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What's the story?
In an effort to discover why its ratings have experienced some record lows over the last six to eight months, WWE has apparently been doing more recent work with fans and focus groups.
WrestlingInc.com reports that WWE is doing more surveys of fans in order to find out why ratings have declined. They're also concerned with why live event attendance is down and what will 'keep fans engaged with the product'.
In case you missed it...
Raw and SmackDown both experienced their lowest ratings in WWE history late last year and also some unimpressive ratings in the early stages of 2019.
The ratings did eventually increase, but were among some of the lowest the company has faced in it's entire history with Raw and SmackDown.
The heart of the matter
WWE is worried about the sharp drop of its ratings late last year as well as the drops that have occurred both before WrestleMania and after it. They want to put forth the best possible product for when SmackDown moves to Fox in the Fall.
In order to hopefully find out some reasons behind these drops, WrestlingInc.com revealed that WWE has taken part in more focus group work to find out several things.
Among the factors they are considering are why fan live attendance is down, why the ratings have dropped so much over the last year and what the fans think they (the WWE) can do in order to keep their interest levels high.
The report also noted that officials are "fully aware that there is a new wrestling war, presumably with AEW" and that "they don't want to come across as the 'bad guy promotion' " that doesn't listen to its fans.
Officials are worried that coming across as the 'bad guy promotion' or one that ignores fans could give the opposition in the 'war', All Elite Wrestling, the protest vote with fans as a promotion that both rallies behind and listens to its fans.
Cody Rhodes and the Young Bucks want to put out a product that is completely different from WWE in order to compete with the global juggernaut.
WWE has routinely put out surveys on its website in order to apparently gather information from fans in order to improve the product.
Among some questions on past surveys are which superstars do you like or dislike, what other promotions do you watch and/or want to see on the WWE Network, and what type of shows would interest them on the WWE Network.
What's next?
WWE has been the unchallenged leader in pro wrestling ever since it bought out WCW in the early stages of the 2000's. Other promotions had arisen over time, but not in the way that would actually be threatening to WWE.
Since AEW has both talented wrestlers (the Elite) and the financial backing behind it in the Khans, WWE is apparently taking the potential threat that AEW presents seriously.
