Your views on streaming PPVs

[Dowdsy McDowds]

I was reading a thread by Evanescent Death about downloading music illegally a couple of days ago and it is an interesting subject. Some people claimed to do it shamelessly, some claimed to download a song or two to see if they liked the artist. Full thread can be found here http://forums.wrestlezone.com/showthread.php?t=170122&highlight=Streaming

So after reading that, I noticed a lot of people mentioning streaming PPVs because of the high price they would need to pay to watch it conventionally on their TV. I myself tend to watch Impact on a stream because there is a 5 day delay between it airing in the US and UK, meanwhile there is a 4 day delay between their PPVs.

Now WWE is different as SkySports show both Raw and Smackdown a couple of times each week, with the catch-up shows such as Bottom Line, Afterburn and Superstars (to an extent) all offering means to watch what has happened the past week.
The big 4 PPVs are always only available via Sky Box Office where subscribers pay for the show, with several other seemingly random PPV shows also available only via Box Office. I'd estimate maybe half the PPVs a year are available for free as part of the SkySports package, with the shows repeating for free (normally) the next night at an earlier time.

Right, that's that out of the way.

Skimming through a Capitol Punishment thread this morning where someone admitted they streamed the show but were complaining about the content, other users were saying they didn't have the right because they essentially stole the show. Allow me to share a response I made to a user about this issue;

"I honestly had no idea I could get a negative rep by admitting I make use of streaming sites.

The thing is, times are tough financially, and the internet provides so many different things. This is just how it is.

I understand your viewpoint, I do. But if someone watches a crap copy of a film after downloading it and only complains about aspects of the film that aren't to do with the visual/sound quality, that does not mean their views are invalid. You may not agree with the means by which they viewed the film, but that doesn't take away anything from their opinion of the film. Same thing applies here.

Besides, I was staying up late in the UK to watch Raw live on SkySports when the announcement came across, so that's supporting the business. I'm going to watch TNA Victory Road in just over an hours time on a UK channel, that too is supporting the business. The development of technology has allowed greater availability for things to be watched either instantaeously or whenever it suits the user, just about wherever they may be in the world. Just because I take advantage of this does not mean I can't have an opinion on something, or that the opinion is invalid."

So over to you the forum, what are your views on streaming?

 

[Defekt]

In this day and age, alot of people don't even have cable anymore, and couldn't watch TV shows or PPV's without streaming or torrents.

Regardless, people are more likely to watch a PPV that can be streamed for free, than pay $50+ for 3 or 4 hours of entertainment, so streaming a PPV is not necessarily a lost sale for the WWE.

Unless you have a Nielson Box in your house, streaming a TV show is pretty irrelevant in my eyes in terms of damage. Whether you watch on TV, or the internet, you aren't contributing to ratings, and you're still viewing the commercials the advertisers paid for. This might be why PPV streams go down so often, but Raw streams stay up all night.

Alot of people say "streaming is stealing and stealing is always wrong." I guess you can't argue against that point, but I still think the damage caused by streaming is embellished.

I'm sure WWE and TNA have alot of fans who wouldn't normally follow wrestling due to the expense of the PPV's, but eventually spend money on merchandise and live shows, and maybe even reform and start ordering PPV's later in life when they are making more money.

WWE would never admit this, but I'm sure they would rather someone watch their programming illegally than not watch it at all. Every pirate is a potential future sale.

 

[Calderownz]

In truth, you can't ever really blame the consumers. The blame has to go with the suppliers. They have to be on top of this. Look at the prices of PPV and what have you. They expect to keep jacking up the price, but still have keeping bending over and taking it.

At the end of the day, either stop that from happening or make the prices reasonable and gives fans incentives.

If people could illegally manufacture cars in an easier fashion, they'd be doing that, too. Automotive companies have the advantage of money and fans/buyers can't get that done.

With media, it's different. Unless you're trying to give reasonable prices and stop the illegal activities, then you can't blame the fans.

And I understand that the price isn't all WWE. But, I'm sure a lot of it is.

 

[wrestlingfan]

No one has money to be paying $50 for ppvs especially when you're a fan of both WWE & TNA, enough said.

 

[StylezClash3:16]

Honestly, I think a lot of the streaming would stop if the WWE put out higher quality shows. Too many times I hear people saying they wasted their money and when they tell friends that, they scare away 4 or 5 more people form buying it. It may not seem like much at first, but it adds up. I'm no hypocrite, I watch streams and feel guilty about it, but when I see the show, I can't help but feel like I could have done something more productive. I got to see Wrestlemania 27 as a birthday gift free and I still felt ripped of lol. People don't have money like that anymore and the product needs a lot to work on before we shell out part of our rent money. It's still illegal and all of my fellow streamers oughtta be ashamed of ourselves as we take money from these hard working superstars, but I'm going to assume these kids are doing fine whether we buy it or not. Streaming is still wrong imo.