Lucha Underground Needs Streaming Media to Survive

Lucha Underground remains one of the most unique pro wrestling shows on television today. Unfortunately, the El Rey Network may not be enough to keep it alive.

Every Wednesday night, those of us lucky enough to have the El Rey Network as part of our cable package can watch Mil Muertes, Cage, and Sexy Star showcase their talents on a program dominated by might, magic, and Aztec mythology. This different take on the genre combined with some of the best wrestling you will see from both men and women makes Lucha Underground a highly original and entertaining show.

So why aren’t more people watching? El Rey is partly to blame.

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On average, Lucha Underground attracts a little over 100,000 viewers each week. While this number shouldn’t be dismissed outright, it seems minuscule by comparison to other promotions such as ROH, TNA, and WWE. Ring of Honor averages about 175,000 viewers each week while TNA averages about 300,000 viewers each week over the course of a year. The WWE inhabits its own galaxy with an average weekly viewership of over 3 million for RAW and 2 million for Smackdown.

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Ring of Honor airs on the COMET television channel, a self-described “24 hour/7 day per week science fiction multi-channel network”. Ring of Honor also offers streaming service of its programming through their own website. Not to be outdone in the obscure network department, TNA airs on POP TV, a joint venture between CBS and Lionsgate which also offers streaming versions of its programs.

For the sake of inclusion – even though everyone with a pulse knows – WWE airs on the USA Network and owns a streaming service of their own. Maybe you’ve heard of it. All of this readily available content leaves Lucha Underground at a distinct disadvantage.

Robert Rodriguez founded the El Rey Network with the belief that up-and-coming filmmakers needed a place to showcase their talents without being strangled by the red tape of Hollywood board rooms. He made his intent known in an interview with Variety in March 2015:

"“Filmmakers need to get training somewhere…that’s the only way we’re going to get the diversity in programming that (the industry) needs. We’re going to have to go outside Hollywood to find those new voices.”"

The problem here is that El Rey is only available to about 40 million homes across the United States. What’s important to take away from this is that just because the network is available doesn’t mean everyone is watching. Fewer still are watching Lucha Underground as evidenced by the ratings. Offering a streaming service could get El Rey (and by extension, Lucha Underground) out from behind the curtain of obscurity.

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The biggest obstacle to watching your favorite program or channel is the bloody and ruthless war between cable providers. Some companies only offer channels such as POP TV or COMET with exclusive, soul-crushingly expensive packages while others either don’t offer them at all or subscribers don’t know where to find them. Amazon, Hulu and Roku recognized that the future of television lies in original and online (i.e. streaming) programming and WWE wisely jumped on this bandwagon as well.

While not everyone wants to enter the cable TV arena, statistics show that an overwhelming majority of Americans have access to the internet in one form or another. In fact, logic dictates that if you’re reading this article, you aren’t in the estimated 15% of U.S. adults who don’t use the internet at all.

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By offering an online streaming service, El Rey can reach a wider audience and introduce more wrestling fans to the glory of Dario Cueto’s temple. I fear that anything less will result in Lucha Underground being left in the digital dust and the lights being dimmed on Boyle Heights for good.