10 Things Keeping WWE Alive Right Now
10. Network Subscriptions
When WWE first aired an ad in early 2012 for the WWE Network, fans were pretty excited but, by the time it launched in 2014, it had changed from a TV model to online and went from being extra content on top of existing TV & PPV to having every WWE PPV live at a fraction of the price, countless hours of archive content and original series. Essentially, it has become WWEs future.
All programming is going to go online eventually and the company realised that, and have committed to an initial loss in order to achieve long-term gain.
On paper, when you see that WWE used to charge $54.95 for pay per-view events and now charge $9.99, it seems like they must be losing an insane amount of money. However, given that talent no longer get the bonuses that came with traditional pay per-view shows and with increased money from television deals, it hasn't been anywhere near as catastrophic as one might assume.
This past years WrestleMania had more viewers than it has ever had in its history, giving more fans a chance to see what WWE can do for their biggest show of the year and potentially retaining those customers' Network subscriptions if the product is good and they like what they see.
With over 1 million steady subscribers, the Network is a great source of income for the company. In 2016, theyll be looking to expand the Network to interest more fans whether its through original content or more archive shows from their massive tape libraries.