— One of the backstage concerns regarding the ECW re-branding is how the company will use RAW and SmackDown! to boost interest in the new series. Across ECW’s lifetime as a SyFy series, it, for the most part, only performed well when it received the benefit of spillover RAW hype.
In its first several weeks, for instance, WWE actually featured a “main event Superstar of the Week” on ECW that helped keep the ratings afloat.
Since focusing on a combination of fresh talent and non-main-event veterans who serve as strong in-ring generals, the ratings, which had already greatly softened, have continued to disappoint. It is thus clear that it, in the long run, it will take more than the mere idea of “new faces” to boost ratings. For the show to work, it will have to be portrayed as an attraction to RAW and SmackDown! fans.
— As comedic proof of why the re-branding is necessary, WWE Superstar Kofi Kingston made an interesting Twitter comment this evening: “Yes, in less than one hours time, the final season of LOST will be upon us…”
The final hour of ABC’s “Lost” season premiere went head-to-head with the ECW broadcast.
