WWE Network Details

[NegativeFeedback]

According to Justin LaBarf,

--The price point will focus at/around $10/12 per month with an initial sign up of 6 months.
--Wrestlemania 30 WILL be available on the network with EVERY non
--Wrestlemania PPV also being shown on the network.
--It won't be in the form of a TV channel but similar to Netflix in terms of being able to stream/watch on many different platforms. Smart TV's, Games Consoles, Laptops, Phones etc.
--There will be a Live 24/7 style streaming content from the Network which is the main difference from streaming service like Netflix but On-Demand WILL still be there. Libraries including FULL episodes of Raw, Smackdown, PPVS should be available at launch.

So what do you guys think?? Will you order the Network??

 

[BringThePain834]

I'll think about it. The fact that it isn't a TV network just sucks. Just make it a TV channel. That is what's good for business. Also, bringing back Are You Serious? as a TV show is good for business and the WWE Network.

 

[sjdigitall]

I like this business model of it being a Streaming/On-Demand service that is like Netflix/Hulu. A big selling point for me is going to be the fact that every RAW/Smackdown/PPV of the past is going to be available on demand and also the fact that basically every PPV during the year is going to be included.

 

[Kidpolean]

Can you imagine having every raw and smackdown at the click of a button. I love this idea, if this is true they have my money. This will help the wwe. Now they can measure how many people watch the ppv better than how many people buy it. I think alot of the people that stream ppv's on the internet will purchase this and it will increase the number of views they get.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

I wonder how much this is going to affect PPV buys. Certainly a bunch of people are going to opt for the Network instead.

I also wonder how much subscribers does it need to get for WWE to make a decent project. 200,000 would make its revenue equal that of one PPV, so it's going to have to do much more than that.

 

[sTyLnK]

I wonder how much this is going to affect PPV buys. Certainly a bunch of people are going to opt for the Network instead.

I also wonder how much subscribers does it need to get for WWE to make a decent project. 200,000 would make its revenue equal that of one PPV, so it's going to have to do much more than that.

Might end up being a blessing in disguise. Most people don't want to spend the ridiculous money for a PPV. This definitely softens the blow and who knows, maybe they get at on of people jumping on board. In turn, this could boost profits.

 

[Agent_of_Anarchy]

I hope its available at launch internationally, I'm born and raised in Sydney, Australia and while we gett every WWE show on cable T.V (including NXT, which I don't think is on T.V anywhere else anymore) I would sign up for sure. $12 a month seems way too cheap for access to every raw, smackdown and past ppv. I see massive value in this.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The biggest draw, at least as of right now, will easily be having access to every WWE ppv for a flat rate of $10-$12 per month rather than paying $45+. Being able to get WrestleMania XXX as part of that deal could also very much sweeten the pot. After 2014, I think you'll have to order WrestleMania on ppv. Even so, you'd still be saving a whole lot of money if you're somebody that orders WWE ppvs on a regular basis.

Still, I don't think WWE will be moving Raw or SmackDown! to the network even if it does well. USA is the most successful of cable networks due in large part to having Raw as that's a regular, constant stream of, usually, around 4.5 to 5 million viewers, depending on the time of year and factoring in DVR viewership, 52 weeks out of the year. Those are huge numbers for a cable network and for any show on cable. In order for WWE to basically tell NBC Universal that they don't really need them anymore, the WWE Network would have to garner many millions of subscribers. They make a lot of money off television fees worldwide, so there's not anything wrong with that formula.

The ppvs are something else, however, because of how expensive they are and this is where the WWE Network has the potential to gain a ton of ground. Most WWE B ppvs tend to do around 200,000 buys on average. Sometimes it's more, sometimes it's less, but they're in the 200K neighborhood or a few streets over. According to gerweck.net, the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania and SummerSlam have garnered an average of roughly 500,000, 1,100,000 and 340,000 since 2010. From 2010 through 2012, Survivor Series took in an average of 255,000. Some sites have different figures, but that's how it always goes. The Big Four have generally become the Big Three as Survivor Series really doesn't deliver that big show feel anymore. Or, I should say, WWE doesn't make Survivor Series feel like a big show anymore. But the point is that the Rumble, 'Mania & 'Slam all deliver much bigger numbers than the B shows, so those three shows could result in the WWE Network garnering far more than 200,000 subscribers.

If WWE goes back to having 12 ppvs, which I think I've read they intend to next year, then that adds up to, a total of about $120-$144 to your cable or satellite bill for the year with the $10-$12 price. WWE ppvs, besides WrestleMania, have a $45 price tag with 'Mania coming in at $60; this tacks on an additional $555 or so to your cable or satellite bill for the year. So yeah, bottom line is that you're saving well over $400 a year by going with the WWE Network if you order their ppvs regularly. If it's a success and if WM isn't available on the network in 2015 and the price remains the same, it'll just tack on an additional $60 to your cable or satellite bill for that one month out of the year.

 

[TheHitMark-SirJoseOle]

I'm interested enough to check it out, I'm mostly a fan of nostalgia these days, meaning that anything I grew up watching as a kid, I'll go back in time to watch. That's enough to sell me on the network, and who knows this could be enough to get me back into the fray full-time. I have high hopes and well wishes for WWE to do well with this, regardless of what platform they are using to launch it.

Time will tell how effective this will be.

 

[shanezam203]

I wonder how much this is going to affect PPV buys. Certainly a bunch of people are going to opt for the Network instead.

I also wonder how much subscribers does it need to get for WWE to make a decent project. 200,000 would make its revenue equal that of one PPV, so it's going to have to do much more than that.

I was thinking the same thing, I don't mind paying $10 a month/ $120 a year if I can get all 11 PPV's excluding Wrestlemania & all the archived/ historical Raw and PPV's, I'm IN.

 

[New Hot Fed]

That's an interesting model. If you only pay 12$ for a lot of stuff plus free Wrestlemania every year that's a great deal. Say what you will about Vince but he has a great foresight about thinking outside the box. TNA could use a Vince.

 

[shalliin]

I hope its available at launch internationally, I'm born and raised in Sydney, Australia and while we gett every WWE show on cable T.V (including NXT, which I don't think is on T.V anywhere else anymore) I would sign up for sure. $12 a month seems way too cheap for access to every raw, smackdown and past ppv. I see massive value in this.

Well, my Aussie friend, we here in fellow commonwealth nation, your frozen cousins of the North in Canada still get NXT on one of our sports channels. What we don't seem to get, is Main Event. As for the Network, if I can order it without a Credit Card, I will get it, but if it's a system like Netflix which requires a CC to sign up and pay, then forget it. That's were if it were a normal styled channel, billed through my cable/satellite service I would absolutely get it.
My question would be, will there be access to the entire back order of their almost 200 thosuand plus hours of historical matches and events. And will there be original programming of tv shows like total divas or the like or just throw on old raw/smackdowns and ppvs? What about WCW and ECW programming? Or the other territories that they bought up the video libraries from.

 

[The Jeff]

If I can watch Every Raw form 1999-2007 and every Smackdown from 99-07, then they can have my money. I would watch those forever

 

[THTRobtaylor]

A channel is a horrid idea when services such as Netflix are not only innovative but doing great business.

The model is attractive to fans and casuals who will pay 60 bucks for Mania anyway, imagine doing a Mania Marathon week/weekend...

Casuals basically spend the same for access to all that content. As it grows they can add all those libraries they own, perhaps on a "premium" membership of 15-20 bucks... imagine that, all the Nitro's, Mid South, NWA, classic WWWF... or they do it as a channel...

We had it here for a while, The Wrestling Channel, it failed even with ROH and TNA at various points...

This will quite possibly damage or kill PPV but its' clear the model is now TV based and the big contracts are based on TV rights not PPV. PPV's time is about done, once they failed making football/soccer/basketball games work on an individual basis, PPV was done as a medium.

 

[Slash-LN]

Like Shallin said if I need a credit card to order it then I'm out of luck. If it can somehow be billed to my cable bill I'd get it just for the old content. I stay up late where there isn't much good to watch anyway so it would be nice to be able to go back and watch whatever I want at will. That's the only thing I didn't like about the 24/7 thing on cable. Or it might have been Classics On Demand. Whatever it was I paid $7.99 a month for it which I felt was a fair price but it wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I still had it for a while anyway though because I enjoyed watching pretty much everything they offered.
Having so much content to pick from I would gladly pay $10-$12 for this.

 

[shanezam203]

According to Justin LaBarf,

--The price point will focus at/around $10/12 per month with an initial sign up of 6 months.
--Wrestlemania 30 WILL be available on the network with EVERY non
--Wrestlemania PPV also being shown on the network.
--It won't be in the form of a TV channel but similar to Netflix in terms of being able to stream/watch on many different platforms. Smart TV's, Games Consoles, Laptops, Phones etc.
--There will be a Live 24/7 style streaming content from the Network which is the main difference from streaming service like Netflix but On-Demand WILL still be there. Libraries including FULL episodes of Raw, Smackdown, PPVS should be available at launch.

So what do you guys think?? Will you order the Network??

I'd gladly pay $110-$120 a year for the PPV's alone and the archived Raw and WCW footage. I look forward to many of the WWE DVD's going into the vault aswell, I own 30 box sets and Superstar DVD's but it will be nice to have them on demand similar to the ones on Netflix.

 

[scomvp316]

I wonder if the archival stuff will be Classics.com from a few years ago and download material to your PC and watch those downloads anytime you want as long as you are a subscriber

 

[JunkDrawerVideos]

I'd like to see a netflix service that will have packaged content (such as a rivalry between two wrestlers). The network seems to have been using vintage footage as a selling feature, the problem is that product already exists; It's called "wwe on demand" and it isn't performing with the kind of numbers they expect this network to perform at.

 

[lil steroid meat]

Definitely seems intriguing. Cool price point for access to the biggest professional wrestling video library in the world. It being a network would be nice but with people watching TV less and less nowadays, it could be smarter to not do so.

Only concern is if it will be TRULY everything or will it be the WWE Edited version (for example, no VKM Limo Explosion, Benoit doesn't exist, Angle and Hardy don't exist, no WWF logo, etc.)