.....
Okay one. I... really don't like these shows being on the network. Kayfabe is a cluttered maze right now (OH KAYFABE IS DEAD!!! Not really. Not on good shows that can keep the fourth wall in place). It feels like JBL and Heyman are responding in character to actual news stories outside the wrestling bubble. I'm okay with shoot interviews, hell even throw them on the Network, but... One or the other it feels like.
Two, the obvious complaint, why are you pissing off your audience? And also, if you knew this was going to piss off the audience enough to do it, make a Youtube clip of it in hopes that it will go sorta-viral... What are you trying to do here? I understand this is an incredible marketing scheme in 2016 - so much that it can make you the most powerful person in the world - but... Somehow I don't think this whole "You're addicted to bitching about the third hour lol you're going to watch anyway" shit is such a good idea.
Three, I still don't see the problem (long term, anyway) of telling USA network that they're struggling to fill time, so they're putting 205 Live on at 10 PM for a test run, then moving it to 8 PM so Raw can start at 9. Sure, USA is losing out of the "established brand!" of Raw, but it's still three hours of first-run WWE programming. Better than NCIS reruns, and doesn't burn out the audience so much. USA used to LOVE putting on a hot new show after Raw, because the largest-watched show would stay tuned and see it. Have that other show be first-run WWE programming that wrestling fans are going to stay tuned to watch and it'll be an established brand...
Four, NBC owns USA and part of Hulu, I wonder if this is affecting the sales of both.......nah, lol. I almost wish Heyman had brought that up, though Hulu Raw has its own faults caused due to the three hours. YOU CAN CUT OUT PART OF THE OPENING PROMO YOU KNOW. thx for the Smackdown subscription <3
Five, since this is 100% a business decision and fan reaction has nothing to do with it... I'm afraid it's not coming back. Not due to "lost revenue" but because it's too late... WWE used to have some leverage in the TV industry due to most primetime shows being easy to just DVR and watch later. Pro wrestling gets easily spoiled - especially by phone apps - and is much better to watch with friends, every Monday night the crew gets together to watch wrasslin. There's a giant LD going on in the Twitterverse on top of our own personal highly-recommended ones here on WWEF, but thanks to the 3 hour Raw that leverage has went away. Of those 1.5 million viewers who've turned away from Raw, how many of those people still watch? Over DVR, over the Internet, hell over Youtube clips? There's still LOADS of evidence that WWE is still surprisingly popular for something with the reputation it has, but how many of those viewers will TRULY come back for a 2 hour show? They'll get a big pop at first but viewership will quickly dwindle as those going out and skipping ads will continue to do so. Maybe it'll be a little better, but USA will be pissed as the 8 PM block becomes a rerun of NCIS and drops like a stone... Is there really a business incentive to cut the 3rd hour? Granted fan burnout is extremely real but...
Six, I still love the idea of having multiple versions of Raw on the Network. If only Hulu can get over it and say "you can put the full 3 hour version up but the 90 minute one is ours mwahahahahaha" or whatnot, but segment by segment Raws where it's easier to skim through the shows should generate a little more revenue than those just downloading the show lol. Get creative! Do more things to promote your product and fewer things to piss your fans off lol
