WrestleMania XXX Reaches 1 Million Homes

[Jack-Hammer]

According to a press statement issues by WWE sometime this afternoon, WrestleMania XXX reaches over 1 million households in the United States alone. According to the release, the figure comes from the combination of the 667,000+ subscribers to the WWE Network and over 400,000 homes that ordered the show via ppv.

I'm sure Vince is crowing about this, probably dry humping anybody that gets within reach of him at WWE headquarters. The press release mentions that this is the first time WrestleMania has been viewed in more than a million homes domestically. The WWE Network isn't available internationally yet, so if the past several years are any indication, then the international ppv buyrate for WM should be in the 400,000 to 500,000 range.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

I would've been more interested to see how WMXXX would've done without the WWE Network.

I think a lot of those 400,000 homes that bought the PPV are the same people that subscribed to the WWE Network but who are unsure how the streaming for WrestleMania on the WWE Network will work.

It just doesn't make sense to me why wouldn't those 400K people order the WWE Network for 6 months and get WM for the same price instead of simply buying the PPV.



Anyway, how much money did WWE really make compared to last year?

Let's see, the 660K subscribers of the WWE Network subscribed for 10$ (for 6 months) so that makes: 660K x 10$ = 6.6 million $

Let's add that to the 400K who ordered the PPV (let's say DirecTV gets about 50%, making it 30$ per each PPV buy):
400K buys x 30$ = 12 million $

WWE Network subscribers + PPV Buys = 12 million + 6.6 million = 18.6 million $




Now let's see how WWE did last year without the network domestically:
662 domestic buys => 662K buys x 30$ = 19.86 million dollars, let's say 20 million $.



So basically WWE's WM revenue has decreased compared to last year (20 million $ > 18.6 million $ ) and this is forgetting the fact that fans will be able to watch WWE content for the next 5 months on the WWE Network.

 

[laodaron]

Your grasp of economics is evident. The WWE has decided to go long term with their ideas of distribution. A small hit on wm 30 in net gain is pittance in regards to how many people will see the other 11 special events now that its been proven that the network wins.

 

[Mustang Sally]

....and over 400,000 homes that ordered the show via ppv.

That's the figure I hoped they'd reveal. These are folks that wanted to see Wrestlemania but wouldn't order the Network. I'd love to talk to them and learn their reasoning.....and if I do, I'd bet WWE would like to, as well.

Not that it's a bad thing, btw. WWE still gets the $55 pop they always earned whenever someone bought WM, which is still a lot of money for the company to take in for one event. That's impact. To me, the factor that made buying the Network irresistible is that by saving myself $55 in watching WM30, I've already re-couped nearly 50% of the annual investment in buying the Network ($120/year)......which doesn't even take into account all the stuff from the library I've already watched.

Then, one point of interest that isn't known is how many of the 667,000 Network subscribers would have bought the event one-time at $55. All of them? That's something WWE has to consider in their financial strategy regarding the feasibility of the Network..

And, on the lighter side, it would be interesting to know how many folks bought the Network but didn't bother to watch WM30 on the night it was aired. Of course, they have an out too, in that the event became immediately available in the library and the subscriber can watch it whenever he wants, even if he's not around on the night of the event.

As long as a WWE fan has the $10 a month to spend, the Network is an amazing deal.