Guest unleashedfury Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 This is a very interesting information posted by Dave Meltzer from the observer newsletter on who are the superstars that draws ratings and who don't.It covers a four month period from May through 10/6. The first number is the total number of viewers gained or lost during the 4 months of the study, and the second number is the average per segment. Smackdown Characters Kurt Angle +6,032,000 +402,130 A-Train +350,000 +70,000 Basham Brothers +439,000 +43,900 Shelton Benjamin +3,350,000 +304,545 Chris Benoit +3,425,000 +311,360 John Cena +322,000 +22,130 FBI -188,000 -29,500 Zach Gowen +7,269,000 +484,600 Eddy Guerrero +4,966,000 +310,375 Billy Gunn +1,676,000 +279,330 Charlie Haas +4,787,000 +299,190 Matt Hardy +243,000 +20,250 Hulk Hogan +3,746,000 +468,250 Brock Lesnar +5,879,000 +326,610 Stephanie McMahon +6,201,000 +620,100 Vince McMahon +11,263,000 +625,720 Shannon Moore -250,000 -50,000 Rey Misterio +1,106,000 +100,550 Nidia -444,000 -111,000 Jamie Noble +65,000 +8,130 Rhyno +1,181,000 +131,220 Rikishi -443,000 -110,750 Big Show +3,895,000 +299,620 Spanky +51,000 +12,750 Tajiri +1,166,000 +89,690 Undertaker +2,265,000 +226,500 Torrie Wilson -284,000 -56,800 Raw Characters Steve Austin +6,873,000 +429,560 Eric Bischoff +2,671,000 +381,570 Garrison Cade -163,000 -27,170 Christian +2,245,000 +132,060 Dudleys -412,000 -37,450 Spike Dudley -707,000 -117,830 Ric Flair +5,078,000 +282,110 Mick Foley +2,870,000 +574,000 Bill Goldberg +6,833,000 +427,060 HHH +6,944,000 +408,470 Molly Holly +46,000 +5,110 Hurricane -900,000 -69,230 Chris Jericho +7,071,000 +261,890 Mark Jindrak -1,091,000 -181,830 Kane +3,774,000 +251,600 Gail Kim +1,413,000 +235,500 Rodney Mack -1,983,000 -180,270 Maven -1,029,000 -114,330 Shawn Michaels +2,396,000 +266,220 Kevin Nash +1,575,000 +143,180 Randy Orton +1,413,000 +88,310 La Resistance -745,000 -41,390 Rosey -1,092,000 -156,000 Scott Steiner +306,000 +30,600 Lance Storm +413,000 +41,300 Trish Stratus -965,000 -96,500 Booker T -424,000 -70,670 Test -1,174,000 -117,400 Rob Van Dam +747,000 +53,360 Some Comments from the Article: -based on total viewers gained or lost during a segment when these characters were either in the ring having a match or were the lead portion of angles (for example, Sable was standing next to Vince most of the time, but isn't being considered for the angles where she was window dressing). -As a general rule, these numbers are going to reflect who is focused on and who is put in the main storylines. When the show is built around the McMahons, or on Raw, Austin, they are going to have the best numbers. When guys are buried and booked for people not to care, the casual fans, who make up the bulk of the audience, won't care. -Smackdown numbers shouldn't be compared to Raw's. Because Smackdown is available in about 95.6 million homes while Raw is in 86.6. To fairly compare, approx. 10% should be added to Raw numbers (this should end one debate) -A main event performer should have an average of about +260,000 on Raw and +290,000 on Smackdown which would equal approx 0.2 rating points. A number above +400,000 on Raw and +440,000 on Smackdown should be considered a major ratings draw. -Big Show's numbers are inflated because he was booked in the main event almost every week, and the main event should show the most growth. -Benoit's and Guerrero's are suprisingly high considering their booking treatment. -Undertaker, who's been positioned as a major player most of this time, show's his superstar "pops" aren't equally ratings, nor are John Cena's raps aimed at the teenage audience. -Tori Wilson's numbers are suprisingly bad considering the Playboy exposure, but she burned out pretty quickly. That's about all for now, that should give us all plenty to debate and chew on for a while.
Guest Ray Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 Vince McMahon +11,263,000 +625,720 McMahons = ratings ?
Guest webmasterofwrestlegame Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 Ratings is what WWE judges everything on for their TV, so their exposure from their point of view is understandable. But where it all falls down is PPV buys - so basically people seem to be interested in a lot of the WWE characters, but the crap storylines are not causing people to buy PPV's.
Use Your Illusion Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 Triple H DRAWS MORE than Jericho Eat shit and die, Smarks. UYI - Real identity: Paul Levesque.
chaosrage Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 Gail Kim +1,413,000 +235,500 Trish Stratus -965,000 -96,500 ?
Guest FrigidSoul Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 Rodney Mack -1,983,000 -180,270 I guess nobody is Backing the Mack
Use Your Illusion Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 Gail Kim +1,413,000 +235,500 Trish Stratus -965,000 -96,500 ? THAT I seriously do not understand. Not only is Trish hotter, but she's about 500% more talented than Gail is on her best day. Eh, marks. Impossible to comprehend. UYI
chaosrage Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 Gail Kim +1,413,000 +235,500 Trish Stratus -965,000 -96,500 ? THAT I seriously do not understand. Not only is Trish hotter, but she's about 500% more talented than Gail is on her best day. Eh, marks. Impossible to comprehend. UYI To top that, Gail never gets any kind of crowd response.
Use Your Illusion Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 Going by those figures, Vince is the biggest draw in the company at the moment. VINCE MCMAHON. Maybe he knows what he's doing afterall. UYI
Use Your Illusion Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 In other news, No Mercy rates 2.00 UYI
Guest Korgath Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 Not only is Trish hotter, but she's about 500% more talented than Gail is on her best day. Eh, marks. Impossible to comprehend. Trish is overexposed. Gail is new... not exactly rocket science.
Lil' Bitch Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 Triple H DRAWS MORE than Jericho Eat shit and die, Smarks. UYI - Real identity: Paul Levesque. Fuck off.
chaosrage Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 Not only is Trish hotter, but she's about 500% more talented than Gail is on her best day. Eh, marks. Impossible to comprehend. Trish is overexposed. Gail is new... not exactly rocket science. And when she's in the ring without Trish..... you can hear a pin drop in the arena.
SamoaRowe Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 Gail Kim was pretty good at the house show on Friday. She's hot in person, I don't know what TV does to her.
Silence Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 Vince:"Let's have Molly Holly turn face so Gail Kim can win the Women's Championship and have an 8-month reign that'll go over as well as HHH's World title reign. Come on, smarks, you know you loved it!"
Lil' Bitch Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 ^ Replace Gail Kim with Victoria and I would love it.
Guest FrigidSoul Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 But Gail Kim can throw 50 different versions of the ArmBar and Hurricanrana!!!!
Guest JericholicEdgeHead Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 Looking at those numbers it doesn't look like women's wrestling is a draw. I like the WWE divas and all but maybe they shouldn't get so much attention as they do, at least on RAW.
alfdogg Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 Triple H DRAWS MORE than Jericho Eat shit and die, Smarks. UYI - Real identity: Paul Levesque. HHH +6,944,000 Chris Jericho +7,071,000 Someone's in denial. Anglesault is going to have a field day with this. Test, according to this, has lost the most viewers.
Guest Fook Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 So Benoit and Guerrero draw bigger ratings than Taker, but guess who gets the main event push... And I notice a lack of Shane McMahon on this list. I was kinda curious as to whether the marks were really supporting his Superman-esque character.
Kahran Ramsus Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 -Smackdown numbers shouldn't be compared to Raw's. Because Smackdown is available in about 95.6 million homes while Raw is in 86.6. To fairly compare, approx. 10% should be added to Raw numbers (this should end one debate) Before anyone gets confused, I should point out that this has to do with the total viewership, not the rating number. At least now I hope people will listen to me when I tell them UPN is in more homes than TNN.
Lil' Bitch Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 Test, according to this, has lost the most viewers. It was actually Rodney Mack, but I'll take the Mack over Test any day.
2GOLD Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 So, the people with ratings boxes love Vince, Triple H and Steph? Welcome to hell.
Guest Smell the ratings!!! Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 main events = ratings?! No way!
Kahran Ramsus Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 (edited) TV ratings generally reflect who is pushed. There are exceptions who guys who people just aren't interested in at all, or those that they are but aren't pushed, but you will find that they tend to follow that trend. PPV Buyrates and House Show attendance is where you really see the 'Main Event' Effect. It has been shown over and over again that people predominantly order PPVs for the advertised main event. If buyrates are lousy, then it means people aren't willing to pay to see the main eventers and that is a major problem. There are more variables involved in ratings, because people can just watch certain things and then turn it off. For a PPV, they need to make a commitment and the main eventers can't draw them in, its time to get new main eventers. You get those from the guys who draw viewers, but aren't getting pushes. On Smackdown Benoit, Haas, Benjamin & Guerrero are the best bets. On RAW they should push Jericho & Kane. Now granted, this is before Shane killed Kane's drawing power so these numbers aren't exactly up to date, but its better than nothing. As for who not to push. Smackdown is pretty much okay, aside from the true jobbers like Shannon Moore (since Rikishi is now gone). RAW has a much bigger problem. They should avoid Mack (and Henry by association), Test, La Resistance, Orton (who's numbers are extremely low for someone who has been out there with Flair & HHH all the time), Maven, Rosey, Cade, Jindrak and apparently Booker T. Edited October 19, 2003 by Kahran Ramsus
Guest Anglesault Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 The Test push has lost litterally a million viewers? I'm SHOCKED!
Guest wildpegasus Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 Vince and Stephanie are high because whenever they're on something happens. They're also the central part of the show. It's as simple as that. I love seeing Jericho as the highest rated superstar on Raw. Yes, he's near the top of the card but he's not the most central charactor so that rating does mean something. Benoit, Angle and Eddie being strong draws puts a smile on my face. I think it says a lot that Benoit attracts viewers despite the horrable way he's been booked these last 4 months. There are some surprises in here which are very interesting. Some of the numbers really surprised me.
ISportsFan Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 As a general rule, these numbers are going to reflect who is focused on and who is put in the main storylines. When the show is built around the McMahons, or on Raw, Austin, they are going to have the best numbers. When guys are buried and booked for people not to care, the casual fans, who make up the bulk of the audience, won't care. Of course Vince, Steph, HHH, and all the other main eventers are going to have high averages. That's to be expected. They're the ones who get the biggest pushes. Now, when you get that big of a push, ratings don't really matter for you anymore (because yes, more people are going to watch your segments, it's a fact of life when you get the biggest pushes). What matters for them are PPV buys - since they get the biggest pushes, people should want to see them on PPV. And Vengeance (built mostly around Vince v. Gowen, notice the radio ads and TV commercials, similarly for Vince v. Steph this month) was a failure. The ones that should surprise people are the characters who are treated like crap; the ones who are given low placement on cards, etc. And, a direct quote from the paraphrase of the article... -Benoit's and Guerrero's are suprisingly high considering their booking treatment. People that are pushed like crap and people still tune in to see are the ones that SHOULD be pushed more. That means people want to see them in action, etc., no matter whether they're getting a push or are 1-6 on PPV for the year and have no direction at all. Jason
Kahran Ramsus Posted October 19, 2003 Report Posted October 19, 2003 Angle's a main eventer, so he should draw. Benoit & Eddy were midcarders for most of this period, so they are the guys who should be getting pushed. The current main eventers aren't drawing buyrates (although I still think Angle & Brock have potential, just with better opponents), so Eddy & Benoit are the guys that should be next on the list to try.
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