Money In The Bank Buyrate Discussion - KEEP IT ALL IN HERE

[Jack-Hammer]

The early numbers are out for WWE's second Money in the Bank ppv and I'd say that WWE is pretty pleased overall.

The numbers don't seem to indicate a monster increase over last year, but latest reports show that the show did pull in over 265,000 buys. So early figures, right now, show that MITB made about $12 million. That's a very respectable increase compared to last year's show, which I think did somewhere in the neighborhood of about 180,000 to 190,000 buys.

 

[The_Grimace]

This is what I'm hoping is signs of increase in wrestling popularity. I know in my area people are starting to get back into wrestling, and its not just WWE but I know a few people who changed some of their cable companies to check out the "new" company ROH. And even TNA to a lesser extant. Ill hope to see all three succeed. Cause competition breeds one upsmanship. Hopefuly what is it no surrender does well and the numbers from summerslam are good, and ROH TV does well.

 

[bigbootydaddyV]

I thought an article had them at 100k over last years MITB, which is pretty damn good. The event was one of the top ppv's of the year and more than anything I'd say that was because of Punk. 100k at 50 bucks a pop is a nice, size-able increase and a better indicator of Punk's ability to draw than ratings on Raw which are constantly competing with other shows. Not to mention I'm sure his merchandise is flying off the racks as I read somewhere that his shirt was on backorder for a while. Plus, his entrance has bumped up sales for Living Colour (I'm not sure if WWE gets some kind of piece of that or what the deal is, though the argument can be made if wrestlers can increase a popular artists sales like that, then maybe we can see more of it). Hopefully WWE keeps this up and uses Punk's momentum to book him in a monumental match at Mania, him and someone else could end up being the Macho Man Ricky Steamboat of this year's Mania.

 

[Maddog Lionheart]

Very good news. But I think if the WWE fans knew what was going to go down, I mean truly go down, it would have been around $20 Million in my opinion. A lot of people believed that the WWE would never throw away thier title. But when people actually heard it happen oh boy!

 

[Rising Savior]

I think last years mitb may have done 165,000 buys so a 100,000 more buys than the previous years is a pretty big increase. A lot of fans that usually don't order ppv's or at least not the big named one's ordered mitb.

 

[Guyzwitgunz]

Last years did 165k, so yes, an increase of 100k is really good. If it had not been CM Punk in that main event I garuntee you they would not have done those numbers so Punk is definatly a solid draw for the company now. Now to wait for the SummerSlam buys...

 

[XXJJ]

I think they have to be happy with those numbers, big increase from last year MITB.

If you want to compare it to some other ppv's this year. Royal Rumble did 449,000 buys, WM 1,000,000, Elimination Chamber did 200,000, Extreme Rules did 210,000 and Capital Punishment did 170,000.

Of the secondary ppv's looks the gimmicky ones like MITB, EC, ER have done the best this year.

 

[rge2010]

CM Punk in his home town, confusion and intrigue into his contract status and at the time, he was 'smoking hot'. MITB does 265,000 PPV buys. While it is an increase from Extreme Rules, it is only 55,000 PPV buys. To be called a draw we should be talking bigger than 55,000.

I still question whether or not CM Punk is a draw. At the moment, I dont think he is. I don't think he ever will be. To compare this guy to Austin is an insult to the man himself.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

CM Punk in his home town, confusion and intrigue into his contract status and at the time, he was 'smoking hot'. MITB does 265,000 PPV buys. While it is an increase from Extreme Rules, it is only 55,000 PPV buys. To be called a draw we should be talking bigger than 55,000.

I still question whether or not CM Punk is a draw. At the moment, I dont think he is. I don't think he ever will be. To compare this guy to Austin is an insult to the man himself.

So the PPV garnered fifty-five thousand more purchases, correct? Yeah, therefore that kind of defines what a draw is.

Good buyrate, didn't expect anything huge to be honest. One month of hype can't be enough to draw everyone back, and once again as we always mention, this doesn't take into account those that viewed online and through other methods so in-terms of viewership you'd be looking at much more. But WWE are probably satisfied making $12 million off a single PPV. Guess the whole thing added up to being good business.

 

[rge2010]

So the PPV garnered fifty-five thousand more purchases, correct? Yeah, therefore that kind of defines what a draw is.

Good buyrate, didn't expect anything huge to be honest. One month of hype can't be enough to draw everyone back, and once again as we always mention, this doesn't take into account those that viewed online and through other methods so in-terms of viewership you'd be looking at much more. But WWE are probably satisfied making $12 million off a single PPV. Guess the whole thing added up to being good business.

Wouldnt call it a draw, more of a nice increase. Punk was smoking hot at the time, I would expect more than 55,000. I see buy rates dropping again now. His 'story' has peaked already.

Its nice to see WWE increase its buy rates, but I don't think Punk is the man to centre the show around.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It's possible that MITB did 165,000 buys last year as some have said. I did a little research earlier this morning and there are several bits and articles that've said 165,000, some have said 180,000 and so on. So I'm not entirely sure what it did last year but it generally looks to have done well under 200,000 buys so this was definitely a very solid increase.

 

[Miz_Mark]

55,000 isn't really the best number to use, you're comparing apples to oranges. MITB did 100,000 buys more than last year's MITB, that is a much better comparison.

Or if you insist on looking at Extreme Rules too, do a better comparison: Extreme Rules outdrew MITB by 17,000 buys in 2010. This year it lost by 55,000. So even from that perspective, you're looking at a 72,000 buy increase.

That's between 70+ and 100,000 more people willing to shell out their hard earned money to see what was going to happen... At $50 a pop depending on whether you compare it just to the previous MITB or factor in Extreme Rules too, you're talking a $3.6 to $5 million increase in revenue... Anyone who claims that is not a draw is being obtuse.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

If you look at this by comparing recent buys for similar events this is nothing short of great news. Whether you compare it to ER (210K to 265K or 26%) or MITB 2010 (190K high est. to 265K or 39%) you have to be thrilled. That type of increase is great in business. Entertainment probably has bigger swings than other industries but it is definitely great news.

On the other hand, if WWE was projecting more buys than 265K this is not great news.

Regardless, there are many factors to look at when it comes to the health of the business but it appears that the CM Punk leaving storyline worked.

 

[BTLion1990]

CM Punk in his home town, confusion and intrigue into his contract status and at the time, he was 'smoking hot'. MITB does 265,000 PPV buys. While it is an increase from Extreme Rules, it is only 55,000 PPV buys. To be called a draw we should be talking bigger than 55,000.

I still question whether or not CM Punk is a draw. At the moment, I dont think he is. I don't think he ever will be. To compare this guy to Austin is an insult to the man himself.

I think its more than the 55,000 increase, but even assuming it was that, thats what $50 x 55,000 = $2,750,000. Plus his shirts have been selling like hot cakes. For that not to be considered a draw, especially as before the ''shoot'' he was associated with Otunga and McGillicutty is nothing short of ludicrous. Punk = Money.

This was a success.

 

[The Hardcore Kid]

I usually only buy the "Big Four" (WM, SSlam, SSeries, Rumble), but I definitely bought MITB and it was a no-brainer for me.

Someone above mentioned hoping this is indicative of a rise in overall wrestling popularity. I have been noticing a lot more references to watching wrestling on my Facebook, like people I have never known to watch wrestling talking about how great CM Punk is and the like. Granted, I don't know if it's just closeted wrestling fans now feeling like they can talk about it more openly because it's gotten a tinge of mainstream acceptance as of late, but either way, it's good to see.

 

[Rayne]

CM Punk in his home town, confusion and intrigue into his contract status and at the time, he was 'smoking hot'. MITB does 265,000 PPV buys. While it is an increase from Extreme Rules, it is only 55,000 PPV buys. To be called a draw we should be talking bigger than 55,000.

I still question whether or not CM Punk is a draw. At the moment, I dont think he is. I don't think he ever will be. To compare this guy to Austin is an insult to the man himself.

Which is an increase of 26%. If a program featuring you does 26% better than one without, you're doing pretty hot.

PPV != Cable TV. You seem to be thinking about this in terms of millions of viewers. A 26% increase in one month is enough to make execs in Stamford stain their jeans in ecstasy. Hell, just two months ago Eric Bischoff was trying to proclaim his success in raising TNA's ratings 12% over the course of a year. Raising PPV buyrates by 26% in the space of a month means you're hot shit.

If you're not excited by him, that's one thing. More power to you. With the WWE trending downwards over the past couple of years, anyone who can raise buyrates 26% in a single month is getting handjobs from the hired staff every time they walk into an arena.

 

[RD_21]

When I first saw the number and realise it only did a 55k increase over the previous PPV and 100k increase over last year I had a deception.

People will say Punk can't draw, Austin could.

Let's be honest, people who watch it on stream hurst WWE buys, that wasn't that worst when Austin was at the top.

WWE charging 50$ for a PPV is hurting their buyrates, put it back at 30$ and look at the number of people who will be ready to buy more (I know I would since 50$ is a no no for me, but I did an exception for the first time in 4-5 years for MITB).

Of course the augment may not be as big as we would wish but Punk had a story that would draw more smark and a lot of those smark are stealing PPV over streaming instead of buying MITB to show their support for Punk and that storyline.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

It is certainly a very solid number and it would make Vince McMahon happy, surely. 265k is a great number for a Non Big Four PPV which, in these days, are the only things that most WWE fans buy. Remember we are taking about PPV's like Bragging Rights which drew something like 125k draws with a main event featuring Cena and Orton, guys who are the biggest draws in the company. That happened, you know, in 2009. The Big Four PPV's generally draw in an excess of 400k buys with Mania obviously being around 800k to 1000k but the Non Big Four PPV's have steadily drawn around an average of 200k for over 2 years. Either way you see it, it is a very good number.

Which means that Punk has done a very good job, at least on a short term basis. Which means that Punk will be pushed strong for at least awhile. Which does not mean that Punk is the next Stone Cold though. For that he will have to consistently draw in the numbers, and huge numbers. But keep in mind one fact, saying that Punk is the next Stone Cold now is just about as ludricous as it was in 1996 to say that Stone Cold was going to be as big as Hogan. We all know how that went, don't we?

I am really interested in seeing the SummerSlam buyrate now. That is what I feel will make or break Punk's future. SummerSlam is a whole different ball game as compared to MITB. It is a big four PPV for starters and something which generally gets a high buyrate. The card at SummerSlam was also much thinner as compared to the card at MITB. The SummerSlam card was more dependent on Cena/ Punk. If Punk does well here.....well there are reasons to be excited for his future then.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Wouldnt call it a draw, more of a nice increase. Punk was smoking hot at the time, I would expect more than 55,000. I see buy rates dropping again now. His 'story' has peaked already.

Its nice to see WWE increase its buy rates, but I don't think Punk is the man to centre the show around.

Well you're the only one that wouldn't call it a draw I'm afraid.

Take into account that it's 100,000 higher than last years Money In The Bank PPV, then take into account how he built the hype around it for four weeks; literally, four weeks. He had four shows to build it, four Monday Night RAW's! Then take into account the All-State Arena was sold out two-three weeks in advance, how his t-shirt sold out numerous times before the event and how his new one is selling out every venue and you have yourself a high increase in profits which equals a draw.

Not to mention some of the other points various posters have made quoting your original post in this thread alone, it's pretty easy to see that either way you look at it, Punk has indeed done what he was supposed to do. His name has drawn, and in two cases. One, PPV buyrate went up by 55,000 from the previous and secondly it went up by 100,000 from the previous years Money in The Bank which sold fairly well in the first place.

I think that all those rolled into one, equals a draw.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

A very nice increase indeed, especially since last year at MITB (which was a very good PPV IMO) had another big angle going with the Nexus (which at the time was very hot).

Any increase in buyrates is a good thing and over 65,000 buys is pretty good. I'm sure the WWE was hoping for a lot more but will take what they can get. It doesn't really prove anything at this point especially with Punk being a draw at this point (but still an extra 65,000 buys with only 3 solid weeks of build isn't bad at all) I would wait to see what the Summerslam buy rates and buy rates going forward look like to determine how their business is increasing, it may have been because Cena vs. Punk WAS a match most of the wrestling world wanted to see at that point. People may have been more intrigued with the storyline of Punk leaving the WWE with the title and see how the match plays out than Punk himself in all fairness, we don't know what sold the extra buys, the storyline or CM Punk the man.

I think even though RAW and Smackdown has some work to do in the future the quality has been getting better over the last few months, here's hoping it continues and in turn continues to bring in more buys each month.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I'm not surprised. There was so much uncertainty surrounding the Punk/Cena match that more people than usual were wanting to pay money to find out what happens. The show was very good, even better than last year's which was also great. Those of us who ordered it got our money's worth. You'd think that if WWE put that much effort into their PPV's more often then maybe just MAYBE more people would order them. Or perhaps that's too simple of a solution.

 

[The Five-Star Frog Splash]

WWE Money in the Bank drew only 185,000 buys, as reported by PWInsider earlier today. I have to say, I am in absolute shock. My jaw dropped when I read it had only 185,000 buys! Initial reports said it was in the 265,000 range, but I guess that was way off...I was expecting this to get possibly 250,000-300,000+ buys. EVERYONE was buzzing about the ppv! It got tons of coverage everywhere, yet it draws a low number? Can someone explain how this happened?! And I just know all the Punk haters will be out there saying, "oh he can't draw," but I just don't honestly believe its necessarily because of Punk, or Cena for that matter. We all saw it, a 5-Star classic, Match of the Year canidate no doubt.

1. What was your initial reaction to the low buyrate? What were your buyrate guesses?

2. WHY was it so low?

3. What can be done to make sure ppv buys increase?

4. And lastly, is Punk's ability to draw to blame?

discuss

 

[hafe4osu]

honestly, can he draw?

I know wrestling fans love him but it seems he doesn't vastly draw the interest of the general public.

Raws rating have barely moved the meter since "the promo" we all know and love, the PPV that was all about him bombed.

Rock comes back for a short while, not even wrestling and people tune in like crazy but when it comes to Punk, who I think is the best in the business, he can't draw and I know no idea why.

 

[Hunted-RKO]

Hmm this is realy intresting considering the Punk storyline that was going on at the moment in time and also the fact that last years PPV was great and this years Card looked even better!!!But to Answer Your Questions:

What was your initial reaction to the low buyrate? What were your buyrate guesses?
I was shocked aswell,i was expecting the buyrates to be atleast 275'000-350'000 with most Fans now starting to watch again but they stayed quite low which is surprising.Maybe this buyrate is wrong and the 250'000 buys was correct in the first place but either way i would of expected more buys than that.

Why Was It So Low?
To to honest i think it was due to the fact that most fans thought that WWE were going to screw punk out of the title and this fued will be forgotten about and cena will be even more unbeatable.But NO WWE did in my eyes the right thing and this probly opened most fans eyes that WWE aren't afraid to take a risk in doing something which is the best for buisness,regardless if the Kids like it or not.Also i may add that it was still only July and some fans might not be watching at the moment.

What can be done to make sure ppv buys increase?
Nothing.Because MITB & SS were amazing PPV'S and yet MITB still gets a low buyrate,all WWE can do is keep up there high expectations now and dont flop like they have in the past.Also with this fued with Punk&Nash going on i only expect some older fans might tune in to see Nash in a match.Another thing is (this aint to do with the product) maybe they should advertise the actual Matches more and not just the PPV so people know what matches will be on the card which might also improve buyrates.

And lastly, is Punk's ability to draw to blame?
NO,Not at all because I personally think that if Punk wasn't in the main event then they would of got less buys.I expect summerlslam to have big buys because now they know that WWE will let Punk go over Cena on PPV and this will incourage fans to tune in and watch.If Punk wasn't there then they would of had worse buyrates,Punk can certainly draw and there is proof of that,when Punk was Hot the RAW ratings went up so punk can draw.Just because he can't draw as much as Rock&Stone Cold don't mean its his fault.

 

[He's Phenomenal]

PWInsider: Based on the graph WWE released for their PPV buyrates in their latest key indicator, the Money in the Bank number was listed as 265,000 buys.

However, another breakdown in the estimates lists July PPV buys at just 185,000 buys. The other buys incorporated into the graph are being credited to Wrestlemania 27 PPV purchases that came in after the last key indicator was published by the company.

Now, as to the question as to why WWE would list those Wrestlemania buys as purchases for the Money in the Bank PPV on their graph, I can't begin to explain that one. I reached out for a clarification early yesterday but as of this morning, have not received a response. So, if and until we do, I wanted to make the note. If and when we get clarification, I will update.

Make of that what you will