During the latest edition of his “83 Weeks” podcast, Eric Bischoff commented on the reports that the USA Network wants more adult content for RAW, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On rumors of USA Network wanting more adult content from WWE: “First of all, we don’t know that’s true. We read in a dirt sheet or online somewhere. We haven’t heard a USA spokesperson say that, so I don’t know that it’s true. For me though, I think you can attract a more adult, more mature audience with a more challenging, provocative, and compelling story. It doesn’t have to be sex. It doesn’t have to be gratuitous violence. I look at some of the best shows on TV now, and it’s because they’re really interesting layered characters involved in really interesting layered stories. By layered, I mean it’s never quite obvious what an intention is. It’s never quite obvious what a love interest is. There are always dips and turns, and there are always layers to those stories.”
On what companies need to do to grow their audience and appeal to adults: “I think what WWE and AEW need to do – and they already know this – I think the stories and the storytelling and the way wrestling is being presented currently can improve quite a bit as a means to attract a little more mature audience. And by mature, I just mean a little more sophisticated. I think one of the mistakes people, even in the business – you assume wrestling fans are one type of fan. You assume you know who’s watching your show. You can’t cater entirely to an audience that is super sophisticated and looking for really rich, deep stories, but you can certainly meet them halfway. I think sometimes the way the stories are presented don’t really appeal to an older audience. We sometimes assume that everything that everybody wants to see in wrestling is what we’ve been doing. That’s not the case.
“They’re looking for something fresh and something that makes them feel like this thing they love – professional wrestling, it has to change and it has to grow. We have to evolve in order to keep the imagination of the people that you’re targeting as your audience. That’s what I think, whether it’s USA Network or TNT or AXS, any network is gonna be proud and excited about content, storytelling, and characters that grow that audience. I think the only way you can grow that audience is by continuing to make it more interesting. I think in the case of wrestling, you can present it in a much different way. You can be more disciplined in the way you tell your stories and in the way you present your characters. Once you recognize it, find a solution and be disciplined enough to stick with it for six months or a year or 18 months. Nothing happens overnight anymore.”
(h/t – 411 Wrestling)