10 Problems WWE Faces After WrestleMania 33
9. Network Numbers Will Drop
It's been more than a year since WWE decided to sweeten the pot that is the WWE Network by offering the first month of a subscription to new subscribers for free. Last year, that meant that fans could actually see WrestleMania for free if they were signing up for the first time, and rather than run from that fact, WWE embraced it - the company promoted the FreeWrestleMania hashtag on social media to great success.
That "success" meant that in the post-WrestleMania earnings report last year, the company was able to say that subscriptions had risen to a record 1.824 million. This year, touting a similar deal to see WrestleMania for free, WWE is expecting to hit more than 2 million subscribers in their first quarter reports.
Of course, those numbers are superficial. If last year was any indication, many fans won't keep subscribing past the free month, and so the second quarter earnings report will show a steep drop in subscribers.
It's inevitable, but it could result in stock falling when the numbers come out.