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Originally Posted by Noid
Do the WWE release numbers of who watches each show? I'd be curious to know how many people watch RAW on the Network each week. SmackDown and NXT for that matter. I'd like to know the stats on how many people watch their PPVs on the Network, and how many watch them live.
I guess with things like the App, it's just people downloading it once. I'd be curious to know how much has been done with this app since. They're clearly after Network sign-ons more than actual money, because they've given WrestleMania away for free again. Basically they want that giant number for sign-ups, but then they need to keep those people signed on. We'll see if that happens. I'm expecting a massive sign-up and then a steep, steep drop-off. It'll be interesting to see what happens to the stock after that news.
Fuck, why is WrestleMania even on the Network? They should be able to still sell the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and you know what, Money in the Bank for about $30 through a PPV provider. Or be their own PPV provider but still charge that much for such a "premium" product. With NXT, your PPV library, some original programming and the rest of your upcoming PPVs airing on the Network, it really feels like there's a lot of money being left on the table.
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I wouldn't expect WWE to release internal data on per show viewership. Maybe one day if the market analysts demand it, but I dont see the relevance. As long as network subs stay in the range they are expecting, thats all they should share. It doesnt really matter if people are watching live. In fact part of the reason for the network is to appeal to the changing landscape of the audience that wants to watch things on their own schedule.
Network subs have and will most likely increase at Mania time, and then decrease post Mania. That will just be the normal cycle. Success will be can you consistently produce bigger numbers year over year, or now that they are in a highly profitable state (better than the old PPV model numbers) they can maintain the numbers they have. So far they have been able to increase year over year. Obviously at some point you will saturate the market. Then it becomes about trying to drive new markets (India, Japan, China, etc).
I disagree on making Mania, Summerslam, Rumble and MITB (????) a PPV product. Thats actually a really terrible idea for three main reasons. Number one, WWE in their effort to drive people to The Network have been driving home the fact that ordering on PPV is silly (9.99 vs 59.99), to suddenly do a 180 on that would be absurd. Second, I dont think you will have a successful network if Mania and the other shows are not included. If you look at the old PPV numbers, you had something like 100-150k ordering most of the PPVs. Thats your Network subscriber number if you pull the big shows. If thats your Network number, it goes belly up. Three, if you charge $30 on PPV, you're probably only going to take home about $10 of that, because the cable companies will charge a percentage and want to see a baseline number. WWE would be better off trying to sell Mania as an a la carte show for say $20 to Network Subscribers. But I would look to do that down the line when you have had a solid subscriber base for several years.