Oh Bilal: WWE Production Secrets to Success

As someone who has bounced around a variety of TV studios, I have a great deal of respect for WWE‘s use of traditional production to improve their shows. However, in the interest of creating discussion I’m going to share some of the more overlooked aspects with you.

Referee’s Ear Buds: You may of noticed WWE officials have little transparent listening devices. These are called IFB’s… now I got this wrong on an exam a few years ago but it stands for Interruptible Fullback.  Normally used for program sound to go to anchors during live broadcasts. However, in the case of WWE it’s likely used by a production assistant or assistant director to inform the ref how much time is left in the match. From there they must alert the talent or wrestlers to end the match. This may seem silly but without it matches would run long and other aspects would not make it to air.

Blacking Out the Jumbo Tron: Now most of us who have attended a WWE broadcast in person and noticed that during matches the screen goes black. While it can be annoying it serves a valuable purpose. It alerts wrestlers of commercial breaks. What’s more as it comes back on they know to avoid massive moves for a few minutes as the replays air.

The Lineup: Anyone who watched Pardon the Interruption on ESPN is familiar with the lineup or rundown. It orders the show and creates a reason to return from one segment to the next. In WWE‘s case you’ll often notice a very weak segment in the last 30-45 minutes of the show. Reason being that producers can cut this segment short or entirely, in the event other segments ran long. Other uses are more straight forward like starting the show with a segment from the same characters who main event the show. Think John Cena or Miz opening the show with a promo only to have the GM book them for a match at the end of the show. In the case of RAW this is key as it features the top superstars in both hours of the show which are rated separately.

Anyways, until next week your either Wrestling Edge or against us!

P.S. Feel free to catch me on Twitter http://twitter.com/bilalv87

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