WWE Launching Online Streaming Network on Feb. 24 - WrestleMania 30 Included
Probably the most entertaining thing at CES 2014 was the presentation from World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., as it announced it was launching the WWE Network -- a streaming video channel on the internet that will include a huge amount of archival wrestling videos and new content for one monthly subscription.
The WWE's decision to launch the WWE Network represents another huge organization that is cutting out the cable middleman and providing its content directly to the fans for one reasonable fee. The network will begin streaming on Feb. 24. WWE's announcement at CES was anything but "reasonable," of course, with wild performances by Vince and Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and John Cena, according to PC Mag.
What do you pay and what do you get with the WWE Network? It costs $9.99 per month, and will feature 24/7 streaming that includes matchups from the tens of thousands of wrestling videos the WWE holds in its six-decade spanning archives (including all prior WWE, WCW, and ECW pay per view events), as well as on-demand new programming that previously was available only on pay-per-view through cable providers. And yes, this includes WrestleMania 30.
Think of it this way: WWE's online streaming service costs less than Major League Baseball's online network MLB.tv, and more than Netflix Instant -- but it certainly costs less than paying for cable just to get the WWE. Like Netflix, the WWE Network will be available on Android, iOS, Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360, with the Xbox One and some smart TVs being added later.
WWE isn't abandoning regular TV altogether, and its hit shows Raw and Smackdown will still be airing on cable. But the WWE Network initiative simultaneously reaches out to viewers who don't have cable -- particularly those in the younger demographic who increasingly disregard cable and get all of their entertainment online anyway -- while giving the WWE more independence from cable providers. According to The Wall Street Journal, WWE is in negotiations with broadcasters NBCUniversal and Comcast Corporation at the moment, and while pay TV revenues are too much to give up, having its own independent online audience gives the WWE more solid ground to negotiate from, especially while cable viewership continues to decline.
The WWE is just one of many entertainment groups that may pull away from the cable-only model this year and offer so called "over the top" services direct to consumer through the internet. The UFC recently announced its own "Fight Pass" streaming subscription service, which offers live preliminary fights, a minimum of 10 exclusive live events per year, and other UFC content. HBO is also rumored to be considering launching its own over the top subscription service.
While the WWE Network announcement is another event in the continual crumbling of the cable TV entertainment model, Raw and Smackdown will still only be available on cable. Raw, one of the most popular shows on Monday nights, had an average of 4.2 million viewers per episode in 2013, according to the Nielsen ratings, and WWE makes $140 million per year just from the broadcasting rights to Raw and other cable-only events.
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