Originally posted by fuelinjectedWay to take things out of context. It doesn't say anywhere in there where that 3.8 million dropoff is from. Maybe it's mainly from the drop in the Smackdown rating?
Besides, the point I was making last week was that the RAW TV contract with TNN is a hell of a lot more secure even with the sagging ratings then the Smackdown contract with UPN.
Your arnxiety is duly noted.
I was just providing a friendly reminder that ratings = money.
Frank
(Look at my level! I must have landed on the Shawn Stasiak memorial "Caught secretly recording conversations in the locker room" chute.)
I think the ratings will REALLY spike next week. By now, word's going around that HEEL ROCK~! has returned. Combine that with Austin's return to Raw and I have a feeling the ratings will jump again next week. If ever there was a time to build up new talent, it would be next week...
Unless your name is Hunter, in which case, it's time to bury the midcarders for good.
Nice 4.0 rating for Raw. I hope it will continue to climb through March.
Smackdown was the highest rated show on UPN last week, during sweeps against heavy competition. Buffy and Enterprise come close but Smackdown is still number one. Why, then, would UPN want to get rid of it? What makes the contract in danger?
Originally posted by It's FalseI think the ratings will REALLY spike next week. By now, word's going around that HEEL ROCK~! has returned. Combine that with Austin's return to Raw and I have a feeling the ratings will jump again next week. If ever there was a time to build up new talent, it would be next week...
Unless your name is Hunter, in which case, it's time to bury the midcarders for good.
I also expect the ratings to increase with the return of Austin, who may be the only serious individual draw the WWE has left at this point. I thought the ratings would go up more for Rock, but I'm not sure heel Rock is getting over consistently. I think a number of fans aren't willing to invest in Rock because they figure he's going to leave again in a few weeks. Also while I applaud his willingness to dork it up to play heel, I wonder how much that undercuts the "cool" that got him so much success in the first place. His comments about the Scorpion King's loss being "just a special effect for the movie" seemed to lame and defensive.
Of course Stone Cold may not be much of a draw due to his numerous absences and confusing turns too, which could mean the WWE is in for a long, dull summer. It doesn't look like they are going to build anything new coming out of Wrestlemania, though they could certainly do a better job of pushing Lesnar this year, i.e. keep that heatsucking troll Heyman away from him. Unfortunately Linda bragged about Heyman during the investors conference so I fear he'll be hogging the microphone at the expense of real talent again in 2003.
Frank
(Superstar Billy Hogan won't add much either. He either no-showed SmackDown! because he doesn't give a damn or because his back was so bad that he couldn't work anyway. Maybe we'll get operating room footage as doctors struggle to repair the damage done by years of steroid abuse.)
Smackdown's contract is in danger mainly due to UPN. In the past month, they have lost all of the Disney Cartoons, Buffy and the Faith series. TV Guide of all people are calling for the death of Enterprise, a magazine that has always been a pro-Trek supporter. The lose of the cartoons actually makes UPN, a non-network since they need a certain amount of hours to fill out in a day which come this Fall, they don't have.
Vince sees the writing on the wall. UPN will not be around long and they are going to lose affilates every day. Fox does want a wrestling show, mainly Smackdown, but they probably won't shell out too much if TNN doesn't get involve in the contract neogations. If TNN does go after Smackdown, it will be good for Vince, so either way he wins. I do think, he has his eyes on Fox though. They are becoming more of a serious threat to the networks and Vince wasn't a network that gets respect plus has money in their pockets. The problem for Vince is that Fox would have no problem editing or canning Smackdown if it didn't produce good ratings. Smackdown is the number 1 show on UPN, so the network tends to leave them alone unless it has something to do wth gays then they come rolling in like an armored division. Its a weird situation for Vince, he can get the money and the exposure for the short term or go for the long term and loss the money and exposure.
Ratings will be level now with Rock and Stone Cold back, but if they want the ratings to rise, they need to produce a better product.
Ratings were high in the 90s because the product was awesome. WCW and WWF were trying to outdo each other and there was no crap on TV.
Then WCW tripped and starting selling garbage. WWF stayed strong and slaughtered them.
There are only two ways ratings will increase soon: better writing (not a chance) and if NWA steps up, gets a TV contract and becomes a viable option to WWE.
Big brother representative: Now, Mr. Simpson, may I ask why you're here? Homer's Brain: Don't say revenge. Don't say revenge. Homer: Ummm... revenge? Homer's Brain: Okay, that's it. I'm outta here. [Sound FX: step step step step step... slam]
Wasn't last weeks ratings rounded down 3.8 the next day, it means very little but I remember that.
It would be nice to be up a couple of more points, but atleast they are in the 4's and not threatening going sub 3's.
I wouldn't be worried about the after PPV bump because this past year there hasn't been any, some Raw post PPV dropped in rating and when they did raise it was only 0.1-0.2 was pretty much it (except after SummerSlam when HBK won the title it went up like 0.6)... The only thing that kind of saddened me that the Rock didn't make a bit more of an impact. Hopefully Rock and Austin can bump it up a couple of more spots next week.
By the way for the people who want the hour numbers. This week show did a 4.0 with hours of 3.9 and 4.1... Which isn't that impressive. Good start to the show, but no real jump while the show goes on.
Was mentioned Three times, 3X, 3X. In the "Great Wieners" thread!
Here's the problem with everyone thinking that 'news of Austin and the Rock will boost ratings next week': Who's still watching the show to tell their friends about it? It's not like they do a 6.8 for the first 5 minutes and then EVERYONE turns off but us when they find out "Nope, Austin's STILL gone... Rocky too..."
If those two guys are going to make an impact in the ratings, it'll take them being on TV a lot over the next few weeks doing the high quality stuff the Rock was doing last week. The WWE's gotta use these guys to get the people changing channels at this point, as not enough people are watching for their "tune in next week" type hype to have any impact.
Tribal Prophet
Wrestling exists in the eternal present. What is, has always been, and when it no longer is, it never was. It has no past and no future, and sometimes even today is in question. - Madame Manga
Originally posted by Tribal ProphetIf those two guys are going to make an impact in the ratings, it'll take them being on TV a lot over the next few weeks doing the high quality stuff the Rock was doing last week.
Tribal Prophet
I would say Austin made an immediate impact, which just underscores how dumb it was to delay his return until after sweeps was over.
Yeah, but sweeps aren't the be all and end all of ratings. Especially not for a cable network.
Tribal Prophet
Wrestling exists in the eternal present. What is, has always been, and when it no longer is, it never was. It has no past and no future, and sometimes even today is in question. - Madame Manga
i have to agree with my esteemed colleague here...a lot of people didnt make the u.s. title interesting...but lance did because he changed it which got people interested in it....