Wrestling and the economic recession?

[absent]

With a potential global recession looming how might this affect the wrestling business in comparison to other media?

I would think potentially more than other media companies since wrestling revenues more than likely rely greatly on PPV income and PPVs are one of those extra spends that will be the first to get kurbed once belts need to be tightened.

Could this possibly lead to a refocusing towards the regular advert supported TV shows as the biggest or safest income stream?

edit: I'm basing the assumption that PPVs are the core income on the fact that TV is mainly about building to PPVs despite the TV network (I assume) not getting money from the PPVs and that even WCW didn't dare to risk head to head PPVs.

 

[FromTheSouth]

1. The economy has not shown two consecutive quarters of negative growth, so there is no recession. Recession is a buzzword people are using in an election year to win votes.

2. The house show division of WWE is the most profitable sector of the company, and it has grown. Going to non-televised pointless events where nothing will happen to advance story lines seems like a more likely purchase to be curbed in a down economy.

3. Certain "sin" segments of the economy never falter, even during recessions. People would rather but less food than give cigarettes, alcohol, and entertainment purchases. That is odd, but true.

4. The "global recession" would never happen because the middle east and China stand to profit from our losses. That had nothing to do with wrestling, I just wanted to ass it in.


Focusing on regular TV will always add to PPV purchases. The TV show is an advertisement to but the PPV, therefore, it would stand to reason that the reason TV has been better is to bolster PPV sales, proving that both the cow and the milk are going to be fine.

 

[FoleyIsGod]

If the WWe cant make money at home,. they will just tour.

They made what, 14 million for a 14 day tour of Europe or something silly. Australia is starved of pro wrestling so it always draws big, and the UK will always have a home for the WWE ebcause we too are starved.

 

[absent]

I would argue it's down to who you believe. There is a general down turn trend, both globally and locally. We here in the UK had a bank collapse because they borrowed too much money on the US money market which then took a down turn. The government here still says it's only a blip, but they said that the last time all the way up until it was beyond obvious, at which point they admitted it.

Point 2, I didn't know that? I assumed house shows were a smaller revenue compared to TV/PPV money.

In point 3, I totally agree with you. Addictions are the last thing that give, but how much of the PPV market is kids pestering parents? A WWE PPV or ten packets of cigarettes?

On point 4, I don't think the middle/far east ecomony has much to do with the wrestling market since how much (at least with the far east) do they contribute anyway?


As far as TV/PPV, that's the way the current model works, but the point I was making was that if TV/PPV revenues slip just that little too much due to people cutting back on monthly PPV purchases, will there come a point that that model might be re-thought and the balance possibly tip back to TV as the safe income. It was that way decades ago, could it ever reach that point again or does wrestling go against the grain of cycles?

 

[FromTheSouth]

On point one, I am just using the actual definition of a recession. Times are tough for some people, but it took gasoline going over $4 a gallon to show any drop in travel. This year's labor day travel is down 1%, which is due way more to the fact that one of America's favorite destinations is being bombarded with a hurricane as we speak, and also due to the not counting of evacuees, which exceed 2 million along the Gulf Coast.

On point 2, I didn't know that either, but a little reaserch showed it to be true. They do add tickets to Raw and SD! in that total, and those tickets are considerably more. But still, 4 tickets, 4 sodas, and two T-shirts at a house show (the standard idea of how much a family spends) is well over three times the price of a PPV, so if that sector is making money, then PPV's should be. Also, I would suspect that if house show revenue went down, then PPV sales would go up, as parents might offer that as a compromise.

The Far East economy point was just to show there is no such thing as a global recession short of pandemic or food shortage. Not wrestling related, but just an observation in the context of the discussion.

As far as TV/PPV, that's the way the current model works, but the point I was making was that if TV/PPV revenues slip just that little too much due to people cutting back on monthly PPV purchases, will there come a point that that model might be re-thought and the balance possibly tip back to TV as the safe income. It was that way decades ago, could it ever reach that point again or does wrestling go against the grain of cycles?

Ok, well this I would welcome. Clash of the Champions used to be some of my most anticipted TV viewing. Ricky Steamboat and Flair put on an absolute classic on one of those broadcasts that I will never forget. I guess the surest sign of the WWE sharing your view would be an increase in Saturday Night's Main Event. The matches on SNME would have to be a little better than the crap we usually get as well. But green rep to you for an original thought.

 

[absent]

Six months after my original post about how a recession might effect the pro-wrestling business, I'd like to hear from anyone about the events and buy-rates that have gone down since. From the point of people claiming "there is no recession" to the blazing fact that things aren't that way, shrinking attendances, lower buyrates,, a worsening TV advertising market, how do people thing this is going to affect a publicly traded company like the WWE?