On the latest episode of ‘Bischoff On Wrestling’, which was released this past Wednesday, former WCW president Eric Bischoff commented on WWE continuing to produce their television for children even though the audience is getting older.
That’s where the money is. One of the tough things about pro wrestling, sport entertainment or whatever you want to call it is that you get massive numbers. WWE even on a bad week when they dip below three million those are massive numbers in the world of television. Especially in today’s environment. The difficult part is that the real money is in the youngest part of that demo. Kids, teens, pre-teens and women probably represent the largest percentage of discretionary income to advertisers. While you may have three million or more viewers if you’re WWE the advertisers are really only interested in the kids, the teens, the pre-teens and to some degree the women. That’s what makes the business tough. You’ve got to keep your bulk numbers up, your ratings up, but you’ve really got to keep a close eye on those teen and pre-teen demos. That’s what makes pro wrestling such a hard television property. That’s why if you look at Impact Wrestling you could probably buy a national spot on POP TV during Impact Wrestling for, I dunno, $49? A bucket of KFC and a six pack of Mountain Dew? That’s primarily because the audience is almost non-existent. You’re talking about an old demo and that’s a really, really old demo for that particular show. It’s a tough balancing act.
