WWE Network Breaks Two Million Subscribers
WrestleMania pushes over-the-top service over the edge.
In the wake of WrestleMania 34, WWE have announced that subscribers to their Network service have surpassed the two million mark.
During a conference call, details of which were later posted to the company's corporate website, WWE revealed that Network subscribers were up to 2,124,000, of which 1,808,000 are paid. This represents annual growth of 9% from last April.
The company have aggressively promoted that new signees would receive WrestleMania for free over the past few weeks, a tactic which has almost certainly contributed to the spike in interest. It's also worth noting that a $9.99 subscription has given customers three paid months in the first quarter, as opposed to the usual one.
Elsewhere, the report disclosed that Network subscribers viewed 25.2 million hours of content over WrestleMania weekend - so around two million hours fewer than the running time of 'Mania itself, then. The statement also boasted that WrestleMania broke the record for the Superdome's highest grossing 'entertainment event' at $14.1 million, thanks to an alleged crowd of 78,133. WWE conference call attendance figures should always be taken with a pinch of salt - the company announced WrestleMania XXX, hosted in the same venue, was similarly sold-out though it had a lesser figure of 75,167.
The summation concluded that WWE's OIBDA (operating income before depreciation and amortisation) for 2018 is expected to hit around $145 million, which would make this year the most profitable in company history. Good going, lads.