Ahh Friday Night Smackdown. It has had its ups and down, but she has always been there to make our Friday nights a little brighter. Once again, she is in trouble. Smackdown is moving networks this Friday and I’m a little concerned about how everything is going to work out.
If ratings weren’t bad enough on "The CW" SD! is moving to a new network that some people in the United States don't even have. Smackdown in the past few months has been been putting on great shows in my opinion with the likes of Triple H, Shelton Benjamin, Jeff Hardy, and MVP all putting on a enjoyable two hours of entertainment and still SD! will get its usual 2.4 or 2.7 weekly rating and that was on the CW!
I will be waiting in the wings next Saturday to see how Smackdown's "All Star Kickoff" does in the ratings. I don't expect anything better than the usual and it wouldn't surprise me to see something around a 2.2.
I'm sure SD!'s viewership will take a blow with its move to My Network T.V. and I'm sure the "superstars" of Smackdown will still be putting on the same great shows they always do to get people watching, but what is the real problem?
Is it because it is airing on Fridays when most people are out doing things with friends? Or maybe it is because the constant switching of channels Smackdownhas been the past few years? Or is it because its taped and people can get the spoilers on the Internet and then have no reason to tune in on Friday?
I can answer that question actually. Or at least give you one anwser. Would you like to know a little secret? I haven't watched Smackdown in about three weeks. Why? I'm out doing things with my friends and having a "social life." Like this Friday I'm going to my school's football game and then to a friend's birthday party. So I will miss Smackdown this Friday. Friday. There is your answer my friends.
People don't want to watch SD! because by the time it is on the air people are ready to get out and begin their weekend and don't want to be stuck in their homes watching television. Or at least that is how I have always seen it and I’m sure I’m not the only one that feels this way. Is there a solution?
You could move Smackdown back to Thursday nights? I remember watching SD! on the old "UPN" Channel on Thursday night's and I always had time to watch in then. Maybe that is just me, but the WWE better be thinking about ways to get people watching on Fridays or this move to "My Network TV" might not end to well.
I see SD! having a rocky start on "My Network TV" them maybe smoothing back out around Wrestlemania time. That is if WWE can find a way to make Smackdown better and figure out what it needs to get out of this rating rut it is been in for several years.
Smackdown should be their main priority right now and I'm sure it is. So maybe WWE is already making planes to change SD! for the better. I sure hope there doing something up there in Conneticuit.
My suggestion? Do whatever it takes to get it out of the Friday Night"mare" time slot, but then again I'm sure everyone has a different idea on how Smackdown could be better and get more viewers.
Let see those comments. I want to know what you think about all of this.
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3 months ago
Honestly I haven't watched smackdown in i'd say.....6 or 7 years. Like you, I follow WWE currently, but just don't have the time to watch smackdown on Friday nights. I stopped watching wrestling for about 4 or 5 years after 2001 and got back into it about a year and a half ago, but have not watched smackdown at all since I started following again. I'd surely watch it if it were on Thursdays still and I believe a lot more people would also, but that's why it's on Friday, since ratings are so poor for the show. The networks know Friday night is a poor time slot for shows, thats why smackdown is on friday, it's the only slot they have available to air the program. Changing networks will have no effect on the product, it will not take away from the audience nor increase it. One more thing to consider, moving SD back to Thursday nights will never happen as long as TNA is airing impact the same night. Who knows what would happen if we started seeing the "thursday night wars"......
from 3 months ago
Good point about TNA Corey.
3 months ago
I think that having Smackdown on Friday is OK, manily because they think tha Saturday knowone will watch and the wrestlers need that time to get ready for PPVs when they have them, TNA is Thursday, Monday RAW, Tuesday is ECW. So really the primetime slot for Smackdown would only be open on Fridays, it was the CWs highest rated show, so I have no idea why they would let it go, WWE loved being on the CW, when UPN and the WB merged and made the CW, I personally loved it manilty because they got of that old grainy UPN channel, now MyNetwork TV took that channel over after UPN left it open, check me, UPN's old channel everywhere that had it anyway, is now MyNetwork TV's. I like the picture better than I did before on the channel especially with the WWE being in HD, but the move to digital may make Smackdown move again, cause MyNetwork TV is not in digital or HD it only is with the WWE. soo we may see them on NBC or FOX, that would really be good for exposure, and just because it comes on in one place when it is time to go out on Fridays doesn't mean it is everywhere else, I like the time it comes on, and I know you don't have it Ross, but I always Tvo it when I am out on Fridays, I must be to much of a fan. I do think that it will do worse oMyNetwork TV, because it is only shwon in America for free, every where else has to order it special, and not everywhere in America even has it, the move to this station was one of the stupidist moves the WWE has ever made in my opinion. Thats my take
3 months ago
I do agree that most of the time I can't watch Smackdown on Fridays as I'm out doin' stuff. However, I usually go the route of Joe and record it for later viewing. I don't think the network change will make much of a difference to the international audience as there are different network deals for each region. I'm in Canada, for example, and we get SD on The Score, not CW.
3 months ago
I Think is one of a great Moves and ill tell you why? i think with what happen with the CW in Recent months with poor shows like gossip girl & aliens n America and all the crap WWE made a good move because it's possible feeling for WWE to a move and it's getting fans to watch all the stars and get fans to relize that Friday Night Smackdown! will be Dominate all networks it worked before While their at CW i think They'll do it again it won't make a difference to you or anybody else but i think a good move as far is that is concern so i say it's gonna do well on MY Network TV and it's all gonna go up from here and all that in above!
I'm Adam Miron
and that's my Opinion
from 3 months ago
Hello Adam.
I'm Ross.
and I like your opinion. :)
Yeah thats why the CW got ride of Samckdown. They want more carppy drama shows for pre-teen girls can go crazy over and Smackdown wasn't one of those shows.
2 months ago
I would like to say that WWE made a horrible decision in going to my network tv. Like a lot of people out there, i dont have the local channel; i have direc T.V........many people do and directv is one of those satelite recievers that gives up to like 500 channels. Unfortunatly i found that none of the channels have WE or TNA or Smackdown. But they do have RAW and ECW. Ive looked countless times to see if it were on Every friday night but its not there. i do like joes opinion though saying almost the same thing as me.....i also think that ratings will go down rapidly. But its not only my loss its lots of other peoples including Smackdowns. Personally i think they should switch back right away if they want to save the show. Not only do they have to pay for all the fireworks and the show itself, but they gotta pay the superstars too. And the only way they get that money is from the people that come and watch the show. So i think with this economy and the way the shows going, thers no chance for the show or the people that want to watch it that dont have the channels.
from 2 months ago
They can't "switch back" The CW got rid of them. So there stuck on Mynetwork TV. There was talk of WWE getting its own channel.
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