WWE is no longer going to be providing twenty minute talking segments followed by two minutes of action. How many times have we had matches that are interrupted multiple times with Michael Cole spouting “as RAW rolls on” and the viewer sits through commercials only to come back with lesser interest in the bout than before? It seems like someone, not WWE, has been listening and admits that ratings do matter. Sorry Vince, they do.
NBCUniversal will now be using picture-in-picture technology during commercials on WWE SmackDown broadcasts on the USA Network. On SmackDown in the past, they found that ratings went up 13% during those commercial breaks. That lift raised the C3 ratings for the whole show by 2%. NBCU will be using the same technology during the 2018 Winter Olympics.
“We want to improve the viewing experience for fans with marketing and advertising, versus just having marketing advertising be part of the viewing experience”, said NBCU Executive Vice President of Network Partnerships Josh Feldman. “Picture-in-picture improves the viewing experience. That’s the mission of what we’re trying to do here.”