8 Biggest Casualties Of The WWE Network
2. WWE's Pay-Per-View Business
The death of WWE's pay-per-view market was inevitable as soon as the Network came along. No right-minded consumer would fork out $40-50 for something they can pay $9.99 for, and the revenue stream has understandably plummeted over the past few years as increasing volumes of consumers move away from the old, outdated model, and embrace the future.
The Network was introduced in Q1 2014. WWE reported $13.5 million in total PPV revenue at that stage, but that shrunk to just $2.1 million in Q1 2016. The number is now so insignificant that the company don't even report it in their quarterly earnings reports.
The market's collapse isn't a problem, but a sign of progress. The challenge WWE now face is increasing the Network's profitability, as while their latest set of financial results show that it drew $54.9 million total revenue in Q2 2017, this translated to just $1.2 million in profit. The service still isn't as lucrative as the company would like, but the situation will likely improve over the coming years, particularly if WWE deliver on their ambitious plan to eventually host Raw and SmackDown on the Network.