What's the story?
All the fans who have been complaining about the three-hour format of RAW have been asked to refrain from doing so by JBL. He appeared on ‘Bring It To The Table’ and sent this message out and loud to all wrestling buffs.
When the host Peter Rosenberg brought up the topic of fans being unpleased with the duration of RAW every Monday, JBL clearly stated that RAW will continue to be three hours long because that's how the show generates revenues. Here’s what JBL said:
“You gotta understand this, it's not gonna happen. TV contracts. The three major markets of the United States, U.K. and India all run till September and December of 2019.”
In case you didn't know...
WWE RAW was expanded to a three-hour telecast from July 2016. The announcement was made by John Cena on the 1,000th episode of the show. It was done with the aim of involving the fans by making it more interactive.
The heart of the matter
WWE has remained among the top 10 most-watched shows on USA network for last ten years. However, a drop in their TRP, as well as the need to generate more revenue forced WWE to shift RAW to the three-hour format.
WWE also wanted the fans to not be confined to just watching the show. Instead, they wanted fans to be more involved and decide matches, stipulations as well as the plots for the upcoming story lines.
What's next?
The statement made by JBL has confirmed that RAW will continue to be 3 hours long. With this being the case, there will be more scope for the development of all plots on the show.
Sportskeeda's take
Since the show will continue to engage the viewers for three hours, it ensures more exposure to the stories both on and off stage. And it will help the show generate revenues from the hefty investments that they have made. Moreover, it will generate more scope for the development of the smaller plots which are usually sidelined.
The question of RAW going back to its two hours format is completely off the table for the foreseeable future. But the three hours definitely promises a lot of entertainment and more news.
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One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
