The King Of Swing Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 I think what really helps Japanese (and probably others) services is that there is no 30 day delay for TV. Don't think wrestling TV works the same in Japan though, it's mostly just highlight shows right? So no need to even have the shows on their streaming services. Hell Stardom just throw their new TV show up on YouTube for free. If WWE managed to get Raw and SD up on the Network live or even on a short delay I'm fairly certain that they would see a massive bump in numbers. That's never happening of course because of the TV deals but imo the big delay definitely hurt them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westlondonmist Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, The King Of Swing said: Imo £9.99 for such an expansive catalogue of classic content is a fucking bargain. If I remember correctly some were actually saying that WWE undervalued wrestling content online. Wrestling wise the majority of promotions streaming services are cheaper but have nowhere near the amount of content. It is a low price but I have found I just have no time to go through it. I can find matches on you tube to entertain. There was a time when I was younger when I watched loads of wrestling where I would have thought bargain. I imagine a lot of people have that issue. As I don't watch the new content it serves no purpose. Some who watch old content likely dip into it as it is there as part of a package they have for the ppvs. Edited February 7, 2020 by westlondonmist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Undefeated Steak Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 Wouldn't be at all surprised to see WWE end up on Prime. Bezos will plough pits full of money into content over the next decade and WWE have already proved there's 2 million or so people who are willing to pay for a monthly content subscription. How many Network subs are already paying for Prime, we don't know. But there's already a couple of million primed (no pun) customers there for the taking, whichever OTT service picks them up. Would Amazon offer a deal to prevent an ESPN or Disney purchase of the WWEN? Whatever dus wens think, the real grown ups obviously see value in Vince's programming, as evident by the big money deals the TV stations keep throwing at them. The Network brings in roughly $200 million a year. I don't know what the running costs for it are. Would Amazon be willing to pay $200m+ a year for WWE's library, who knows? The ubiquitous Audible ads show how relentless Amazon are in trying to grab audiences. The longer people spend on Amazon-owned digital properties the better it is for them. They don't need to sell ads on their own shows the way TV networks always have. Prime has the potential to be the ultimate form of what TV networks could've only ever dreamed of. An almost self-contained online universe that seeks only to promote itself and related services and products. Amazon will likely do to broadcasting what they did to retail within the decade. Music, film, TV, books. A Spotify buy out could be huge but I'll refrain from digressing. Let's say the average person watches 10 hours of WWE programming a month on the Network. That's a huge coup for Amazon, '20 million hours of guaranteed content consumption', or however the executives spin it. How much would Bezos be willing to part with for 20 million extra hours spent on his channels? I signed up to Prime recently, mainly for the boxing day footy. It feels like it's really lacking some substance though. WWE programming would be a big boost to its library. If Amazon go big for WWE on Prime then the next few years would be the perfect time for a legit WWE competitor (I don't follow enough AEW to know whether they have the potential) to come along and land a deal with Netflix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted February 7, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted February 7, 2020 I don't know that Amazon would be interested in the video library, unless Vince and co can do a hell of a job in selling people on its significance - if the problem is that the Network has under-performed, then the library might not be of that much worth to Amazon or whoever. But what they will want is live content - the reason WWE are getting such big money on TV deals is because as more people stream onDemand, it's only significant live television that keeps people watching TV at specific times, and that's where the big advertising money is. No one streams the FA Cup Final after the fact, they watch it as it happens. But not every channel gets to have an FA Cup Final, they need to find more live content, and that's where WWE come in. As Prime make more forays into live sport, that's where the interest has to lie, not in people wanting to watch Summerslam '93 or old Mid-South footage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Undefeated Steak Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 27 minutes ago, BomberPat said: ...the reason WWE are getting such big money on TV deals is because as more people stream onDemand, it's only significant live television that keeps people watching TV at specific times... But not every channel gets to have an FA Cup Final... As Prime make more forays into live sport, that's where the interest has to lie, not in people wanting to watch Summerslam '93 or old Mid-South footage. That's the point. If the Network went onto Prime and with it the 'PPV's', Wrestlemania, and other live shows, Amazon would be getting their 'FA cup' with them every month. Also, nothing to stop Amazon from getting WWE to put on another exclusive 'live' weekly show, be it NXT or something. For every person posting on a forum about Summerslam 93 there'll be ten kids who are eating up everything they can on the network that features Reigns, Lesnar, Cena, Orton. The TV companies will keep pumping big money into live programming for the reasons you give, because they have to to. As soon as the tipping point is reached where total commercials ad spenditure becomes less than the networks are able to justify paying for the content, then the bubble will burst. The TV rights fees can only go on an upwards trend for so long, the potential audience for traditional cable viewing will only go down from now. Are WWE still going to be getting mega money from TV ten years from now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted February 7, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted February 7, 2020 9 minutes ago, Undefeated Steak said: That's the point. If the Network went onto Prime and with it the 'PPV's', Wrestlemania, and other live shows, Amazon would be getting their 'FA cup' with them every month. Also, nothing to stop Amazon from getting WWE to put on another exclusive 'live' weekly show, be it NXT or something. For every person posting on a forum about Summerslam 93 there'll be ten kids who are eating up everything they can on the network that features Reigns, Lesnar, Cena, Orton. I agree - my question was around whether the video library/archive would be seen as valuable to anyone else. It obviously has value, but I wonder if WWE over-estimated its significance to the Network on launch, and if it will be a factor when it comes to Amazon/Netflix/whoever getting involved. If the appeal is having the live events, the archive starts to become less relevant. I'm not sure to what extend kids consuming every bit of content on their current favourites is/would be a major factor in the Network. I'm not sure, by and large, how young kids interact with streaming services. But if Dad sees that there's wrestling on free TV, wrestling on Amazon Prime, and wrestling on the WWE Network, is he going to keep paying for the Network for the kids, when they can watch it elsewhere? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Your Fight Site Posted February 7, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted February 7, 2020 Just wanted to say I pay my £9.99 for essentially the WCW Network. Can’t remember the last PPV I watched (maybe two years ago now) and I’ve long since stopped watching NXT weekly. WCW, though? That’ll always have my heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members garynysmon Posted February 7, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted February 7, 2020 Same here. If the WWE were to reduce the price of what remains of the Network it would be a win/win for me as I only have any interest in the classic stuff and documentaries/interviews featuring the wrestlers of the time. I've not seen the 2020 Royal Rumble but still managed this week to spend three hours watching the Yokozuna bodyslam challenge followed by a behind the scenes look at the Lex Express tour. I had no idea it was on the network but was enthralled by it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Pitcos Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 4 hours ago, Chris B said: Kind of surprised they're not looking at being their own PPV provider. Being able to buy specific PPVs sounds straightforward enough, doesn't it? Not for WWE, it wouldn’t be. WrestleMania was what, $50 or $60 the year before the WWE Network started? If they went back to PPV-only for WrestleMania in 2021, that’s eight years since the last pre-Network one. So it might even be higher than $60. And currently, $60 will get you six months worth of new PPVs (seven if you’re a new subscriber) as well as the entire back catalogue. They can’t just pull back that foreskin now. Imagine Netflix going “FUCK YOUR SUBSCRIPTIONS, THE WITCHER SEASON TWO IS A TENNER AN EPISODE.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Weezenal Posted February 7, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted February 7, 2020 Surely it would be the main PPVs to get people to join Prime, like Premier League football encouraged people to join. I'm sure I read that the day of the Premier League games was their biggest ever day for Prime sign ups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshC Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 I think we've established the demand is there for another SummerSlam 93. I'd definitely stick that Money Inc./Steiners cage match on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members garynysmon Posted February 7, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted February 7, 2020 42 minutes ago, AshC said: I think we've established the demand is there for another SummerSlam 93. I'd definitely stick that Money Inc./Steiners cage match on there. And maybe a half decent Shawn Michaels v Mr Perfect match this time eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iMPACt! Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 The streaming bubble is definitely about to burst. Sky doesn't seem bad value these days when content is fragmented across so many streaming services. The only reason streaming it took off in the first place was due to studios doing deals with Netflix which had a ridiculously cheap subscription rate at the time and them not being clued up at about how big it would eventually become with people moving away from the main TV services as a result. WWE being such a niche market and producing so much content that it is no longer must see is one of the first victims and I'm sure more minor streaming services will follow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidzero Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 I watch the network mainly for nxt and then the older stuff wcw mid south wccw...the only thing I would like the network to add is more 90s new generation stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted February 7, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted February 7, 2020 Not a good week for Adam Bomb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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