10 Ways WWE Can Maintain Their Current Business Success

5. Return Wrestlemania To PPV Only

It's another idea sure to elicit more vocal complaints from fans but Wrestlemania should not be aired live on the WWE Network next year. In 2014, putting Wrestlemania on the WWE Network was an excellent way to entice fans to check out this new over-the-top service. It also will serve as the measuring stick on whether it's viable for a streaming service to handle the massive demand of the biggest event of the year. However, it's a bad move for the WWE to keep their premiere wrestling event on the WWE Network in the future. There's three big problems with airing Wrestlemania on the WWE Network live: hurts WWE's relationships with traditional providers, there's still many challenges of an over-the-top solution and it devalues Wrestlemania. First - people, especially casual fans, have been trained to purchase Wrestlemania on PPV. Despite being the most expensive wrestling event of the year, it also has the highest number of buys. When WWE undercuts the cable and satellite operators so substantially (offering the Network at $10/month), it breeds ill-will. That's why distributors such as DishTV have declared they're not going to carry WWE PPVs anymore. Other companies have issued similar threats and taken a "wait-and-see" attitude. Historically, Wrestlemania achieved almost 700,000 domestic buys annually at a price well above $55. That meant nearly $40M was split between WWE and the Multi-channel Video Programming Distributors (Cable Operators & Satellite Companies). It's imperative that WWE plays nice with these companies. A mega-corporation such as NBCU or Viacom or Fox will be paying WWE's real TV rights bills. Also, the cable landscape is getting smaller and smaller with the Comcast-Time Warner merger. WWE needs television a lot more than television needs WWE. Second - any strategy that focuses solely on an internet-solution is inherently going to leave many people out in the cold. Many of WWE's fans don't have, can't afford or can't obtain high speed internet. There's a lot of fans, particularly older fans, who don't have streaming device that allows them to get the WWE Network on their Television. (People have been trained to watch PPV events on their television sets.) There's a ton of people who only come around once a year to buy Wrestlemania and they'll pay full price for it. WWE is giving away an enormous discount to offering Wrestlemania as just another monthly PPV included in the WWE Network. It's a foolhardy move. Third - putting Wrestlemania on the $10/month WWE Network suggests that Wrestlemania is "just another show". There's a huge risk that WWE is tarnishing their golden PPV brand. This was something that competitor Dana White brought up as a complaints against the WWE Network. They're risking commoditizing their most valuable product. If Wrestlemania is just another PPV show, the WWE is more likely to subject it to cost-cutting measures because it's not truly generating incremental margin. Instead, not only will it be possible to track buys and interest for Wrestlemania as a once-a-year marque event, but it leaves WWE with their toe in the PPV water so they don't get shut out in the long run. The WWE Network is an expensive proposition, and they can substantially prevent PPV cannibalization if they don't put Wrestlemania on the Network in future years.