Viewership numbers for all television shows has fallen in recent years thanks to the emergence of streaming services and DVR. Wrestling, and WWE in particular, has really felt that, and the numbers WWE would do when Monday Night Football was on are now ones the company would probably kill to have.
It's now become the norm for shows like RAW and SmackDown to hit new record lows, and WWE really seems to struggle in the key 18 - 49 demographic. Adding to their woes is the fact that NXT is frequently beaten on Wednesday nights by All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite.
During WWE's annual shareholder meeting, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon addressed the falling viewership numbers, and provided some insight into what they plan on doing about them.
"We have a 30-plus year track record of creating compelling characters and engaging a variety of audiences, and we obviously remain confident we can continue that with our collective ability, even in the most challenging environments with no live audience," McMahon started. "The media ecosystem obviously has changed. We change with it. Our engagement metrics across platforms are understandably and obviously — however, the importance of linear programming is paramount in all of our businesses — we consistently have seen year-over-year increases in a variety of digital metrics and engagement. And positive trends have continued, even during COVID."
"Conversely, TV viewership trends have been negatively impacted by COVID, obviously, and the lack of a live audience. We are still nonetheless the number-one television show on USA [Network] and consistently the number-one broadcast show on Fridays among key demos," he continued, sharing at least some good news. "We expect a combination of valuable promotional inventory from our TV partners with the return of sports events programming. And a deep roster of charismatic talent will have a positive impact on viewership over the long-term."
Not many people agree with that outlook, but there is no denying that COVID-19 has hurt WWE. You can check out his comments in full below: