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Vince McMahon Wants To Have Compelling Characters
WWE has released its second quarter earnings report today, and despite rising revenue, ratings for its flagship shows have been affected negatively.
During the question and answer portion of Thursday’s investors call, Vince McMahon was asked why NXT and AEW have not seen a negative affect numbers in comparison to RAW and SmackDown.
Vince feels that AEW Dynamite and NXT on USA are new programs, and that is the reason why they are holding steady in viewership. He says they will continue to build characters, but will have to make RAW and SmackDown feel “more youthful”. He also says Triple H is helping out with RAW and SmackDown, as it’s an “all hands on deck” situation.
I think because they are new. It’s something that’s new. It’s up to us to make Raw and SmackDown feel more youthful, and that is where we are going. You always have to build characters. As far as Paul Levesque helping out on Raw and SmackDown, that happens, it’s all hands on deck
The lack of a live audience hasn’t helped the situation, and Vince McMahon didn’t lay all the blame on declining ratings due to empty arena shows. He admitted that WWE can have more compelling characters and better storylines, including new characters being introduced. He also wants to the personality of talent, and showcase their lives outside the ring.
The audience is integral to our success and our television ratings. Again because interaction, or lack thereof. Notwithstanding that, I think that we can have more compelling characters, better storylines, new characters coming in, and more content that’s not necessarily in the ring, but that which focuses on their personalities and their story outside of the ring.
WWE shares were up 6% in after-hours trading following the second-quarter results. WWE reported net income of $43.8 million, compared to $10.4 million the same quarter last year. Revenues reached a record $514.4 million year-to-date