The landscape of professional wrestling is continuously evolving and WWE, the industry titan, is no exception to this rule. As we gaze into the horizon of 2024, the buzz within the wrestling community points towards potential transformative changes for WWE’s scheduling of premium live events.
In recent discussions, the concept of WWE potentially shifting some of their premium live events to Fridays has sparked considerable chatter among fans and insiders alike. While conventional wisdom suggests that a Friday slot might attract lower immediate live viewership, our understanding of the current broadcasting ecosystem reveals that this is less a concern for WWE’s streaming partner, Peacock.
Renowned pro wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer shed light on the matter on Wrestling Observer Radio, highlighting the distinct approach of Peacock towards premium live events viewership. Unlike traditional pay-per-view metrics, Peacock places its emphasis not on the number of viewers tuning in live but on the audience that streams the event within the first 24 hours of broadcast.
This shift in perspective from live viewership to a broader time frame aligns with WWE’s willingness to experiment with unconventional air times, as evidenced by their morning events held in international locations like Australia and Saudi Arabia. Despite these atypical broadcast hours, WWE has learned that the audience’s propensity to catch up post-live showing remains strong.
The stakes of live broadcasting have morphed with the advent of digital streaming platforms like Peacock, where the urgency for real-time viewership has waned. For a streaming service, the cumulative viewership over a day holds greater value, guiding their content strategies and partnerships.
This revelation of Peacock’s focus on the first day’s viewership figures opens doors to a variety of scheduling possibilities for WWE. With Peacock ostensibly at the helm in some of these decisions, WWE live events have the flexibility to air at almost any time, which may in turn influence how these events are produced and marketed.
As we continue to monitor this developing story, it’s clear that 2024 stands as a landmark year for WWE, potentially packed with even more transformative moments than those we witnessed in an already action-packed 2023.
Whether or not this new strategy will prove successful remains to be seen. Fans and critics alike are curious about this potential shift, and feedback from the broader wrestling community is invaluable. What are your thoughts on the possibility of WWE moving their premium live events to Fridays? Engage with us in the comments and reflect on how Peacock’s viewership approach might reshape the WWE viewing experience. Stay tuned for further insights and updates on this story — in the world of professional wrestling, the only certainty is change.
