Historically, wrestling companies have had a mixed record of providing seamless internet streaming of live events. WWE itself has had difficulties for major PPV, events including issues coming up for their web-feed for PPV events as recent as this year's Royal Rumble. Yet, WWE Network will be launched on the backbone of the MLB Advanced Media which has good track record of streaming hundreds of baseball games to millions of users. Many skeptical fans may hold off on immediately signing up. They may be reluctant to rely on a seamless broadcast for the biggest PPV of the year, Wrestlemania. Some customers may wait until the WWE Network has proven they can handle the traffic without any issues before signing up. For a service that needs to quickly attract as many subscribers as possible, will the free week trial be enough to convince skeptical fans that an over-the-top network won't disappoint them?
I'm a professional wrestling analyst, an improviser and an avid NES gamer. I live in Saint Paul, Minnesota and I'm working on my first book (#wrestlenomics). You can contact me at chris.harrington@gmail.com or on twitter (@mookieghana)
