Report: USA Network Happy With Changes To WWE
USA Network have noticed WWE's fresh programming since the major regime change
The recent backstage changes in WWE have been monumental or the industry as a whole, and have had a knock-on effect to WWE TV, with fan enthusiasm the highest it has felt for ages due to new direction from te new head of creative Triple H, amongst other things.
Indeed, the first Raw of the Triple H era did over 2.2million viewers on USA Network - the highest figures in over two years - and a report form Fightful Select suggests that USA Network are happy with the changes.
A source who spoke with Fightful said these recent numbers were more in line with what the network expected after extending Raw’s deal, until the pandemic changed ‘everything’, but it was noted that the next few weeks will be seen as the ‘real test’ for Raw, to see if it can keep up or even build upon this positive momentum, with it previously never being imagined that Raw could get to a position where it was bringing in fewer than two million viewers consistently.
A source at USA Network said that the new look Raw has felt like ‘appointment viewing’ and that it ‘felt more natural, and there's more discussion about the show within the company than there has been since their new rights deal started’.
The uptick in fortunes comes at a crucial time for WWE, with broadcast renegotiations between WWE, USA Network, and Fox expected to begin within the next year. Indeed, someone from USA Network noted to Fightful that ‘they'd be surprised if USA didn't make a play to renew WWE programming’.
