Can We Strike the Word "Ratings" from the Lexicon?

That's a violation
Screen cap credit: I Want Wrestling

I have to wonder, is there any show on television outside of professional wrestling that is self-aware of the concept of ratings? It's funny, of all the TV shows I watch, fiction or non-fiction, the only time I've ever heard the concept of "ratings" brought up was on a random ESPN show touting some Hall of Fame ceremony as the "highest rated" ever. Other than that, it's something worried about in the board rooms.

Meanwhile, on Impact, the term is dropped every other segment. What gives? I mean, it's almost like I'm watching a documentary of how a shitty wrestling company is run sometimes rather than a show that's supposed to have some semblance of kayfabe. To be fair, it's not just their fault. They're only taking a cue from some of the fans, whether they know it or not.

It seems there's a pocket of fans out there who love to microanalyze ratings, almost as much as Eric Bischoff's character does. With some of the message board discourse and the chatter on Twitter I see about ratings, it's almost like some fans care about the ratings of any given show as much as the network execs and company heads do.

Why?

I mean, what stake do we have in the ratings? Unless they get really, really poor to the point of threat of cancellation, they're irrelevant to you. If you enjoy the program, you tune in. If you don't, you tune out, or you watch with gritted teeth. Simple as that. Worrying about ratings is one of those things that we as fans shouldn't be doing. It doesn't concern us, and it leads to stupid stuff like not enjoying a segment we might have liked before because "it hurts ratings!"

The WWE knows this. They're way, way less referential to ratings than TNA is. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why the Zack Ryder = Ratings sign was taken down last week on RAW. I mean, RAW Monday had several Ryder-boosting signs, so either the WWE caved to the backlash, or they were more sensitive the reference of "ratings" than the reference to Ryder. Or I could just be assuming things. I don't know.

But what I do know is it's kinda dumb to worry about ratings. Leave that to the network execs and to the people running the companies. Let's strike the word "ratings" from the lexicon. Trust me, it'll be for the best.

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