5 Things WWE Network Needs To Do Better In 2020
Is it really "The one place to experience almost everything WWE"?
A few weeks ago, WWE released their long-promised free tier of the WWE Network. This mostly consisted of the extra videos that they show on the WWE app and their YouTube channel, most of them with titles as spoiler-filled as possible, directly below the content they're related to. For subscribers, it's odd, as these videos are often in place of the bookmarked matches and segments within shows.
In the coming months, we should be seeing a premium tier added to the Network, which WWE's co-president George Barrios describes like this:
“We think there’s also an opportunity to super-serve our most passionate Network subscribers with a premium tier that’ll bring together more content for them, more features for them, and also integrating some of our other non-video services like our commerce — potentially integrating something like free shipping, bringing together our digital ticketing efforts in there. It becomes the one place to experience everything WWE.”
"The one place to experience everything in WWE." Hold onto that line while we look at a few things the WWE Network must do to better fulfil that promise.
5. Remove Breaks For On-Demand Viewing
One of the worst consequences of the Monday Night Wars, and something we're still suffering today, is that shows started going to ad breaks in the middle of matches. It started with WCW and was soon adopted by Raw when they saw fans not switching channels during the breaks as they didn't want to miss any more of the action when the show returned.
The realities of live television and advertising demographics mean that this is not going to change anytime soon for the live shows, whether broadcast on television channels or the Network. However, there is no reason that the archived copies of shows should ever fade to black and then immediately welcome us back from breaks when we've missed several minutes of action.
The cameras are still on in arenas during the ad breaks and, while the live feed is cut off on the channel, it would be simple to keep the cameras rolling so that the version of the show that is archived to be watched On-Demand through the Network simply doesn't cut away from the action.
It's a win for everyone involved. The advertisers still get the time they paid for to show their products in the middle of the show when it airs, both on television and through the live Network feed. Meanwhile, the On-Demand content on the Network seems more like the whole product and can draw in more subscribers even amongst those who already watch on television. And when commentators mention they'll be back soon or that they're just back from the ads, existing Network subscribers will feel they've had a better deal because they got to remain with the action this time around.