CALDWELL – Why the Smackdown change was needed, but will it solve the real issue?

What took five years to build up was knocked down in two years. Now, WWE and NBC Universal are looking to go back in time by re-booting Smackdown as a live show on Tuesday nights starting in July.

After five years of developing Smackdown’s space Friday nights on Syfy, WWE and NBCU Universal decided to move Smackdown to a more desirable Thursday night timeslot in 2015.

That was it. No brand split, no renewed sense of purpose, nothing to make Smackdown stand out as must-see television on a new night. Decision-makers figured WWE fans would simply follow the bouncing ball.

But, TV ratings and viewership fell hard in 2015, along the same lines as WWE Raw three years into the three-hour Raw era.

• 2014 Smackdown Fridays on Syfy: 1.90 live rating; 2.661 million viewers
• 2015 Smackdown Thursdays on Syfy: 1.71 live rating; 2.376 million viewers

Then, WWE and NBCU decided to move Smackdown to USA Network on Thursday nights in 2016.

That was it. No brand split, no renewed sense of purpose, nothing to make Smackdown stand out as must-see television on a new, more-prominent network. Decision-makers figured WWE fans would simply follow the bouncing ball.

But, TV ratings and viewership have been stagnant on the higher-profile USA Network, and not close to where the show was two years ago Friday nights on Syfy.

• 2014 Smackdown Fridays on Syfy: 1.90 live rating; 2.661 million viewers
• 2015 Smackdown Thursdays on Syfy: 1.71 live rating; 2.376 million viewers
• 2016 Smackdown Thursdays on USA: 1.73 live rating; 2.425 million viewers

A change was needed. So, Smackdown is moving to live broadcasts on Tuesday nights with “a distinct cast, unique storylines, and a dedicated writing team.”

It’s a good move announcing the decision in May two months before the move in July. WWE needs to build anticipation for the move; a quick change on say June 7 would not have had the impact necessary to make this stick.

WWE also needs to take time to map out what they want to do with Smackdown. Do they turn Smackdown into the hybrid MMA/wrestling show that Mauro Ranallo teased when he signed on as Smackdown’s top announcer? Do they follow Greg Parks’s advice in our April VIP Audio Draft Night Special to re-visit Smackdown’s roots as “the wrestling show” signaled by a heavy emphasis on the top wrestlers on the roster, mixed with some big names to indicate that Smackdown counts again?

The concern is Smackdown will feel just like Raw with Shane or Stephanie McMahon running each show, continuing the overly-dramatic, sometimes groan-inducing authority figure battles stretched out over five hours of programming on back-to-back nights.

Smackdown needs to feel different. Combined with the timeslot changes over the past two years, Smackdown’s viewership has slipped dramatically feeling like the taped run-off from three-hour Raws.

For the audience to “engage” in two more hours of live programming one night after Raw, Smackdown has to feel different. Format, identity, structure, etc., not just the roster.

The key word WWE and USA Network mentioned in their press release is “engagement,” the buzzword about social media reach and then being moved to action.

“This move will undoubtedly build more excitement and deepen engagement with our fans around the world,” said WWE CEO Vince McMahon.

“The fanbase for our WWE shows is one of the most passionate and engaged audiences in all of entertainment,” said Chris McCumber of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment.

“There is a huge appetite among our viewers for live programming, and the ability to move Smackdown to a live format brings a new level of excitement and helps truly ‘eventize’ this every week.”

Perhaps more than ratings or viewership slumping, it’s the lack of social media buzz Thursday nights on USA Network that contributed to the move.

Since WrestleMania, Smackdown has generated year-low social media buzz. During the first quarter of 2016, Smackdown sporadically ranked in Nielsen’s Twitter TV Ratings. When Smackdown did rank, the show’s Twitter volume was always 42,000 or more.

Since WrestleMania, Smackdown has been at or below the 42k mark four out of seven weeks, including the past two weeks in the mid-30,000 range.

WWE and NBCU are looking at engagement, wanting to get people talking about Smackdown again. A move to live programming with a new roster and “unique storylines” is a step in the right direction.

But, the real key will be whether Smackdown has its own look & feel differentiating the show from the three-hour Raw monster on Monday nights. It’s time to address the mistakes from the last two years.