7 Signs Wrestling Is Currently In A Recession

By Douglas Scarpa /

5. The WWE Network Failure

Simply put, the WWE Network is great. For a relatively small sum, subscribers are able to access a wealth of on-demand content from wrestling€™s past and present. Furthermore, fans are treated to each month€™s pay-per-view as part of the deal, as well as a look into WWE€™s future with the NXT broadcasts. Despite all of this, the WWE Network has been a failure so far. According to the numbers, the Network has failed to take off as WWE originally hoped. Reportedly, the company was aiming for around one million subscribers in order to break even. This projected amount was initially viewed as a difficult but not impossible achievement. The company€™s hopes were quickly dashed, however, when the actual numbers were released. Around the time of WrestleMania XXX, it was announced that the Network had brought in 667,287 subscribers domestically. Nearly 350,000 short of what the company had hoped for. Things got worse as the months wore on. Around June 30th of this year, WWE was hoping to achieve a more solid 800,000-ish number. However, when the updated subscribers was released, the Network saw a growth of just 32,000 subscribers -- a total of about 699,750. While the total number of subscribers has surely increased thanks to the Network being rolled out internationally since then, the aforementioned numbers are not a good sign. Frankly, with the minimal increase in subscribers, the company shouldn€™t hope for much from its international rollout.