Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on May 25, 2014 16:49:59 GMT -6
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From Dave Meltzer/The Wrestling Observer
I'm really surprised at the overreaction as far as the WWE Network goes. As far as whether it will be a success in 2015, the jury is out. The aversion to people subscribing to this kind of a service will decline as time goes on. It's way too early to call it a flop but it won't produce the level of revenue they were talking about next year most likely, and maybe it never will. But a key stat is that UFC's Fight Pass only has 65 percent of its subscribers from the U.S., and it's important to note that it is not available in Brazil due to existing TV deals in that market. WWE is far more popular than UFC outside of Canada, South Korea and very few other markets, so if UFC can do that percentage, in theory, WWE's estimates regarding foreign subscriptions look low. There are problems, and the "value" of the PPVs decreasing in people's minds is definitely one of them so what constitutes a bargain today may just be viewed as normal price later, but the numbers they would need for a $13 or $15 a month service are probably going to be relatively easy to get over the long haul. No matter what is being written, the idea they would drop the network now and try to get back to PPV is a decision that I can't see them making for a long time, and that's a worst case scenario.
From Dave Meltzer/The Wrestling Observer
I'm really surprised at the overreaction as far as the WWE Network goes. As far as whether it will be a success in 2015, the jury is out. The aversion to people subscribing to this kind of a service will decline as time goes on. It's way too early to call it a flop but it won't produce the level of revenue they were talking about next year most likely, and maybe it never will. But a key stat is that UFC's Fight Pass only has 65 percent of its subscribers from the U.S., and it's important to note that it is not available in Brazil due to existing TV deals in that market. WWE is far more popular than UFC outside of Canada, South Korea and very few other markets, so if UFC can do that percentage, in theory, WWE's estimates regarding foreign subscriptions look low. There are problems, and the "value" of the PPVs decreasing in people's minds is definitely one of them so what constitutes a bargain today may just be viewed as normal price later, but the numbers they would need for a $13 or $15 a month service are probably going to be relatively easy to get over the long haul. No matter what is being written, the idea they would drop the network now and try to get back to PPV is a decision that I can't see them making for a long time, and that's a worst case scenario.