20 Days That Changed WWE Forever
1. 24 February 2014 - The WWE Network Lands
After purchasing the assets of WCW and ECW in 2001, WWE continued to pick up the tape libraries of defunct promotions. By the mid-2000s, the company owned tens of thousands of hours worth of footage.
There had long been talks of WWE making a wrestling-only TV channel, and in 2011, the company officially announced that the WWE Network would be debuting the following year. Of course, 2012 passed with no sign of the Network, and the same thing happened with 2013.
Finally, early in 2014, the company announced that the WWE Network would officially debut on 24 February. After reviewing models, company analysts decided that positioning the WWE Network as a streaming service would make more sense than offering it as a pay TV channel, and so that's what happened. For the cost of $9.99 a month, fans would not only get access to WWE's library, but would be able to watch every single pay-per-view live.
To be sure, it was a great deal for anybody who considered themselves a WWE fan. In the early months, though, signups for the Network fell far short of expectations, leading the company's stock to tank. WWE responded with massive layoffs.
Three years later, though, the numbers have reached sustainable levels, and WWE is profitable without PPV... but was it worth it? It's still too soon to say. Some contend that without having to worry about PPV numbers, there are no immediate consequences to decisions - as a result, Vince McMahon can do whatever he likes (like push Roman Reigns beyond the point of reason) without fear. As TV ratings continue to fall, only time will tell where the company is heading.