It turns out that women have a taste for headlocks and body slams, too.
World Wrestling Entertainment, which has long had a stranglehold on the elusive but lucrative young male demographic, has begun to attract an increasingly female audience.
Thanks to a shift toward more family-friendly storylines and away from more violent and edgy storylines, a growing number of women are tuning in to watch events like “Monday Night Raw,” “Friday Night SmackDown” and this Sunday’s “SummerSlam.”
According to Nielsen ratings data supplied by the WWE, viewership in the second quarter among females 25-34 is up 13.7 percent from a year ago, while the number of women aged 50 and up who tune in has jumped 23 percent.
“When we were a little more edgy, we lost a lot of women,” said Donna Goldsmith, the WWE’s chief operating officer. “They weren’t as comfortable watching with their kids. But now that we are more family-friendly, it’s a perfect reason for them to come back.”
While the ratings increases in the over-25 female demo can be easily attributed to moms watching with their children, WWE’s fare is also gaining fans among women 18-24, whose viewership swelled a stunning 34 percent over last year.
That could be explained by a more basic instinct — lust — thanks to WWE stars like John Cena and the current crop of wrestlers, who are more athletically built than their predecessors.
“These guys all look like body-builders instead of just big guys,” said Natixis Bleichroeder analyst Alan Gould.
WWE executives have taken notice of the renewed interest among female viewers.
According to Goldsmith — who is one of four women with top executive positions at WWE, including CEO Linda McMahon and executive vice presidents Stephanie McMahon and Michelle Wilson — the WWE is researching an apparel line, new toy lines and other branded products targeted at females.
The combination of young male and female viewers, coupled with PG-rated storylines, is turning the WWE into a formidable and favored marketing stop for brand advertisers. New sponsors to recently sign up with the company include Mattel, 7-11, and Pepsi Max, for instance.
Given the WWE’s reputation as master packagers and its programs’ consistently high overall ratings — SmackDown is one of the highest rated shows in all of cable — analysts think the company could generate even more revenue if it controlled the ad inventory on its television shows. The company ceded control of that inventory to the networks that run its programming, USA and MyNetworkTV.
The WWE could seek to take control of television ad inven tory during contract renegotiations with the networks, but based on Goldsmith’s comments that appears unlikely.
She noted that the television advertising market was really tough right now and that selling TV spots wasn’t an area of expertise for the company.
“I’m not sure we want to be in the business,” Goldsmith said.