Why does the WWE have Pay Per Views?

[Aussie Skier]

I brought this up with a friend of mine the other day.
Why does the WWE have PPV's?

I know the obvious reason....to make money.
But why do they need it anymore than basketball, football etc...?

To my knowledge, for the most part, only boxing and UFC have PPV's, but why MUST wrestling have them too?

[Wondermouse]

Basketball, football, etc. usually have massive revenue sharing. Also, crowd sizes tend to be much larger and higher prices. As well, they've got better TV Deals.

The cost of running also seems to be less, as wrestling has a large set up costs, they pay for the camera equipment, etc. Many times stadiums for sports teams are funded by the public.

[Aussie Skier]

A house show coming to Australia soon is charging $65 Australian for tickets.
The arena sits about 20,000 people. Thats $1,300,000. Add to that that there are two other shows in Australia, thats ticket sales of around $4,000,000. The shows are sponsored by a local radio station in each of the citites. They will be raking in around $6,000,000....in one weekend.


I just dont quite know how the WWE can justify people spending $30 for up to 14 times a year to watch PPV's, when they make so much money already.

[Wondermouse]

But that's a lot different. International shows make them lots and lots of money; but a normal house show won't make them as much.

I just dont quite know how the WWE can justify people spending $30 for up to 14 times a year to watch PPV's, when they make so much money already.

Because they pay for them. That's all the justification needed.

[ColdwaVer]

The cost of running also seems to be less, as wrestling has a large set up costs, they pay for the camera equipment, etc. Many times stadiums for sports teams are funded by the public.

Not only that, but major sports like baseball, football, and hockey have stadiums specifically designed for that sport, and local crews that take care of the setup and television execution. WWE has to take all of their setups from place to place, all of their setup and broadcasting crews, and they have to put the majority of their staff up in hotels in every city. In short, it's just a different way of doing things all around.

[The CyNick]

Look up the TV contracts for the NFL and MLB and you'll understand why the WWE cant survive on their TV contract alone. And the ratings for the Super Bowl, for example are such that they can get millions of dollars for a 30 second ad spot. The WWE would never be able to get numbers to justify those kinds of numbers, so the PPV avenue is best because it generates more revenue.

In terms of live events, I dont think there are 3 shows booked in Australia that will do $1,5 mil apiece. I know they ran one show in 02 in Australia that did over a million, but I would bet a lot of money that they cant run three in one shot. Million dollar house shows are very, very rare, most of them are in the $100,000-150,000 range.

Another factor is that wrestling fans like boxing fans are used to buying PPVs on a regular/semi-regular basis, so if they are used to it, why not keep doing it. And most regular sports are moving towards some type of PPV aspect of their sport. I know baseball is toying with it, and I'm sure basketball will try it at some point as well.

[Rob]

Premiership football has already moved into PPV here and Scottish Football now has it's own subscription channel. It's allows more people to watch and it makes money. If they get huge money deals like the NFL does then there isn't an excuse. But they don't and it's all about business.

[Wondermouse]

Didn't they hit three million dollar house shows in England?

CyNick: the MLB contracts are a different story, but NFL is a very good example. The NFL has a contract with FOX and CBS and distributes the money amongst all the teams. In the MLB, there's huge disparities between contracts. I don't even know if Montreal has one.

[Rob]

Dunno but I know last time in Manchester was at least a $1.5 million house show.

[Xero]

It's basicly, from a storyline aspect, where all the big things in the month happen, and they rap up storylines and/or have major matches...

[Paki Crippler]

Its quite simple............ To rob us from our money.

[Mayo]

Its quite simple............ To rob us from our money.

You think our money is gonna miss us when we've been stolen from it? :roll:

[Aussie Skier]

See.

The way I see it, is what Xero limit said.
Its like a convention. They have done it for years, so why not keep doing it?

I recognise the setup costs and all involved in wrestling, contracts, etc... But if they need more money, can't they simply raise ticket prices, or get better tv contracts? If they could advertise on say, Spike TV (or whatever station) that once a month, we have a large two hour show, which is the focus of our wrestling, could they not get a better TV contract and be able to better afford to run the company without having PPV's?

Anywayz, just a random thought I was having

[Goldbird]

1. Revenue
2. Pinnacle of a feud
3. 4 shows = 1 PPV


( i dont know what i'm talking about for option 3)

[The CyNick]

Didn't they hit three million dollar house shows in England?

CyNick: the MLB contracts are a different story, but NFL is a very good example. The NFL has a contract with FOX and CBS and distributes the money amongst all the teams. In the MLB, there's huge disparities between contracts. I don't even know if Montreal has one.

I think the teams split the revenue from the games on FOX.

But yeah I know about the local TV deals are different from team to team.

[Mayo]

Great points brought up by The CyNick, Wondermouse, and ColdwaVer. I think it is just another opportunity for Vince to bring in revenue by having a 'special' night where feuds culminate, where 'better' wrestling matches are on display for the fans, and where special matches such as Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, Hell in the Cell, etc. take place. Lately the PPV's have sucked ass, and Vince is trying to oversaturate the market even more by holding more PPV's. The more that he continues to add, the less special that each one becomes. I think he should go back to one a month rather than adding extra ones for Raw and Smackdown.

[Wondermouse]

I think the teams split the revenue from the games on FOX.

But yeah I know about the local TV deals are different from team to team.

They all do, yes, but the contract is huge, and all teams make a sizable profit from it.