Too much has been said and written by wrestling writers, advertisers and bookers on how to attract the growing Hispanic community in the United States.The influence of MMA and the growing Hispanic community will be the biggest catalysts for change in the many years to come for professional wrestling.
Unfortunately, no one seems to have any idea as to how to properly market their product towards this growing demographic. "SmackDown!" and "iMPACT!" have both, in their own ways, tried to cultivate this fan base. In their own ways, they have succeeded, but have also not paid any attention to the numbers and what the Hispanic community really means to wrestling.
The people who are in positions of influence in wrestling know what they need to do but have no idea how to go about it. This week, I am going to break down the numbers and make sense of the changing world of wrestling viewer ship.
The most successful wrestling and MMA show that has attracted the most loyal Hispanic audience is "SmackDown!". At times, it's the second most watched show among Hispanics in the United States and it is estimated that between 20-25% of "SmackDown!" viewers are from households that speak Spanish as their primary language.
How is "SmackDown!" doing this? Under Michael Hayes, "SmackDown!" has become the family friendly brand of WWE. Storylines are simpler, characters are larger than life and it is easy to distinguish between heels and faces. This family-friendly approach has helped "SmackDown!" to rebound from a summer of slumping ratings and is now beating out "Raw" some weeks in number of viewers.
A very important thing to remember is that the median age for all professional wrestling programming falls somewhere near 33 years of age. Why is this important?
This shows that many married men are watching wrestling and are more likely to do so with their wives and children present. "SmackDown!" is also doing these amazing numbers among Hispanics while not perpetuating any negative stereotypes of Latinos. Characters such as Rey Misterio and Batista (who is very popular among Hispanics but is not actually of Latino heritage) are positive and in a lot of ways, kid friendly characters.
"iMPACT!" has not been able to duplicate the success of "SmackDown!" with Hispanic viewers and their top heel act is LAX. Why is this?
Could it be that the family aged audience that professional wrestling generally attracts is turned off by negative and stereotypical portrayals of Latino Americans? I am a huge fan of LAX, but if I am 33 and watching wrestling with my young son and we are a Hispanic family, I might be concerned and turned off by such a negative portrayal of my community.
The LAX gimmick would work very well among attracting a young, 12-18 aged Hispanic audience. Unfortunately, this is not the audience that watches wrestling the most right now. The largest consumers of professional wrestling programming are Hispanics and African-Americans who are in their early to mid-thirties.
If a company wants to attract this group they should follow the "SmackDown!" model and portray African-Americans and Hispanics in more positive light where these characters can be seen as role models for their respective communities.
Wrestling needs to pay attention to what their audience is. Although gimmicks such as LAX and Cryme Tyme are entertaining, they present Hispanic and Black communities in a negative light and may be offending the largest consumers of wrestling which are Latin and African-Americans over 30.
11 comments: on "Wrestling's Growing Fan Base"
I thought Batista was part Puerto Rican. Maybe my source for that was off; it's a moot point anyway.
As for Finlay, he's over because there are so many people of Irish descent who appreciate that Finlay is portraying the stereotype of the Irish, but not doing it in an overly negative way(besides, us Irish tend to enjoy making jokes about our own stereotypes these days anyway). I was actually thinking a little earlier about how SmackDown! really is a show with a more family-friendly base, with many storylines intended for either children or marks. Perhaps that's why it is slowly beginning to overshadow RAW as far as quality; it's easier to write when you have a specific fan base that you know how to make happy so that they continue to tune in. RAW, on the other hand, is not nearly as fluid, as they go from having a great show one week to having a lousy one the next week (side note; why isn't there more written about SD on this board? Most of the "E" articles generally deal with RAW).
I agree that TNA doesn't quite get the grasp of how to use ethnic group-related storylines to their advantage, especially with that "lawyer" that LAX is now using. Could there be a more blatant Jewish inference? TNA does try to be somewhat more of a family show, at least in my opinion, unfortunately Russo really doesn't know how to make anything family-oriented, which puts them behind the 8-ball. To be honest, a lot of smarks may want to see it, but I'm not sure that Heyman would be a good fit in TNA right now, because his style tends to be not very family-friendly either. I could be wrong, he may be able to put out such a product, but I'm not sure.
As far as demographics go with TNA, they're trying to make their show family friendly by mixing old-school style, reminiscent of the 80's (with guys like Sting, Joe or Angle), for the adults who watch with a new, fast-paced, edgy style to appeal to the younger audience(such as Styles, Cage, and VKM), thus making it faimly friendly by putting out something for everyone. The problem is, it seems that that's the only demographic they're going for, save for LAX and Joe. Using positive demographics like SmackDown! does might help them get the momentum they really need.
I think Finlay's over because of an even mix of gimmick and his consistently solid performances.
Also, i never really thought of it but you're definitely right that smackdown is more family-friendly. Although the less intricate story-lines keep me from really caring as much. You really can tell who the faces are and who the heals seem to be. Regal wears "Villain" on his trunks for crying out loud. Oh yeah, anyone else impressed by how the E is using him more lately in a more brutal and intense fashion? Bout damn time
That's kinda sad that latinos and blacks want to pull for wreslters that share their race... I consider myself a connisseur of racism... but if there is one place I leave all racism behind is when I watch wrestling
ill have to agree on the "simpler" storyline comment... I have the pleasure of watching AAA on the weekends... and though my spanish is rather weak to say the least... the stories are easy to pick up on...or just take a look at telemundo or univision... 8 hours a day nothing but soap operas... even in primetime slots... now im not a soap opera expert but it seems as if those storylines just run-on forever and always have a "big twist"... simple template
To answer the Hitman's question...
I 100% agree that there should be greater "SmackDown!" coverage on the show. The number one reason why there isn't is because "SmackDown!" is shown on Friday nights...and that sucks.
I usually don't get to take in the episode until Sunday morning. Keep in mind that we at Tha O Show do our best to keep on top of everything going down in pro wrestling and MMA...this is why we've taken on so many talented writers...there's no way Big Daddy Donnie and I can keep up with all of the programming all of the time.
In fact, at this point, if there is someone willing to focus on TNA and someone willing to focus on SD! on a weekly basis, we will begin accepting sample articles in the near future.
Lastly, to another comment from jbrown...I'm of a mixed heritage (Jamaican and Spanish) and I've never allowed race to determine how much I back any performer. I can honestly say that I love The Rock, King Booker and Eddie Guerrero as equally as I hate Mark Henry, Orlando Jordan and Monty Brown.
d
That 'd' comment was an accident! Ooops!
You may remember my article initially chastizing Cryme Tyme. Most recently, I've mentioned I've enjoyed some of their skits but the real heart of the matter as it relates to them is WWE publicly stating in their broadcasts that they are promoting a stereotype.
That alone, at least helps for viewers to not take their antics so seriously. Especially when another black wrestler in Shelton Benjamin is calling them Cryme Tyme on their 'negative imagery'.
LAX is the bad guy version of Cryme Tyme. It helps that Cryme Tyme are babyfaces...that helps defeat the concept of being 'afraid' of blacks...the very idea that their characters would invoke...and is so ofter portrayed in the media.
I think the reason LAX words is because they have such an excellent mouthpiece in Konnan. It's hard to argue with his logic...even if you don't like their antics. So I'm not particularly offended by them...I'm more offended when crowds chants "USA USA USA" to be honest with you.
Ok...blogger is really starting to piss me off now...I'm the anonymous from the last two posts....
Dan-e-o
I'm fully aware that no matter what race (or mix of races) a true wrestling fan may be, that only a small percentage go out of their way to pull for a wrestler based on that petty reasoning... i was only making that statement as a reflection of the article... so if i offended "anyone", like I always seem to do, I apologize for not making myself clear the first time
Dan-e-o and Big Daddy:
I wouldn't mind trying my hand at writing an occasional piece on either TNA or SmackDown! Let me know if you want a sample article. My email is cmfcadillac_11788@verizon.net.
As far as my Finlay comment, he fits into the racial category, just to a slightly lesser extent. Ask several people with any Irish heritage who watch SmackDown! if they like Finlay, and the majority will say yes.
Thanks, Frank. I sent one off to Dan-e-o just now. Hopefully he'll find it good enough to make the cut, although for a first draft that was more or less a smorgasbord of thoughts on TNA, even if he hated it, I wouldn't have my feelings hurt.
As a native of Los Angeles, CA who learned to speak Spanish as a second language because our state was once a part of Mexico, I find that Hispanic people-in general-are very loyal and great fans of the sports they love. It seems to me that if Smackdown is doing something right, it would be a smart idea to try and model their concept(s) for the simple fact of gaining new viewers.
Wouldn't a bigger fan base for any shows who don't seem to be attracting as many Hispanic viewers as Smackdown be something worth considering? They just might be surprised by the possible number of fans they're missing out on, if only they would try to give people who speak in a different language the benefit of the doubt...
Para los que pueden leer en espanol, es muy inteligente cuando aceptaron gente de idiomas diferentes y trataron como gente importante. Los hispanos son muy amorados en sus juegos favoritos.
Es un error gigante a olvidar este grupo de personas!
A Beaner Lover!
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