WWE CFO Claims Company Didn't "Aggressively Pursue" Network Subscribers
Why comparing WWE Network to Netflix or Disney+ doesn't work for WWE management.
WWE don't think comparing their own in-house Network to other premium subscription services like Netflix and Disney+ is fair.
Company CFO Kristina Salen told The Wall Street Journal that notions the Network "struggled to grow" are nonsense. She also stated that WWE didn't "aggressively pursue" subscribers the same way other services did, then explained why; according to Salen, WWE never tried to make the Network as big as Netflix or Disney+. In fact, she said that strategy was never the Network's "core competency".
Salen added that WWE Network was always going to be smaller than some other subscription services "because we’re not a technology company - we’re an entertainment company".
This does all seem like a bid to present the Network as something with different challenges to Netflix, Disney+ or other streaming platforms. WWE recently inked a deal with Peacock that'll see all Network content shift over to that service from 18 March (in the United States).
The promotion's Fastlane pay-per-view on 21 March will still be available on both Peacock and the standard Network, but US customers won't have Network access by the time WrestleMania 37 rolls around in April.