Vince McMahon

NEW YORK Bob Barker, Shaquille ONeal, Ozzy Osbourne, Al Sharpton and Cedric the Entertainer arent who youd expect to see when turning on World Wrestling Entertainment programming. OK, maybe Ozzy.

All are featured guests this fall with the WWE as Vince McMahons machine undergoes some image polishing and stresses a family-friendly approach.

Theyve toned down the language, gotten rid of the fake blood. The lingerie matches are gone, with the Divas now wearing the type of workout clothes common at the gym. Characters who are popular with youngsters, such as John Cena and Rey Mysterio, get more screen time, and the WWE Kids magazine debuted last year.

The WWE has worked with networks that air its programming to change parental guidance ratings from TV-14 to PG.

We just followed our audience and tried to listen to them, said McMahon, the WWE chairman.

McMahon said its been a gradual process, with the company now trying to spread the word to potential viewers and advertisers who might not have given the soap opera in tights a second look.

The WWEs programming is spread across several networks: Monday Night Raw airs for two hours on USA; the SyFy network shows Extreme Championship Wrestling on Tuesdays; WGN America shows WWE Superstars on Thursdays; and Friday Night Smackdown, which just celebrated its 10th anniversary, is on My Network TV.

During the peak of what the company refers to as its attitude era a decade ago, the WWEs audience was dominated by young men. While its popularity has waned, the fan base has simultaneously grown older and younger with new constituencies, according to audience research. A little more than a third of its audience is female. The audience is ethnically more diverse than most shows: 62 percent of the audience is white; 20 percent of the viewership is black and 23 percent is Hispanic Hispanics were counted as both white and Hispanic. Its the most-watched English-language show on cable among Hispanics, the company said.

With the Ultimate Fighting Championship and mixed martial arts becoming more popular as competitors, it made little sense for the WWE to ramp up the attitude with violence and sexuality, McMahon said.

You really cant compete with that, he said. Why not deliver a more sophisticated product and not go to those extremes? If the audience wants those extremes, they know where to go and how to get it.