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WWE Network

48K views 138 replies 39 participants last post by  jfoley85 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
The new WWE Network will be coming to Rogers. WWE & Rogers signed a 10 year agreement to carry the online network as a pay tv channel. Rogers will distribute the channel to other providers across Canada. No idea what this means for WWE Network in Canada via video game systems or the WWE website as nothing like that was announced. Also no idea what this means for the VOD content WWE Network offers to subscribers.

http://www.wrestlingnewsworld.com/full-details-wwes-10-year-deal-wrogers-communications-canada/#.U9r4imPSbcs
 
#62 ·
You might be overestimating the number of people who want MLB network, considering how many games (including all Jays games) are on already available channels.

If the playoffs were exclusively on MLB network, than it might be comparable to the WWE network in terms of offerings.
 
#64 ·
If that's the case...then I would suggest all Bell customers boycott the Rumble and all future WWE PPV's until they add the Network.

If you don't what is their motivation to add the WWE Network before next month's PPV...and the next and the next?

I'm sure they are making way more on PPV's than they would on monthly fees.

Think about it...the Royal Rumble is $59.99...and Wrestlemania is another $10.
 
#65 ·
Not necessarily?

There are a lot of wrestling fans willing to watch Raw,Smackdown, amd other wrestling shows, but aren't willing to shelll out $50 a pop for WWE PPV events.

If you sell a service at $11.99/month which includes the 12 PPV events plus tons of other WWE content your going to get those willing to pay $11.99 that would of payed for a PPV at $50. So not only are you going to get those die hatd wrestling fans paying $11.99, your going to get your average wrestling willing to watch RAW Smackdown etc but not pay for Royal Rumble. Wrestlemania etc.


There may be a understatement on how many wrestling fans there is and how popular wrestling is? When you can fill a stadium 93,000(Pontac Silver dome Wrestlemania 3) to see a event. When was the last time you saw a Baseball stadium hold that many to see a game

Yeah wrestling may be fake and its predermend who wins, but great entertainment.
 
#67 ·
The problem with the WWE network is that you have lots of people willing to watch WWE on TV. You have a much smaller group willing to pay for it.

Of the group that is willing to pay, how many are willing to pay $60 and how many are only willing to pay $10? The numbers have been consistently below WWE's expectations because it turns out that most of the group willing to pay $10 is also the group willing to pay $60 for the big four.

They're actually making less money than they were on PPV simply because they needed to reach far more people, and they haven't been able to. The stock price reflects that.

Depending on Bell's cut, that may also apply to them. Or it could also be that they simply aren't set up to offer it yet due to the on demand and other requirements.
 
#69 ·
@Tidus

The thing is the WWE Network is basically available world wide. It was just launched in Ireland & Great Britain on Monday.

Now grant you I don't have their sub rates in the US Canada or any other place, or how it sett up. I called Bell and at least the CSR knew nothing about the WWE Network coming to Bell?

Is WWE Network worth $11.99? It all depends on some ones point of view some say Yes? Some say No/. In any case if and when it comes available on Bell for those that want it go for it, if not just ignore the channel and thats all that needs to be done.
 
#72 ·
@Tidus

The thing is the WWE Network is basically available world wide. It was just launched in Ireland & Great Britain on Monday.
PPVs were also available worldwide, though. The numbers I saw last year suggested that WWE got 50% of the PPV cost, and they get a much higher percentage of the network cost. But they need significantly more people because 50% of $50 is a lot more than $10.

Now grant you I don't have their sub rates in the US Canada or any other place, or how it sett up. I called Bell and at least the CSR knew nothing about the WWE Network coming to Bell?
I don't think sub rates in Canada are available, but the worldwide rate has been on a quarterly basis during WWE's investor conference calls. Last I checked, it hadn't broken a million subs, which is what they needed to break even with PPV revenue. Right now they're losing money on it, and it's hitting the stock pretty hard.

As for Bell, CSRs often don't know anything until right before it goes live. We don't have enough good information to know just what's going on, there.

Is WWE Network worth $11.99? It all depends on some ones point of view some say Yes? Some say No/. In any case if and when it comes available on Bell for those that want it go for it, if not just ignore the channel and thats all that needs to be done.
The nice thing about it is that it's not in some stupid bundle, so you can decide if it's worth it to you or not. Exactly how the market should work. :)

The calculus seems pretty easy to me - it's definitely worth it if you were buying PPVs before, even if those were just Wrestlemania and Summeslam. Add in the Royal Rumble and you're saving money for far more content.
 
#70 ·
If I were a wrestling fan, I would think that 11.99 is not a terrible price if there were lots of good content and I could watch it on a computer/phone/tablet/roku with live and on demand events. I would especially consider subscribing if I could get all of this without a TV subscription. I would be even more likely to subscribe if it were under $10, since that is a mental barrier.

But I am not a wrestling fan, so it is all moot. Instead I pay a monthly fee for Anime on Crunchyroll, where I can do all of the above.
 
#73 ·
That's unlikely to happen, they get paid pretty well for the TV rights, and those shows reach a much bigger audience than the network does. They use them to try and sell the network to new people.

Plus since the network in Canada is tied to TV anyway, it's not really getting the same benefit to move Raw to them as it would for the OTT version in the US.
 
#74 ·
Honestly, I don't mind have the WWE Network tied to my TV. You don't have to worry about the internet stream going down, especially for the PPV events, you can record any program on a PVR and it's convenient to have it on my Aliant bill. I already pay for TV, internet and phone. Just add $12 to the bill.

That being said, it would be nice for cord cutters in Canada to have access to the network on devices like a Roku, Apple TV or game console. I know it can be accessed with a VPN but in my opinion, it's more trouble than it's worth. Just let us have easy access to the network.

There was a Facebook post on Bell Aliant Fibre Op page talking about them adding FX and FXX to the lineup. Many of the replies were people asking for the WWE Network. That tells me if people want to give a business money, the business should let them.
 
#75 ·
So the WWE Network is available on desktop and laptop computers in Canada for Rogers subscribers officially. Just need a Rogers account and a WWE.com account and you're good to go.

Wasn't that 93000 number a fake attendance number?
Likely. The common disputed response with an attendance is something like 78,000 attended, with 75,000 paid. I somewhat dispute that too. I get why the 93,000 number is faked (gotta beat the Pope!), but given that the Silverdome held 80,000 capacity, and looking at that show, I don't think 80,000-85,000 would be out of the question. But maybe that 78,000 number is accurate. They really struggled in Detroit leading up to the show. I think there was a show in January that had a disaster of a crowd.

The problem with the WWE network is that you have lots of people willing to watch WWE on TV. You have a much smaller group willing to pay for it.
This. They have 700,000 subscribers, and about 3 million people, give or take, watch RAW each week in the States. It's a show most of the people who watch just keep to that. It'd be like trying to start a specialty Reality TV subscription channel (online or otherwise) on the basis of how many people watch American Idol or Amazing Race.

They're actually making less money than they were on PPV simply because they needed to reach far more people, and they haven't been able to. The stock price reflects that.
They're not just making less money, their OIBDA has been in the negatives in 2014. They've basically cannibalized their PPV revenue (a form of revenue that I don't buy was dying to begin with) for their Network. And, as mentioned in the previous post, they're learning the hard way how little people watch wrestling these days beyond RAW (if that).

I'm still wishing that the wwe move all their shows like Raw & Smackdown off of TV and strictly on to the WWE Network a one stop shop of sorts.
It'd be disastrous for them. Only their diehards would watch then. I know a few people in Quebec who were strong WWE followers while RAW was still on TSN. After the WWE pissed off TSN...errr....I mean, TSN dropped the WWE unceremoniously, they went to the Score, which killed off their Quebec viewership, in particular for those who have Videotron. So much so that instead of when RAW and Smackdown used to hit Toronto and Montreal (not necessarily respectively, as Montreal would get RAW often), Ottawa would get a show alongside Toronto instead. Coupled with no French WWE TV anymore, and the WWE market in Quebec is essentially dead.

RAW and Smackdown are basically infomercials for people to buy other things (PPVs, the Network, tickets to shows, merch, etc.). No different than how sports operates in that sense. You kill off your traditional TV shows, it hurts your advertising, in more ways than one. Can't put your eggs in one basket.

Honestly, I don't mind have the WWE Network tied to my TV. You don't have to worry about the internet stream going down, especially for the PPV events, you can record any program on a PVR and it's convenient to have it on my Aliant bill. I already pay for TV, internet and phone. Just add $12 to the bill.
I'm the same way, and as Rogers customer, with the news I posted at the top of the message, I get the best of both worlds. To be honest, I was kinda relieved that Rogers had a tie-in to the Network, since the thing I wanted the most was uninterrupted access to PPVs, something we don't have yet with internet (we will eventually, it's just not guaranteed now). The cheaper PPVs is the selling point for me (as well as NXT, which has a nice old school feel). Don't get me wrong, I still think it's insane that they essentially shrunk the price that low. But as a paying customer, I won't complain. :)
 
#76 ·
I assure you the 93,000 is not fake and was an attendance record. You may be correct that the capacity may be 80,000, but is that taking into account the thousands of people that were not in the standard stadium seats?

In fact in order to make sure they got all those people Vince actually made it impossible to view the event via circuit television in that state, forcing anyone that wanted to watch it to buy a ticket, and it worked well obviously.

As far as Raw and Smackdown on the network, ain't going to happen. They get paid millions of dollars per episode from the US networks alone and without that they wouldn't make any money.

For what it's worth WWE announced this week that they have surpassed 1 million subs on the network.
 
#77 ·
Not to mention all those that presently don't have the WWE Network.By having it on Sportsnet 360 all providers carry that channel and it easy to sub to. As with the WWE Network if your provider won't carry it your out of luck. IE Shaw(SD & Cable),Videotron,Cogeco, and others if they don't carry it, and Smackdown & Raw move to the WWE Network Rogers just lost thousands upon thousands of viewers.
 
#79 ·
Why would u say we get the Rogers ScrewJOb, the WWE network is the full version that US gets, no more. reduced version.

We wont get it free cause its a Rogers billing wont be able to do it.
 
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