10 Ways WWE Could Sell More Network Subscriptions
1. Make WrestleMania A Pay-Per-View Again
This may read as...counterintuitive, at best. Bear with us.
It was a critical error to offer WrestleMania as part of the Network package. Consider this, not that it really matters in the post-Fox short-term: Dave Meltzer tweeted earlier this year that, due to the exorbitant costs associated with the incredible production, and the low return yielded from the Network, WrestleMania has only broken even in recent years. Ring of Honor generates more money from WrestleMania weekend than WWE does. That is astonishing.
In this capitalist culture, we associate premium content with quality, which is why trawling through Netflix takes as long as it does. Anything free comes equipped with a catch not to be trusted. Price signals value; this is something we've been conditioned to believe since birth. Films we once treated as major events become a swathe of thumbnails in the stream of infinite, cheap, skippable content.
This is also true of WrestleMania; its low price combined with its overlong duration has rendered it something imperceptibly lesser than it once was. At its best, it remains an incredible spectacle like no other - but it is in danger of feeling normal, a feeling that will not be helped by the thinning ranks and quality of the part-timer club.
To restore its lustre and encourage follow-up viewership, WWE must make 'Mania a singular attraction. Make people pay extra for it, and make it worth paying for. If it becomes expensive once more, this will encourage returning viewers to perceive WWE as a prestigious promotion worth both the emotional and financial investment.
At present, $9.99 feels like free. Inferior. Next to $65.00, under the psychology of economics, it becomes that much sought-after bargain.