Will WWE Network kill streamers/torrents?

[Dilligaf]

I for one hope that WWE network launches over here in the UK.

I did have the all-in package with Sky, Movies+Sports+HD, which came to just over £50 a month, but then the wife decided we had to cut back a little so we got rid of the movies+sports+HD which our package is now down to £24.50 a month.

Besides, as im not much a football fan Id only watch sky sports twice a week for Raw & SD, even for sports on its own at was going to cost me £22.50 a month on top of my basic subscription, so what was the answer for me? Torrents.

I hate the fact that the only we can watch WWE is subscribe to Sky sports, when you guys across the pond can get it with just the basic cable/satellite package with USA & Syfy.

I will admit to using torrents for RAW, SD & PPV's & D/Ling them the next day after the broadcast.

But if WWE network does come to the UK & I can watch Raw, SD & the PPV's the next day (unedited) for £10 a month on my xbox, Im gonna subscribe.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Sadly I do not think it will eliminate the stream issue entirely, but I do think that the WWE Network will cause a significant decrease. A big problem is that most people just can't afford to purchase every PPV every month. That adds up very quickly and those of us who are adults have other things we need to pay for, and sometimes WWE's PPV events have to be further down on the priorities list. After purchasing the WWE Network you are paying MUCH less to be able to see every PPV event for many months. They'd lose some money from the people who bought PPV's monthly, but I predict they are going to gain money over this. $10 per month is so much less than the normal PPV price, fans who normally couldn't afford it will be able to purchase the PPV shows through a subscription to the Network. It's a great idea and one of the main reasons I signed up for their Network. I hope that it works out for WWE.

 

[closet_fan]

The site I had gone to to watch every PPV the next day already has their own section of almost everything the Network has up so far.

That right there tells me it will make it even more likely the stuff on the Network will be available everywhere else. If not live streaming off someone's laptop, then the use of recording software.

I'm not sure why it bothers people that others use these sites as a means to watch what others pay for. It never bothered me when people used Napster while I bought the CD of a certain artist.

 

[Skyeborne]

Depends. If you look at it from a sociological stand point it really won't change that much. There are a bunch of different theories I could quote, but to save time I will just highlight why. Basically, deviants who become labelled as deviant are unlikely to change. People who stream and are labelled as the streamers adopt the label and accept it. So, in that case it won't change too much.

There are other factors though, for me I am very "first world" I can't stand streaming because anything less than 360/480p is unwatchable for me. I don't watch any of my collection of wrestling VHS tapes anymore because the quality is bad on them. The WWE Network has gone through and enhanced most of the content so it is at a watchable level. The first episode of SmackDown last night played last night and I would have believed it came out a couple of years ago.

Another thing that will keep people streaming is that although America seems technologically advanced, we are not. Our internet quality is low and people are technophobic. People don't understand that in order to play the content on WWE Network you need a good internet connection, and end up blaming WWE when it doesn't work.

I don't see streams going away or decreasing, but I believe the amount of people watching those streams will decrease. I like to believe that people are inherently good and when given the option will do the right thing. Most people don't like paying 50-60 dollars for a PPV, and chose to steal it. If milk was 10-14 dollars you would see people stealing milk. When the content is at a reasonable price, people will want to do the right thing.

 

[JohnJohnson]

I think it would increase torrenting. Some of the more popular uploaders will now be able to seed stuff that was very hard to find. For instance, I've only ever been able to get torrents of Nitros from 95-98 and 00-01. I can never get the complete year of 99. And with Raw it's 93, 96-02. So I think torrenting communities will eventually video capture these videos from the network and put up completed year torrents as well as replace some of the older VCR quality. If all the content gets captured and torrented, then realistically, eventually someone can have the entire WWE library on a couple Hard Drives.