Axel Tishcer, formerly known to WWE and NXT audiences as Alexander Wolfe discussed his relationship with Triple H and the recently ended ‘Wednesday Night War’ between WWE NXT and All Elite Wrestling. Here, the ex-Wolfe told managing editor Nick Hausman his thoughts on the competition between the two companies, that stated how allegedly Triple H relayed to talent that USA does not care about the ever-popular 18-49 demographic like AEW and their flagship show, Dynamite does – instead putting a core focus on viewership.
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8:11 AM
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Labels: All Elite Wrestling, Television Ratings, Triple H, WWE NXT
May 22, 2021
Friday Ratings: ‘Shark Tank’ And ‘WWE Friday Night SmackDown’ Tie In Demos
ABC’s Shark Tank and Fox’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown tied in the demo wars for Friday night, with the season finale of Shark Tank edging out wrestling by virtue of its larger audience.
The Sharks in this episode included Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner, Daymond John and Robert Herjavec
WWE Friday Night SmackDown had a Fatal 4-Way Intercontinental Championship match between Big E, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and Intercontinental champion Apollo Crews as its draw.
source: deadline.com
May 20, 2021
AEW Dynamite Viewership And Key Demo Rating Down From Last Week’s Show
WWE NXT Viewership Up From Last Week With Steel Cage Main Event
May 13, 2021
AEW Dynamite Viewership Fell Back Below 1 Million Viewers This Week
AEW viewership dropped this week following last week's highly anticipated Blood & Guts match.
The two-hour broadcast on TNT this week pulled in 936,000 viewers, which is down from 1.090 million last week, according to PWTorch.
The episode scored a 0.66 cable rating, which is also down from 0.72 last week, and delivered a 0.38 demographic rating in the 18-49 category, down from 0.42 the week previous.
May 5, 2021
Chris Jericho Refutes Triple H Saying AEW vs. NXT Ratings War Was 'Imaginary'
EW star Chris Jericho fired back at WWE NXT founder Triple H on Tuesday regarding the Wednesday night ratings battle between AEW and NXT.
During a recent appearance on Cheap Heat with Peter Rosenberg, Triple H referred to the rivalry between AEW and NXT as an "imaginary war" on Wednesday nights:
"The promotional opportunity for us is much better on a Tuesday. And also then not having to have a narrative where it's just constantly about an imaginary war, or this imaginary battle. And, you know, people can say what they want, but the truth of the matter is you compete against everything. If you are creating a television product or content—that is the world we live in is content not television, not internet. It's everything. So you're constantly competing for eyeballs and time against everything under the sun, including sleep and time to do other things, and video games, and TikTok and everything else that's out there."
In an interview with Joseph Staszewski of the New York Post, Jericho suggested Triple H created the "imaginary war" narrative only because AEW had higher ratings the vast majority of the time:
"It will be there for the rest of time, it was an 'imaginary war,' and if it wasn't a war why did they take Wednesday night the exact same time that we had? It was there to take away our ratings and for us not to get re-signed. Three months after that started we were re-signed to a hundreds-of millions-of-dollars extension. They failed."
After more than a year of AEW and NXT going head-to-head on Wednesday nights, NXT moved to Tuesdays on April 13, marking the end of the Wednesday night wrestling war regardless of whether it was real or imagined.
Jericho added:
"That's typical WWE. It's typical rhetoric. Because I believe that they congratulated us the first week and said, if you remember, 'It's a marathon, not a sprint.' We won the marathon, right? So now it's an imaginary war. Well then why were they saying it's a marathon, not a sprint a year-and-a-half ago when our first rating came out?"
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6:49 PM
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Labels: All Elite Wrestling, Chris Jericho, Television Ratings, Triple H, WWE NXT
WWE NXT Viewership Rises, But Its Demographic Number Dips
WWE NXT suffered a decline in viewership last week, but the show somewhat bounced back on May 4.
According to ShowbuzzDaily, the viewership climbed up to 761,000 this week, a slight increase from last week’s 744,000.
As for the 18-49 demographic, WWE NXT drew a 0.18 rating, a notable drop compared to last week’s number of 0.22. Overall, the show ranked 21st among the top 150 original programs on cable.
The May 4 episode included an NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship Match, a Falls Count Anywhere Match between Leon Ruff and Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, and the return of Finn Balor.
NXT VIEWERSHIP YEAR-TO-DATE RANKINGS
Apr. 20: 841,000 – 2021 High
Jan. 14: 551,000 – 2021 Low
May 5: 761,000 – This Week
April 27, 2021
WWE Most Wanted Treasures Viewership Up
Sunday’s second episode of WWE Most Wanted Treasures drew 769,000 viewers on A&E at 10pm. The one-hour show drew a 0.27 rating like the Biography on Piper, tying for the #10 spot on the Cable Top 150.
This is up from last week’s Most Wanted Treasures premiere, which drew 766,000 viewers. Last Sunday’s premiere drew a 0.29 rating in the key demo, ranking #11 on the Cable Top 150.
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