'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
WWE have had to adapt and change the way they present shows in the pandemic era. They have had to move to different venues and add atmosphere to the shows, which has been difficult due to the lack of fans.
WWE's viewership has dipped significantly over the last few months, especially RAW, which has hit record lows this year. SmackDown, too, has witnessed some poor numbers, but not to the extent of the Red brand.
Stephanie McMahon, in a recent interview, spoke about the dip in viewership for WWE's shows and revealed what they tried to increase viewership, which failed.
Stephanie McMahon on WWE's struggling viewership numbers
In her interview with Forbes, Stephanie McMahon acknowledged the low viewership numbers, which she attributed to the lack of fans in the arenas. She said that WWE tried to help improve the atmosphere by adding developmental wrestlers as part of the audience, which is an experiment that failed.
“And without them [the fans], it’s just not the same. Our ratings fell off. We tried bringing in our developmental talent to see if that would help in terms of some type of audience but it just wasn’t enough, and ultimately we had hoped to be back in arenas in the Fall but when we realized that wasn’t gonna happen, we doubled-down and invested with a new partner called The Famous Group and we now have nearly one thousand virtual fans.” (H/T Post Wrestling)
Stephanie McMahon revealed that the digital viewership numbers for WWE has increased on YouTube and WWE Network. She hoped that WWE will be able to have live events soon.
“We’re very hopeful that there will be a return to live events of course and we will continue to produce our content but additionally, what we’ve seen is a huge increase in digital viewership."
She said that WWE altered their digital viewership strategy by posting "longer form content" on digital and social platforms which they hadn't done before.
The post-Survivor Series episode of RAW saw an average of 1.808 million viewers, which is a slight increase from the viewership numbers of the previous weeks. SmackDown, meanwhile, had 2.326 million viewers on the Survivor Series go-home show last week.
