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WWE, AEW Experience Ratings Gains

“WWE NXT and AEW Dynamite enjoyed ratings gains while RAW and Smackdown produced the largest audiences.”

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The wrestling ratings war continued its constant battle as the calendar flipped to the first week of September. Except, as in weeks past where it has been a contest to see which company would win Wednesday night, it flipped to a rising tides lift all boats mentality.

Earlier in the week a rumor surfaced that World Wrestling Entertainment’s brand, “NXT” may be moving nights from Wednesday to Tuesday.

The brand saw a bump in ratings as they ran their “Super Tuesday” show that saw a four-man “Iron Man” match headline the night. The overnight rating came in at 849K and a .26 rating in the 18-49 male demo. The previous week, when the show ran uncontested due to All Elite Wrestling being preempted due to the NBA Playoffs, the show produced a total viewership of 824K and a .24 demo rating.

The rumor of moving to Tuesday Night permanently first came out from the Twitter handle @WrestlerVotes.

Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer newsletter had more news of a possible move from Wednesday to Tuesday adding: “Wrestling Observer Radio reports that Vince McMahon and the USA Network have the same mentality when it comes to AEW. They ultimately don’t want another wrestling company to succeed in attracting a fanbase like AEW has, especially considering that USA’s partnership with WWE is worth $265 million, while AEW and TNT are set at a $40 million deal.” (Wrestling INC.)

AEW’s go-home show before their “All Out” pay-per-view did one of the company’s best rating in their short time as a wrestling promotion. Headlined by the build to the pay-per-view’s main event, Jon Moxley defending his AEW World Title against challenger Maxwell Jacob Friedman, helped the show deliver total viewership of 928K and a .36 rating.

This number was even more impressive since AEW had to return to their normal time slot after previously bouncing around due to the NBA Playoffs. Over the prior two-weeks “Dynamite” had to move to Saturday, then Thursday. However, the promotion never saw a dip in their ratings as Saturday’s 8/22 show did 755K and Thursday’s broadcast did 813K.

On Monday night, WWE’s flagship show “RAW” saw a slight dip in their audience going from 2.02 million viewers to 1.89 million. However, the show still finished fourth for the night; only trailing the NBA playoffs.

RAW, compared to Dynamite and NXT, is a three hour show. Overall the program drew a high rating, however, the show saw a decrease in viewership throughout each hour.

Hour One: 2.10 million

Hour Two: 1.88 million

Hour Three: 1.70 million

Friday Night Smackdown airs tonight, therefore those ratings numbers won’t be available until next week. Last week’s episode which saw Roman Reigns confirm his heel turn and align with Paul Heyman produced an average of 2,181,000 viewers, including a peak during the first hour where 2,210,000 fans tuned in. The show received a 0.6 rating among the key 18-49 demographic.

Wrestling as a whole had a great week. RAW’s large audience on Monday night helped NXT have a solid lead in where viewers didn’t have to wait a day to watch WWE’s NXT show. The same goes for AEW not having to share its audience, helping them come close to eclipsing the one-million total viewer mark.

Wrestling fans love to romanticize about the “Monday Night Wars” where there were more people watching cable television back in 1997-99. However, with more viewers dropping cable for streaming services, the days of flipping the channel back and forth between WWE (back then WWF) and World Championship Wrestling are long gone.

It makes more sense to let each promotion have their own night on prime time cable television. Each company has their chance to captivate the wrestling audience without having to lose a small group of people to the other company.

Rising tides lift all ships, and in this case rising ratings lifts all wrestling promotions.

T.J. McAloon is a freelance writer, Texas High School football journalist, and avid follower of the professional wrestling business. He can be reached on Twitter @TJMcAloon or by email at [email protected].

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Report: NFL to Put Christmas Day Doubleheader Up For Bids

Bidding is expected to start at $50 million among the current NFL media partners but some think the games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

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The NFL will reportedly put its Christmas Day games up for auction, allowing its current media partners to bid for the games. Now, it’s up to CBS, FOX, ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video to pay up for rights to one of these two marquee games.

According to Front Office Sports Michael McCarthy, preference will be given to linear networks, so Prime Video and Peacock may sit this one out. Bidding is expected to start at $50 million but McCarthy and his sources expect that number to rise. John Kosner, the former ESPN executive, thinks the new Christmas Day games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

The NFL announced a Wednesday Christmas Day doubleheader during its annual league meetings. The league originally said it wouldn’t force games on Christmas Day if the holiday fell on an odd day of the week, though as the NFL continues to put games on days outside of Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays, and sometimes Saturdays, we’re running out of days that don’t feature NFL football.

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Colorado Rockies & DirecTV Reach Agreement to Carry Games on TV

“Colorado sports fans have made DIRECTV the top destination for their favorite local teams. We will continue to work with MLB…so fans can get their games.”

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Colorado Rockies

Breathe easy, Rockies fans — you will be able to watch your club on linear TV this year. At the buzzer, DirecTV and the Colorado Rockies agreed on terms to distribute the team’s games throughout its local service.

Starting today, DirecTV Choice subscribers across Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Southern Idaho, Western Nebraska, and Northern New Mexico can now watch the Rockies on a special channel simply titled, “ROCKIES.” The games will be available on DirecTV and DirecTV STREAM via channel 683.

“Colorado sports fans have made DIRECTV the top destination to get all their favorite local teams,” said Rob Thun, chief content officer of DIRECTV. “We will continue to work with MLB, the NBA, NHL, and other top leagues and their local franchises so the most avid fans can get the games they want while other customers have more choice over the content they want to pay to have in their homes.”

Reports just days ago out of Colorado said there were “no guarantees” the Rockies would not find a TV home in time for Opening Day following the sunsetting of AT&T SportsNet. The only other way to watch the team is to use its direct-to-consumer Rockies.tv streaming service, which fans say is too pricey for a team that lost 103 games last season. Luckily, the team was able to secure a TV home for 2024, though the future is still uncertain.

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Erin Andrews Reveals Infertility Journey in Emotional ‘Today Show’ Interview

FOX reporter Erin Andrews sat down with ‘The Today Show’s’ Kristen Welker to discuss her journey, how Welker’s own journey inspired her, and more.

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FOX reporter Erin Andrews shared her story of infertility and surrogacy with NBC’s Today Show. Last summer, Andrews and her husband welcomed a baby boy via surrogate after trying for a decade to get pregnant via IVF, during which she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2016. Today, she sat down with Kristen Welker to discuss her journey, how Welker’s own journey inspired her, and more.

Andrews says Welker’s announcement on the Today Show made her think a baby could be possible. “I remember Kristin Welker’s announcement on your show,” Andrews said last year, “and I actually watched that the morning Mac was born, because that just hit me.”

When they finally sat down, Welker asked Andrews why her journey resonated with the sports reporter so much:

“Because I see myself in you. Kristen, the video of you moderating debates after you’re waiting on bad news or maybe you just received it, that’s me. I can tell you every stand-up I’ve done at a football game where I’ve gotten the news that it didn’t work. I’d be talking about Tom Brady going for this record and my record is that I still was failing…I would have chest pains every time I was waiting for the call if it worked, and I knew it wouldn’t work.

Erin Andrews on ‘Today’

Andrews knew surrogacy was the only path to having a child. Although her family’s first attempt failed, her second attempt was a success, and she got to hear her child’s heartbeat for the very first time. The pair discuss the complex emotions that come with surrogacy, saying that bonds with their child could be affected because they didn’t carry their child. However, Welker assured Andrews that those feelings go away once you can talk to your child.

Once her son was born in June, who Andrews called, “a miracle,” she then talks about her child glowingly, talking about how he is just like mom — vocal. “He’s all me,” she says.

Andrews supports Baby Quest, a non-profit that grants money to families in need of IVF or surrogacy to have a baby but don’t have the funds to pursue these expensive treatments. Both Andrews and Welker acknowledged how difficult and unattainable their journies are for some families — and Andrews even used the NFL’s “My Cleats, My Cause” initiative to raise awareness for her cause.

“People don’t need to feel embarrassed that they have a surrogate or are looking for other help,” Andrews said.

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