As part of Fox’s relationship with WWE, they launched a studio show named “WWE Backstage” studio show on FS1. From the off ratings were low with just 49,000 viewers turning in when the show officially premiered. CM Punk’s introduction saw a significant boost; however, he wasn’t on every week, and the ratings would fluctuate wildly, often depending on the guest. At one point the show had just 18,000 viewers and drew a .01 in the coveted 18-49 demographic.
The decision to cancel the show was made solely by Fox, who have announced they are making programming changes designed to address the needs of their business. Going forward, there will be no more first-run shows of “WWE Backstage,” although it has been speculated there may be individual one-off episodes in the future. Overall this news is a further negative for WWE’s relationship with Fox, which has already been adversely affected by WWE violating the network’s standards and practices on a recent episode of SmackDown.
