Female Wrestling And New Sports Programming Still Popular

July 22, 2020,

Just about any and every industry that we can think of has been affected by the coronavirus mostly ranging from terrible to completely awful.

Unfortunately, women’s professional wrestling has as well. Even at the very top.

As reported by Metro West Daily News on April 17, 2020, “Nationally, WWE laid off dozens of on and off-air employees on Wednesday, saving close to $4 million per month. One of WWE’s premiere events every summer is called Summer Slam.”

CBS Sports adds, “While the promotion is still hamstrung by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, leaving them to hold shows at the Performance Center in Orlando without fans in attendance, the expectation remains that WWE will bring the usual big-show feel to SummerSlam as best it can.”

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SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. It is scheduled to take place on August 23, 2020 at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

It will be the thirty-third event under the SummerSlam chronology.

The event was originally scheduled to take place at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, but Boston mayor Marty Walsh announced the suspension of all large-scale gatherings and that no permit would be issued for an event that could draw a large crowd before September 7, 2020.

That is very unfortunate.

So what can we expect regarding Summer Slam in global pandemic times?

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WWE has had to present the majority of its programming from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida since mid-March with no fans in attendance, though in late May, the promotion began using Performance Center trainees to serve as the live audience, which was further expanded to friends and family members of the wrestlers in mid-June.

SummerSlam, as well as the preceding night's NXT TakeOver: Boston, were originally scheduled to take place in Boston, Massachusetts at the TD Garden.

Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer reported that the promotion would be open to move SummerSlam to September if it meant having fans in attendance.

However, an advertisement that aired during The Horror Show at Extreme Rules confirmed that SummerSlam would still be taking place on August 23, but with no reference to a city or venue; with the past three PPVs, the lack of mentioning a city or venue ultimately saw the events held at the WWE Performance Center.

As wrestling fans, we will absolutely keep our eyes and ears open.

In our female submission wrestling industry, our associates at San Francisco Grappling Stars are planning on financing an event for the first time since 2015 and are very confident they have the funding.

grapplingstars.com writer, femcompetitor.com photo

For the female competitors involved, they must get tested and bring the results of that test to the event as reasonable proof that they are not infected.

Grappling Stars has not decided whether they will advertise for ticket sales or not. Previously they have financed wrestling shoots and only once did they allow fans to attend. This time they most likely will not offer ticket sales the first time around but hope to in 2021.

By September 1, 2020 they will confirm they have secured the funding.

Fans of all sports across the globe are turning their attention to new programming, despite the pandemic. The world’s thirst for competitive sports is insatiable and the numbers are bearing that out.

Please read on.

Comscore Finds Consumers Shifting Focus to Sports and Outdoor Activities as Travel and Events Remain Largely Paused

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Top Sports & Outdoor category websites saw an 86 percent year-over-year growth in May 2020 Consumer retail focus continues to shift significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic

RESTON, Va., July 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Spending and engagement across the retail sector continues to fluctuate across categories as millions of Americans remain at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. That's according to new research from Comscore (Nasdaq: SCOR), a trusted partner for planning, transacting and evaluating media across platforms, which shows consumers are shifting discretionary spending away from typical summer travel and ticketed events and focusing instead on family-oriented outdoor activities.

The Sports & Outdoor category in Comscore Media Metrix, typically sees increased activity during summer months. Despite the global pandemic, top sites from retailers like DicksSportingGoods, Academy, Cabellas, BassPro, and CampingWorld collectively saw a 71 percent year-on-year increase in visits in April 2020 and an 86 percent year-on-year increase in May 2020.

Apparel sites have also seen strong growth in consumer engagement in May and June 2020. Minutes per visitor increased 38 percent, from an average of 9.02 minutes in February 2020 to an average of 12.41 minutes in June 2020. While visitation and engagement have surged since April 2020 - visits to the Apparel category were up 32 percent year-on-year in May 2020 - actual dollars spent declined 14 percent in the same month. Category spend may be soft in part due to stronger visitation to discount-oriented apparel domains, which would contribute to growth in total category visitation but weaker total category spend.

Overall, the retail landscape has changed dramatically during the last few months. Visitation to Home Furnishing and Consumer Electronics sites, which exploded in late April 2020, has started to wane. The Tickets & Events category continues to struggle, showing no signs of recovery even as some major sports prepare to compete again.

Comscore will continue to monitor these trends and provide ongoing insights on its Coronavirus Insights Hub. To learn more about how Comscore can provide you with custom insights into media consumption or help you to engage with COVID-19 content in a way that makes sense for your brand, contact us today.

About Comscore
Comscore (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a trusted partner for planning, transacting and evaluating media across platforms. With a data footprint that combines digital, linear TV, over-the-top and theatrical viewership intelligence with advanced audience insights, Comscore allows media buyers and sellers to quantify their multiscreen behavior and make business decisions with confidence. A proven leader in measuring digital and TV audiences and advertising at scale, Comscore is the industry's emerging, third-party source for reliable and comprehensive cross-platform measurement. To learn more, visit www.comscore.com

SOURCE Comscore