May 23, 20187 yr comment_5850662 Last Friday MasterChef did an average of 3.32 million viewers 8-10pm. Week before that a show on Meghan Markle at 8pm did 3.68m.
May 25, 20187 yr comment_5851037 Yeah, there's no way Smackdown goes to 3 hours either way. 7-8 pm is for syndicated programming and 10-11 is for local news, both of those are big revenue streams for the local affiliates. If Fox messes with that, they'd have a shit storm on their hands. What will be interesting is that a lot of Fox stations (like mine) are owned by Sinclair. So you could be seeing ROH ads in during Smackdown in the local buys.
May 25, 20187 yr comment_5851041 The 3 hours thing was debunked. The source credited an article somewhere else that never even said that.
October 3, 20186 yr comment_5868457 I'm curious how all this will play out as RAW and SD ratings continue to decline and look like they'll be heading in the sub-2 million range by the end of 2018. Obviously, January-to-April is WrestleMania season and ratings tend to pick up then. What's interesting to me (and why I'm bumping this thread) are the following thoughts/questions: - The highly-advertised and politically controversial Last Man Standing returned to FOX last week and did a monster rating, the highest a FOX comedy has had in years with some 8 million viewers tuning in. When the show was originally cancelled from ABC, Tim Allen openly criticized ABC for sabotaging the show by moving its airtime and argued that Friday night is a "death slot," believing his show deserved a better night. I'm not sure how all this will play out in 2019. SmackDown seems locked-in for Friday nights based on the press releases and Last Man Standing (if the ratings hold) should be shuffled around to anchor another night...but its a little bit of a gamble. If Last Man Standing ends up average 5-6 million viewers on Fridays this year, but falls to the 3-4 range on a Wednesday, that's a problem (and one Tim Allen may be particularly vocal about). SmackDown is lucky to get 2.25 million viewers every week. On a cutthroat network like Fox, how will this all shake-out? - And, also, how long will a sub-2.5 million viewership SD last on Fox? Right now, it seems that Fox is going to put all their promotional force behind the show and that is LOTS of promotion...but what if that doesn't give it the nudge to that 3-4 million range that Fox is likely expecting/hoping? Would that mean a move to FS1? If it does transition on Fox Sports, it will undoubtedly be the highest rated regular program on that network, but like their years on SyFy and UPN/CW, it doesn't exactly come with the prestige of being on FOX.
October 3, 20186 yr comment_5868459 Maybe the pressure to maintain a certain level of ratings will finally be the impetus to improve from a booking standpoint
October 4, 20186 yr comment_5868486 8 hours ago, DMJ said: - And, also, how long will a sub-2.5 million viewership SD last on Fox? Right now, it seems that Fox is going to put all their promotional force behind the show and that is LOTS of promotion...but what if that doesn't give it the nudge to that 3-4 million range that Fox is likely expecting/hoping? Would that mean a move to FS1? If it does transition on Fox Sports, it will undoubtedly be the highest rated regular program on that network, but like their years on SyFy and UPN/CW, it doesn't exactly come with the prestige of being on FOX. I don't think that's very important to WWE at this moment. If they are sent to FS1 and do well there and still get their money, they'll be probably happy.
October 4, 20186 yr comment_5868488 Obviously, they need to be successful at a certain level, but the promise of ratings wasn't what made WWE appeal to FOX. It was that they have live content that has a reputation - fair or not - of being "DVR-proof", which they see as the future of television. They seem to view WWE as a long-term investment, not something that has to be a smash-hit. I think the ratings will be fine. There's a loyal wrestling audience that will watch wrestling on whatever network and in whatever timeslot. Plus, FOX plans to promote WWE on all of their programming, which will likely make at least some difference. This decline also comes at a time of year that virtually always sees a decline. Granted, this is sharper than usual, but I don't think it's a big deal. Nothing matters anymore. I don't like that, but it's true.
October 4, 20186 yr comment_5868509 I hope Fox's response to sagging ratings is a drastic Hail Mary nostalgia play. Taker, Foley, Michaels, Kane, Cena, RVD and a few others may become Smackdown staples in 2019.
October 4, 20186 yr comment_5868511 Neilson ratings have always been flawed at best, and in 2018, they're really not all that relevant. The big four networks still look at them a bit, CBS loves to brag about its ratings for shows only old white people watch. But it's a new age, with vast amounts of ways to watch content of any sort.
October 4, 20186 yr comment_5868516 4 hours ago, Charles (Loss) said: Obviously, they need to be successful at a certain level, but the promise of ratings wasn't what made WWE appeal to FOX. It was that they have live content that has a reputation - fair or not - of being "DVR-proof", which they see as the future of television. They seem to view WWE as a long-term investment, not something that has to be a smash-hit. I think the ratings will be fine. There's a loyal wrestling audience that will watch wrestling on whatever network and in whatever timeslot. Plus, FOX plans to promote WWE on all of their programming, which will likely make at least some difference. This decline also comes at a time of year that virtually always sees a decline. Granted, this is sharper than usual, but I don't think it's a big deal. Nothing matters anymore. I don't like that, but it's true. Yup. FOX cares more that Smackdown will still have a consistent 2.5 million-ish viewers, even on a random mid-July Friday no matter what than if they do worse than some of their options during the fall and winter, especially on a Friday night.
October 4, 20186 yr comment_5868527 This is obviously not cheap for Fox, but it is probably a discount on producing enough TV shows to fill that Friday slot 52 weeks a year (especially given that they've lost the upside on those shows with their production arm being sold to Disney).
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