Stephanie McMahon: WWE Fans Know They Can Impact Change On The Product
"Sometimes it takes really listening to one another and coming up with solutions to elicit change."
Apr 1, 2021
Stephanie McMahon has commented on how WWE gauges fan reaction to characters and storylines, saying the WWE Universe has the power to impact change in the company's direction.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, WWE's Chief Brand Officer says the promotion monitors live reaction, as well as online sentiment, when it comes to the stories they're telling across the various platforms.
McMahon pointed to how the WWE Universe helped to bring out the Women's Revolution as an example of how fans can make changes to WWE.
She said: "The audience has a tremendous impact on what we do; it’s one of the advantages of being live. We listen to the live audience and gather feedback through digital and social media to determine which story lines and performers are resonating, and why.
"We’re constantly looking at data across our content distribution ecosystem, which includes linear TV for our weekly shows and reality programming, our streaming WWE Network, and our digital and social channels. We have separate teams developing the content for those various platforms, and they’re all telling stories and amplifying them in the most effective ways for each channel. Even within social media, our content can’t be one-size-fits-all.
"Because we’ve responded to fan feedback in the past, they knew they could have an impact and really help make this change happen. They had seen us making changes in our ‘WWE NXT’ program, which features up-and-coming performers and is akin to a minor league system.
"We had already started to recruit elite female athletes and train them the same way we train men. We started giving them the same amount of match time, exposure, and opportunities, and they started to steal the show. During those matches, the audience chanted, ‘This is wrestling!’ and ‘Women’s wrestling!’ The fans loved it, and they wanted us to do more.
"Simply ‘cancelling’ us wouldn’t have necessarily elicited change. Sometimes it takes really listening to one another and coming up with solutions to elicit change."
