WWE President Nick Khan On Declining TV Ratings: "We Don't Believe We've Lost Eyeballs"

WWE' declining TV ratings have been a hot topic in the past few years, and it was a topic of discussion on the recent WWE Q4 and Full Year earnings call. WWE President Nick Khan addressed (h/t to Fool for the transcription) declining ratings and how WWE's relationship with NBCU and help ratings growth.

"We're always looking for ratings growth no matter how high the ratings are," Khan stated. "It's all about exceeding NBC's expectations. So there is flexibility. If the two entities came together and decided to put certain content onto a linear platform, we have the ability to do that.

"Obviously, both parties, again, would have to agree to that. For now, we're focused on helping Peacock grow their subscriber base, and we're confident that we can do it."

Khan was asked what WWE is doing to reverse ratings trends. He responded by saying "we don't believe that we've lost eyeballs." He notes WWE's social numbers and believes that "the eyeballs are there."

"We don't believe that we've lost eyeballs. We believe eyeballs tend to shift from linear to digital platforms," Khan explained, "So if you look at even our Facebook numbers, which are significantly up the last six months or so, including the revenue against those numbers, we think the eyeballs are there. Like I said, we're always looking to grow ratings.

"So now that we're coming out of a competitive presidential race that a lot of people were focused on. We're still all in the midst of a virus that a lot of people are focused on. We believe with the continued great in-ring product that the eyeballs are continuing to grow and will result in more linear eyeballs as some of the other stuff that I just mentioned passes. So we feel good about our position, and we think our network partners do as well."