WWE Network

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WWE Network
200px
Launched February 24, 2014 (2014-02-24)
United States
August 12, 2014 (2014-08-12)
220 countries
January 13, 2015 (2015-01-13)
United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and Italy
March 24, 2015 (2015-03-24)
Middle East and India
November 2, 2015 (2015-11-02)
North Africa
January 5, 2016 (2016-01-05)
Japan, Germany, Austria and Switzerland
March 1, 2016 (2016-03-01)
Thailand and Philippines
Owned by WWE
Picture format 720p
Language English
Broadcast area Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Middle East,New Zealand, North Africa, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States
Headquarters Stamford, Connecticut, United States
Website www.wwenetwork.com
Availability
Satellite
Astro (Malaysia) Channel 820 (SD)
Channel 840 (HD)
NJOI (Malaysia) Channel 820 (via NJOI Prepaid)
OSN (Middle East & North Africa) Channel 610 (HD)
IPTV
Singtel TV (Singapore) Channel 127 (HD) (Coming Soon)

WWE Network is a subscription-based video streaming service owned by WWE, using the infrastructure of Major League Baseball Advanced Media.[1] The concept was originally announced in 2011. On January 8, 2014, WWE announced the network would launch on February 24 in the United States. The company stated on July 31 that the service was expected to go live in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mexico, Middle East, Spain, Turkey, Nordics, and the North Africa, among other countries starting on August 17.[2] It was unexpectedly made available in the UK and Ireland a week earlier than planned, on January 13, 2015, after a delay from the previous November.[3][4] The WWE Network consists of both a 24-hour linear streaming channel and on-demand programming from WWE's library.

History

Development and U.S. launch

In September 2011, WWE officially announced plans to launch the WWE Network in 2012 as a pay-TV channel.[5] WWE then conducted a survey asking people if they would pay for the WWE Network if it were a premium channel. In an email sent to WWE fans who might be interested in the WWE Network, WWE surveyed fans for their thoughts about the WWE Network airing WWE's pay-per-views to subscribers for no additional charge. The survey also noted that feature repeats of Raw and SmackDown, as well as footage from World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), XFL, Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW), American Wrestling Association (AWA) and WWE movies would also make the lineup. Original programming was also noted in the survey.[6][7]

As the result of an online poll, WrestleMania Rewind was chosen as a name for a new WWE Network show on October 17, 2011.[8] The original launch date was set for April 1, 2012, which would have coincided with WrestleMania XXVIII, and WWE's official website featured a countdown clock that would have expired on April 1. The clock was quietly removed, and the network did not launch as advertised.[9] WWE chief marketing officer Michelle Wilson allayed fears about the future of the WWE Network, saying "There will be a WWE network in some shape or form. We are in late-stage negotiations with distributors", and confirmed that WWE Legends' House had been filmed.[10] In April 2013, WWE had switched plans and aimed to release the WWE Network as a premium pay-TV outlet, with a potential price of $15 a month.[11]

On Old School Raw in January 2014, WWE ran teasers promoting an announcement on January 8 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas,[12] later confirming that the announcement concerned the WWE Network.[13] At the Consumer Electronics Show, WWE revealed a comprehensive plan which would see a launch date of February 24, 2014 in the United States.[14][15][16] WWE Classics on Demand closed on January 31, 2014 to make way for the WWE Network.[17] A free trial period was offered during the week of the launch.[18] The logo initially used for the WWE Network eventually became the standard logo used by the WWE corporation in August 2014.[19]

In April 2014 ahead of WrestleMania XXX, the Network received acclaim, with the New York Times saying that WWE had "positioned themselves on the cutting edge of Internet television."[20] Later that month, the company announced that the network had 667,000 subscribers, short of the one million subscribers they needed to break even.[21] As WWE's stock fell 50% the following month, Forbes described low subscription numbers as being of "additional concern" for investors after WWE's underwhelming NBCUniversal renewal deal.[22] WWE offered a second free preview week of the WWE Network, which started July 7, in an attempt to sign new subscribers.[23] A second report released at the end of July indicated that the network had reached 700,000 subscribers.[24] WWE's goal was to reach one million subscribers by the end of 2014.[24][25]

Expansion

Availability of the WWE Network globally.
  Available
  Unavailable
  No information

On July 31, 2014, the company announced a 10-year, Canadian distribution deal for WWE content with Rogers Media which will see the company distribute WWE Network as a premium television service.[26] Also on that date, it was announced that the WWE Network would launch in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mexico, Spain and the Nordics, among others on August 12, with Italian, Arab, German, Japanese, Indian, Chinese, Thai and Malaysian launches planned for a later date.[27][28] On October 30, 2014, in an attempt to increase subscription numbers from an announced figure of 731,000, the 6-month subscription requirement was dropped, allowing subscribers the option to cancel at any time.[29][30] WWE had originally planned to launch the network on October 1 in the United Kingdom, but was delayed for a further month.[31] The launch was confirmed to be taking place at 8 p.m. on November 3;[32] however 20 minutes prior to the launch, WWE announced that it had been indefinitely delayed.[33][34] Vince McMahon publicly apologized for the delay.[35] It was announced on January 4, 2015, that the WWE Network would be launching in the UK and Ireland on January 19, 2015, priced at £9.99 and €12.99 respectively,[36] although some customers managed to register as early as January 13.[37]

On January 27, 2015, WWE announced that the WWE Network had reached 1 million subscribers,[38] with Vince McMahon saying that WWE would "remain focused on delivering an outstanding value proposition for ours fans by adding new content and new features in the coming year."[39] On February 12, 2015, WWE announced a five-year partnership with television provider OSN to bring the WWE Network to the Middle East and North Africa as a premium service.[40]

On July 30, 2015, WWE revealed the amount of subscribers for the Network at 1.156 million. This was announced as a part of WWE's financial reporting on the second quarter of the year, which had resulted in their stock price rising past $20.00 after closing on the previous day at $16.48. The total of 1.156 million paid subscribers marked a 13% decrease from the 1.315 million paid subscribers that was stated in the reports for the first quarter of 2015. WWE also revealed, including trial subscribers, they had 1.227 million Network users at the end of the second quarter, and over the entire lifespan of the Network, there have been over 2 million unique subscribers.[41]

The WWE Network launched in India on November 2, 2015.[42][43] On November 19, a report by market research and consulting firm Park Associates announced that the WWE Network had broken into the top five streaming services and trailed only MLB.tv in the sports category.[44] The WWE announced the network would launch in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Japan on January 5, 2016.[45][46]

Programming

Original programming

Wrestling events

Documentaries

  • WWE Original Specials - Documentaries on WWE personnel and events exclusive to the WWE Network.
  • WWE Beyond the Ring - Documentary portions of previously-released WWE DVDs featuring various performers, organizations, and storylines.
  • WWE 24 - A show that goes behind the scenes of WWE events and Superstars.
  • Breaking Ground - A special look at the WWE Performance Center and what it takes to become a WWE Superstar.
  • WWE Vintage - A show that showcases action from the extensive WWE video library, usually centered with a theme about a particular wrestler, major event (including WrestleMania), division, etc.

Current shows

Former shows

  • As Seen On YouTube - The best of WWE's YouTube content.
  • Jerry Springer Too Hot for TV - Jerry Springer hosts this look back at some of WWE's most outrageous and embarrassing moments.
  • WWE Legends' House - A reality television series featuring several WWE legends.
  • The Monday Night War: WWE vs. WCW - A television series about the Monday Night Wars.[47]
  • WWE Slam City - An animated series featuring current WWE talent, based on the Mattel toy line of the same name.
  • Superstar Ink - Corey Graves asks WWE superstars about the meaning behind their tattoos. Also aired on YouTube.
  • The WWE List - A fast paced, interactive series that tallies tweets from the WWE Universe to compile the most unusual lists ever in WWE History.
  • WWE WrestleMania Rewind - The first show named to be part of the network; a retrospective look at WrestleMania's memorable moments.[8][47]
  • WWE Countdown - A top-10 countdown show based on interactive fan polls.[47]
  • WWE Quick Hits - A monthly show with extra short clips from various DVDs & WWE Network shows.
  • WWE Rivalries - A show documenting rivalries in Wrestling.
  • WWE Music Power 10 - A monthly Top 10 WWE Music countdown show.
  • Tough Talk - A post show to Tough Enough hosted by Byron Saxton.

Upcoming shows

Repeat/archival programming

In addition to previous editions of the original programs listed above:

Although the United States parental guidelines rating system rates most weekly WWE television programs TV-PG, the WWE Network broadcasts a wider range of content. A parental controls block is available and content rated TV-14 and TV-MA are preceded by an advisory warning. The network airs footage featuring Chris Benoit, but a general advisory warning is displayed before each airing; it marks the first major airing of Benoit footage or even mention of Benoit in said footage since his murder-suicide in 2007.[54] Over the Edge 1999, infamous for Owen Hart's death at the event, is also available for the first time since its original air date, however some portions of the event have been edited out of respect to the Hart wrestling family.[55] Matches called with Jesse Ventura on commentary, which have previously been dubbed over due to a 1991 lawsuit, air with the original commentary.[51]

While the network promoted on-demand airings as being unedited, some instances of expletives, gestures, and all nudity are censored. Many programs were digitized for WWE 24/7 prior to the 2012 settlement with the World Wide Fund for Nature, and thus censor "WWF" and the "WWF scratch" logo.[56][57] Some original music has been dubbed over with alternate tracks such as the original intro music to SNME (May 1985 - Jan 1988 episodes) which originally played "Obsession" by Animotion.[58]

At launch, all but one of New Jack's matches were removed from ECW pay-per-views, as was his surprise return at Heat Wave 1998, due to a combination of musical rights issues over his entrance music and the inability to remove the music without losing the original commentary audio. The deleted matches were eventually reinstated with replacement music and newly recorded Joey Styles commentary.[59] Several pay-per-views are copies of their condensed home video releases, rather than the live versions, and so are missing matches.[60]

Impact on PPV industry

In an interview with Time, Michelle D. Wilson, chief revenue and marketing officer for WWE, stated their reason for bypassing cable companies and instead only offering the WWE Network online: "Digital over-the-top offerings represent the future, and given that our passionate fans consume five times more online video content than non-WWE viewers and over-index for purchasing online subscriptions such as Netflix and Hulu Plus, we believe the time is now for a WWE Network."[61]

In response to the announcement, DirecTV issued a statement saying that they are re-evaluating whether to continue carrying WWE's pay-per-view events. Due to these events would also be available on the WWE Network once it launches, it might reduce the number of pay-per-view purchases via cable and satellite providers. Vince McMahon suggested that pay-TV operators would ultimately decide to continue to carry WWE's pay-per-view events, given that providers keep a significant share of each purchase, and incur minimal costs (apart from WWE's share of the fee for each purchase) to carry the events: "It's found money for them."[62] DirecTV later quietly dropped carriage of WWE PPVs. In response, WWE said, "Yes, DIRECTV has decided to stop offering our PPV's residentially and commercially. The only other option would be to work through the local cable provider." [63]

On February 19, 2014, Dish Network announced that they would carry WWE pay-per-views on an event by event basis, beginning with Elimination Chamber. Dish Network later released a statement saying, "Dish will not offer the ‘WWE Elimination Chamber’ PPV on 2/23. WWE is not willing to adjust their PPV costs to satellite and cable companies, which is unfair to their customers. We need to re-focus our efforts to support partners that better serve Dish customers."[64] Dish later made a decision to air WrestleMania XXX.[65]

Advertising

In October 2014, it was reported Mattel, Kmart, and Pepsi would begin advertising on the network starting the week of October 13. Wilson stated that although no commercial breaks will occur during scheduled programming, 30 second adverts would run in between shows, and that one 15 or 30-second advert would be shown prior to every fourth stream for on-demand content.[66] [67]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://corporate.wwe.com/news/2014/2014_8_14.jsp
  2. ↑ http://www.wwe.com/wwenetwork/wwe-network-outside-united-states-26533843
  3. ↑ http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/542789-major-update-wwe-network-launches-early-in-the-uk-available-now
  4. ↑ WWE Network Launches February 24 Retrieved January 25, 2014
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ [1]
  41. ↑ [2]
  42. ↑ [3]
  43. ↑ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/wwe-network-streaming-service-coming-834261
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ http://www.wwe.com/wwenetwork/japan-launch-28349084
  46. ↑ http://de.wwe.com/wwenetwork/wwe-network-startet-in-deutschland-oesterreich-schweiz-28195807
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 47.2 47.3 47.4 47.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ WWE Network to Launch Online, Offer Live Raw and SmackDown Post-Shows and All PPVs
  49. ↑ WWE Network to Premiere Holy Foley This August
  50. ↑ http://www.diva-dirt.com/109054/wwe-announces-the-return-of-the-diva-search/
  51. ↑ 51.0 51.1 51.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  52. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  53. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  54. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  55. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  56. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  57. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  58. ↑ http://www.wrestlingdvdnews.com/music-edits-wwe-network-signature-sounds/61576/
  59. ↑ "How WWE Resolved The ECW/New Jack Isue On The WWE Network", F4Wonline.com
  60. ↑ "A look at what WWE Network events and shows have been edited", F4WOnline.com
  61. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  62. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  63. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  64. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  65. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  66. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  67. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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