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Tag: WWE Network

  • TV segment pulls up WWE Network despite lower revenue: Q3-16 OIBDA

    TV segment pulls up WWE Network despite lower revenue: Q3-16 OIBDA

    BENGALURU: Despite a 13.7 per cent decline in WWE’s Television segment of its Media Division revenue, the segment reported a 21.8 per cent (year-over-year) y-o-y growth in OIBDA (Operating Income before Depreciation and Amortisation) for the quarter ended 30 September 2016 (Q3-16, current quarter) as compared to the corresponding year-ago quarter.

    WWE reported revenues of $164.2 million in Q3-16, 1.2 per cent lower than $166.2 million in Q3-15. The company’s OIBDA in the current quarter at $24.5 million was 4.7 more than the $23.4 million in Q3-15. The company reported net income of $11.1 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, as compared to net income of $10.4 million, or $0.14 per
    diluted share, in the corresponding prior year quarter.

    WWE has four divisions – Media Division, Live Events, Consumer Products and WWE Studios. Its largest division is the Media Division which has four segments, the largest of which is Television, followed by the Network Segment. Digital Media and Home Entertainment Segments are the other two segments of the Media Division.

    Company Speak

    “During the quarter, we continued to effectively execute our content strategy, which has resulted in record revenues to-date in 2016 and increased consumption across our media platforms,” said WWE chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “This growth illustrates meaningful progress against our long-term strategic plan and provides the foundation for achieving our 2017 financial objectives.”

    WWE Chief Strategy & Financial Officer George Barrio stated, “We achieved a 24 per cent increase in average paid subscribers to WWE Network  and generated profits that were within the range of our guidance. We expect continued year-over-year growth in subscribers and profits for the fourth quarter resulting in strong full year performance that is in-line with our previous business outlook.”

    Media Division

    The Media Division reported revenue of $110.4 million in the current quarter, which was 3.9 per cent lower y-o-y than $114.9 million. The Division’s OIBDA for the current quarter increased 9.2 per cent y-o-y to $53.3 million from $48.8 million.

    Television segment revenue declined to $56.3 million in Q3-16 from $65.2 million in Q3-15. The company attributes this decline to “contractual increases in key distribution agreements were more than offset by the prior year impact of WWE’s licensed reality series, Total Divas and Tough Enough. There were no scheduled airings of these programs in the third quarter 2016, while the prior year quarter reflected approximately $14 million in revenue from the fourth season of Total Divas  (13 episodes) and  Tough Enough  (8 episodes).’

    Television segment’s OIBDA in the current quarter was $32.4 million versus $26.6 million in Q3-15.

    Network Segment revenues, which include revenue generated by WWE Network and pay-per-view, increased 10 percent to $45.1 million.   WWE Network subscription revenue increased 18 per cent to $42.8 million from $36.4 million in the prior year quarter based on a 24 per cent year-over-year increase in average paid subscribers to 1.46 million says the company.

    WWE Network says that it had 1.44 million total paid subscribers at the end of the third quarter, which represented a 17 percent increase from September 30, 2015. WWE Network had 1.07 million U.S. paid subscribers and 373,000 international paid subscribers at quarter-end.

    Network segment OIBDA of $17.4 million was essentially unchanged from the prior year quarter ($17.7 million) as the growth in WWE Network subscription revenue was offset by increased programming expenses, including a $3.2 million allocation of certain expenses shared between the company’s Network and Television segments. A portion of the increase in Network programming expenses relates to the company’s previously communicated strategic investments.

    WWE Network content, including pay-per-views, original series, NXT Takeover, and specials has continued to drive viewer engagement. During the quarter, the company says it has introduced compelling new content for WWE Network, including NXT Takeover Brooklyn III,   Holy Foley!,   WWE Draft Center Live, and Cruiserweight Classic, a 10-week global tournament.  The company says it is on pace to add more than 300 hours of original content to the network’s featured programming in 2016, and more than 2,500 hours of archival content to  WWE Network, which would result in an on-demand library of over 7,000 hours at year-end 2016.

    Live events

    Live Event revenues increased 9.6 per cent to $28.6 million from $26.1 million primarily due to the staging of 5 additional international events.

    Consumer Products

    Revenues from Consumer Products decreased 3.6 per cent to $21.6 million as higher online sales of merchandise at the Company’s e-commerce sites were more than offset by a reduction in licensing revenue.  Licensing revenues decreased 21.7 percent to $9.0 million primarily due to a lower effective royalty rate for our franchise video game,WWE 2K16, and lower sales of toy products.

    WWE Studios

    Revenues from filmed entertainment increased to $2.5 million as compared to $1.7 million in the prior year quarter.  The increase in revenue was due to the performance and timing of results from the company’s portfolio of movies. During the quarter, WWE Studios released two feature films, Scooby Doo! and WWE: Curse of the Speed Demon and Interrogation.  WWE Studios OIBDA increased $1.8 million due, in part, to the increase in revenues, and agreed changes to the terms of distribution of a previously released film, which resulted in lower expenses.

  • TV segment pulls up WWE Network despite lower revenue: Q3-16 OIBDA

    TV segment pulls up WWE Network despite lower revenue: Q3-16 OIBDA

    BENGALURU: Despite a 13.7 per cent decline in WWE’s Television segment of its Media Division revenue, the segment reported a 21.8 per cent (year-over-year) y-o-y growth in OIBDA (Operating Income before Depreciation and Amortisation) for the quarter ended 30 September 2016 (Q3-16, current quarter) as compared to the corresponding year-ago quarter.

    WWE reported revenues of $164.2 million in Q3-16, 1.2 per cent lower than $166.2 million in Q3-15. The company’s OIBDA in the current quarter at $24.5 million was 4.7 more than the $23.4 million in Q3-15. The company reported net income of $11.1 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, as compared to net income of $10.4 million, or $0.14 per
    diluted share, in the corresponding prior year quarter.

    WWE has four divisions – Media Division, Live Events, Consumer Products and WWE Studios. Its largest division is the Media Division which has four segments, the largest of which is Television, followed by the Network Segment. Digital Media and Home Entertainment Segments are the other two segments of the Media Division.

    Company Speak

    “During the quarter, we continued to effectively execute our content strategy, which has resulted in record revenues to-date in 2016 and increased consumption across our media platforms,” said WWE chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “This growth illustrates meaningful progress against our long-term strategic plan and provides the foundation for achieving our 2017 financial objectives.”

    WWE Chief Strategy & Financial Officer George Barrio stated, “We achieved a 24 per cent increase in average paid subscribers to WWE Network  and generated profits that were within the range of our guidance. We expect continued year-over-year growth in subscribers and profits for the fourth quarter resulting in strong full year performance that is in-line with our previous business outlook.”

    Media Division

    The Media Division reported revenue of $110.4 million in the current quarter, which was 3.9 per cent lower y-o-y than $114.9 million. The Division’s OIBDA for the current quarter increased 9.2 per cent y-o-y to $53.3 million from $48.8 million.

    Television segment revenue declined to $56.3 million in Q3-16 from $65.2 million in Q3-15. The company attributes this decline to “contractual increases in key distribution agreements were more than offset by the prior year impact of WWE’s licensed reality series, Total Divas and Tough Enough. There were no scheduled airings of these programs in the third quarter 2016, while the prior year quarter reflected approximately $14 million in revenue from the fourth season of Total Divas  (13 episodes) and  Tough Enough  (8 episodes).’

    Television segment’s OIBDA in the current quarter was $32.4 million versus $26.6 million in Q3-15.

    Network Segment revenues, which include revenue generated by WWE Network and pay-per-view, increased 10 percent to $45.1 million.   WWE Network subscription revenue increased 18 per cent to $42.8 million from $36.4 million in the prior year quarter based on a 24 per cent year-over-year increase in average paid subscribers to 1.46 million says the company.

    WWE Network says that it had 1.44 million total paid subscribers at the end of the third quarter, which represented a 17 percent increase from September 30, 2015. WWE Network had 1.07 million U.S. paid subscribers and 373,000 international paid subscribers at quarter-end.

    Network segment OIBDA of $17.4 million was essentially unchanged from the prior year quarter ($17.7 million) as the growth in WWE Network subscription revenue was offset by increased programming expenses, including a $3.2 million allocation of certain expenses shared between the company’s Network and Television segments. A portion of the increase in Network programming expenses relates to the company’s previously communicated strategic investments.

    WWE Network content, including pay-per-views, original series, NXT Takeover, and specials has continued to drive viewer engagement. During the quarter, the company says it has introduced compelling new content for WWE Network, including NXT Takeover Brooklyn III,   Holy Foley!,   WWE Draft Center Live, and Cruiserweight Classic, a 10-week global tournament.  The company says it is on pace to add more than 300 hours of original content to the network’s featured programming in 2016, and more than 2,500 hours of archival content to  WWE Network, which would result in an on-demand library of over 7,000 hours at year-end 2016.

    Live events

    Live Event revenues increased 9.6 per cent to $28.6 million from $26.1 million primarily due to the staging of 5 additional international events.

    Consumer Products

    Revenues from Consumer Products decreased 3.6 per cent to $21.6 million as higher online sales of merchandise at the Company’s e-commerce sites were more than offset by a reduction in licensing revenue.  Licensing revenues decreased 21.7 percent to $9.0 million primarily due to a lower effective royalty rate for our franchise video game,WWE 2K16, and lower sales of toy products.

    WWE Studios

    Revenues from filmed entertainment increased to $2.5 million as compared to $1.7 million in the prior year quarter.  The increase in revenue was due to the performance and timing of results from the company’s portfolio of movies. During the quarter, WWE Studios released two feature films, Scooby Doo! and WWE: Curse of the Speed Demon and Interrogation.  WWE Studios OIBDA increased $1.8 million due, in part, to the increase in revenues, and agreed changes to the terms of distribution of a previously released film, which resulted in lower expenses.

  • Digital India is CASBAA India Forum 2016’s theme

    Digital India is CASBAA India Forum 2016’s theme

    MUMBAI: On March 22 CASBAA will host local and international speakers at the India Forum 2016, its annual discussion panel. The speakers will focus on the fast-evolving Indian broadcasting industry in the advent of the Digital India initiative.

    “The Government of India’s Digital India initiative has brought about a revolution in the country’s economy and has ushered in a plethora of opportunities for sectors to drive the overall digital revolution in India,” said  CASBAA CEO Christopher Slaughter. “We see that digital content in India is at an inflection point and the nation is at the top of digital and high-definition (HD) adoption. Further, we have observed that the content creators and broadcasters are increasingly evaluating new media and content delivery alternatives and are planning significant capital expenditure to upgrade their infrastructure in the coming years.”

    This year, corporate partners for the CASBAA India Forum 2016 include SES (Supporting Sponsor), AsiaSat, Diagnal, Eutelsat, MEASAT, Verimatrix, Videocon d2h and WWE Network (Sponsors).

    “Digital India – The Four Phases of Cable Enlightenment” is this year’s theme for the CASBAA India Forum 2016. A diverse roster of expert speakers will discuss India’s continued growth, including such topics as digitization challenges, security aspects, Indian OTT industry, advertising trends in Digital India, impact of digital advertising on traditional media, satellite industry in India among others.

    Several industry experts are expected to attend this event.   Trai chairman R.S. Sharma is expected to deliver the opening keynote address.  The inaugural address will be made by MIB Special Secretary J S Mathur and the industry keynote address will be delivered by  Tata Sky MD and CEO Harit Nagpal (Industry Keynote). Others attending the event include TRAi’s  Principal Advisor, Broadcast & Cable S K Gupta,  MIB Joint Secretary -Broadcasting R. Jaya, APT Satellite sales director for Indian and Middle East Thomas Antony ,   AsiaSat CEO William Wade,  BBC Global News COO Naveen Jhunjhunwala,  Disney India Media Networks vice president Nikhil Gandhi, Eutelsat UK MD  Nicholas Daly,  Google India Industry director   Nitin Bawankule,  Hathway CEO Jagdish Kumar, Media, Hinduja Group CEO Anthony D’Silva, Intelsat India country manager Gaurav Kharod, MEASAT CEO Paul Brown-Kenyon, MEC South Asia managing director T. Gangadhar and  Viacom18 Digital Ventures COO Gaurav Gandhi.  

  • Digital India is CASBAA India Forum 2016’s theme

    Digital India is CASBAA India Forum 2016’s theme

    MUMBAI: On March 22 CASBAA will host local and international speakers at the India Forum 2016, its annual discussion panel. The speakers will focus on the fast-evolving Indian broadcasting industry in the advent of the Digital India initiative.

    “The Government of India’s Digital India initiative has brought about a revolution in the country’s economy and has ushered in a plethora of opportunities for sectors to drive the overall digital revolution in India,” said  CASBAA CEO Christopher Slaughter. “We see that digital content in India is at an inflection point and the nation is at the top of digital and high-definition (HD) adoption. Further, we have observed that the content creators and broadcasters are increasingly evaluating new media and content delivery alternatives and are planning significant capital expenditure to upgrade their infrastructure in the coming years.”

    This year, corporate partners for the CASBAA India Forum 2016 include SES (Supporting Sponsor), AsiaSat, Diagnal, Eutelsat, MEASAT, Verimatrix, Videocon d2h and WWE Network (Sponsors).

    “Digital India – The Four Phases of Cable Enlightenment” is this year’s theme for the CASBAA India Forum 2016. A diverse roster of expert speakers will discuss India’s continued growth, including such topics as digitization challenges, security aspects, Indian OTT industry, advertising trends in Digital India, impact of digital advertising on traditional media, satellite industry in India among others.

    Several industry experts are expected to attend this event.   Trai chairman R.S. Sharma is expected to deliver the opening keynote address.  The inaugural address will be made by MIB Special Secretary J S Mathur and the industry keynote address will be delivered by  Tata Sky MD and CEO Harit Nagpal (Industry Keynote). Others attending the event include TRAi’s  Principal Advisor, Broadcast & Cable S K Gupta,  MIB Joint Secretary -Broadcasting R. Jaya, APT Satellite sales director for Indian and Middle East Thomas Antony ,   AsiaSat CEO William Wade,  BBC Global News COO Naveen Jhunjhunwala,  Disney India Media Networks vice president Nikhil Gandhi, Eutelsat UK MD  Nicholas Daly,  Google India Industry director   Nitin Bawankule,  Hathway CEO Jagdish Kumar, Media, Hinduja Group CEO Anthony D’Silva, Intelsat India country manager Gaurav Kharod, MEASAT CEO Paul Brown-Kenyon, MEC South Asia managing director T. Gangadhar and  Viacom18 Digital Ventures COO Gaurav Gandhi.  

  • WWE Legends House premieres this Thursday night

    WWE Legends House premieres this Thursday night

    MUMBAI: The WWE Network will be premiering what could possibly become its most popular original series this Thursday night titled, WWE Legends House.

    The cast of the show is in the picture below, as you can see, Rowdy Roddy Piper is in the very front of the group. Fellow cast mates and long-time friends, Pat Patterson, Mean Gene Okerlund, Hillbilly Jim, Jimmy Hart, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Tony Atlas, and Howard Finkel will be a part of this year’s season.

    The WWE may be planning to can the next season in the coming months as well, but nothing has been confirmed just yet. The first look of this series premiered way back in February during the WWE Network unveiling.

    Along with some hilarious stuff that will be remembered for a long time. The last part is pretty much a given, considering Roddy Piper is in the mix.

     

  • WWE Network on track to hit a million subs by end 2014

    WWE Network on track to hit a million subs by end 2014

    MUMBAI: World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on 6 April showcased the first pay-per-view (PPV) on its WWE Network with WrestleMania XXX. 

     

    It was on 24 February this year that WWE commenced its first-ever 24/7 streaming network and ever since then it has generated immense traction and buzz among its fans.

     

    The company recently announced in a release that WWE Network has 667,287 subscribers (as of 7 April) and is well on its way to reaching its goal of a million subscribers by the end of 2014 just 42 days after launching in US. It claims to be the fastest-growing digital subscription service.

     

    This announcement comes on the heels of a historic WrestleMania XXX, which aired live on WWE Network as well as on pay-per-view through satellite and cable providers from a sold-out Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

     

    The Network was first rolled out in the US and will soon travel to Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Nordics in late 2014 or early 2015.

     

    WWE Network is the first 24/7 streaming network that provides access to live and scheduled programming, including all 12 live pay-per-view events, as well as the most comprehensive video-on-demand library. Available for a price of $9.99 a month – with a six month commitment – fans can subscribe to WWE Network at WWE.com.

     

    WWE Network is available on connected devices including Apple TV, Roku streaming devices, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PlayStation 4 and Xbox 360. WWE Network is also available through the WWE App on iOS devices, including Apple iPad and iPhone, Amazon’s Kindle Fire devices and Android devices, as well as on desktops and laptops via WWE.com.

  • The stage is set for WrestleMania XXX

    The stage is set for WrestleMania XXX

    MUMBAI: The biggest and grandest event from World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is here with a bang. This time around WrestleMania XXX is taking place at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday in New Orleans.

     

    Estimates of 70,000 people are expected to attend the main event on Sunday, while 125,000 take in all the events surrounding the wrestling spectacle. The ‘Super Bowl of Wrestling’ will be hosted by the WWE legend Hulk Hogan and there are also rumors doing rounds of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Stone Cold Steve Austin being a part of the mega event.

     

    The Rock appeared at last year’s ‘Mania, being defeated by John Cena in a rematch of the previous year’s show. But Austin has not appeared at the biggest pay-per-view since 2011. And we’re guessing he wouldn’t fly all the way across the country to NOT Stone Cold stun some jabroni… and that’s the bottom line.

     

    And they are not the only big names that could be at this weekend’s big ticket event. There is a high possibility of Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels and Roddy Piper also being involved at some point during the Mania. 

    But before the Sunday action begins, the wrestlers – current and former – will be seen in their best suits and gowns on Saturday night to witness the ‘Hall of Fame’ induction ceremony from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. This time around the list of inductees include Mr. T., Jake “The Snake” Roberts, the Ultimate Warrior, Razor Ramon, Lita, Paul Bearer and Carlos Colon.

    Coming to the Mania itself now, the show looks set to focus on nostalgia, with the inaugural Andre the Giant battle royal being held. And of course, The Undertaker is again returning to defend his 21-0 streak, this time against former MMA bruiser and the beast, Brock Lesnar.

    The following matches are scheduled to take place this Sunday at the 30th edition of WrestleMania:-

     

    Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar

     

    This story has changed from week to week but it’s settled on a great angle. Undertaker has struggled more and more to keep the streak alive as the years have gone by, after marathon battles with Shawn Michaels and Triple H. The story is well scripted with Brock ‘the beast’ Lesnar having slaughtered both the wrestlers earlier. Let’s see if the company really wants to end the streak of the phenom this Sunday.

     

    Randy Orton vs Batista vs the winner of the Triple H vs. Daniel Bryan in a Triple Threat for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

     

    Batista won the Royal Rumble and Orton has been rolling around insecure about his being the face of WWE for long. The thing about this is neither of them is on solid footing right now because the really hot feud is the Bryan vs Triple H match that will culminate at this event earlier in the night. The winner will be inserted into this match and the result will certainly be something interesting.

     

    The 30-Man Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal

     

    This is the inaugural event at WrestleMania and will feature 30 wrestlers in an old fashioned over the top sope battle royal. So far, here’s who has been announced to be a part of this segment: The Miz, Goldust, Cody Rhodes, Heath Slater, Drew McIntyre, Jinder Mahal, Sheamus, Christian, Titus O’Neil, Big Show, Damien Sandow, Big E, Curtis Axel, Fandango, Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio and Mark Henry.

     

    John Cena vs Bray Wyatt

     

    This match is like those dishes on a menu card which don’t really matter and are never really ordered but just act as fillers. For WWE to really slate such a match for John Cena on the grandest stage of them all is hard to believe.

     

    Other matches include: The Shield vs Kane and New Age Outlaws in a six-man tag; The Uso Brothers vs Ryback and Curtis Axel vs The Real Americans vs Los Matadores in a four-way for the WWE Tag Team Championship and finally, A.J. Lee will defend her WWE Divas Championship in a single-fall match against Naomi, Cameron, Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Natalya, Eva Marie, Emma, Aksana, Alicia Fox, Summer Rae, Rosa Mendes, Layla and her ‘bodyguard’ Tamina in a single-fall match for the WWE Divas Championship.

     

    Indian fans can catch the action exclusively on Ten Sports on Monday 7 April at 6:00 pm, just a day after WrestleMania XXX takes place live in New Orleans.

  • WWE Superstars get animated with ‘WWE Slam City’

    WWE Superstars get animated with ‘WWE Slam City’

    MUMBAI: Mattel is well renowned to be one of the leading toy manufacturers in the world with the likes of Barbie, Hot Wheels and Monster High, amongst others under its IP. The toy manufacturing giant has inked a deal with the wrestling giant – WWE – for an original animated short format series.

     

    WWE Slam City, the company’s new kids’ property includes an original animated short-form series and a complete line of WWE Slam City merchandise. The 26-episode series, which launched yesterday in US, Canada and UK is comprised of two minute shorts featuring WWE Superstars in their new animated world, WWE Slam City.

     

    The first four episodes began airing from 17 March at WWESlamCity.com and Cartoonium on YouTube. WWE Slam City toys, including action figures, ring sets and more, are currently available at major retail stores.

     

    “WWE Slam City is a multi-platform property that takes our Superstars out of the ring and introduces them to kids through entertaining and action-packed animation,” said WWE chief revenue and marketing officer Michelle D. Wilson. “This strategic initiative is perfectly complemented through our partnership with Mattel and adds to an already dynamic portfolio of content designed to create lifelong WWE fans.”

     

    The series, filmed in the next generation of stop-motion animation, features a new WWE animated character ‘The Finisher’, who fires all of the WWE superstars and sends them to WWE Slam City to find day jobs. WWE Superstars are plunged into new career challenges as John Cena as an auto mechanic, Randy Orton Orton as a zookeeper, Sheamus as a theater usher, The Miz, Rey Mysterio, Kane, Alberto Del Rio as a coffee house barista and Mark Henry pack every street corner with work to do and scores to settle in a new life outside the ring, but still staying true to their WWE personas.

     

    In addition to WWESlamCity.com and Cartoonium on YouTube, WWE Slam City will also be available in US on WWE Network, Hulu, PlayStation, Xbox, AOL On, Nintendo, Vudu, Google Play, Kabillion, Mattel.com and iTunes. WWE will utilise all of its assets, including TV broadcasts, live events, digital and social media to generate awareness for its new kids property.

     

    “Slam City is the result of a seamless collaboration with WWE where we are bringing kids a completely new and invigorating entertainment experience,” said Mattel senior VP, global brands marketing, boys and entertainment Doug Wadleigh. “Combining fun to watch content that features Superstar favorites, along with an engaging line of toys, enables Slam City to further expand the WWE Universe while opening new avenues of play for the franchise.”

     

    WWE Slam City is a key component of WWE’s larger strategy to expand its reach to kids. In 2013, WWE’s national TV programming reached nearly three million kids each week, representing more than 20 per cent of WWE’s average weekly TV audience. WWE also reaches kids through the number two action figure property in the US.

     

    In addition, WWE supports programs that positively impact children and families around the world, including a 30-plus year relationship with Make-A-Wish as well as various literacy, education, anti-bullying and military initiatives.

     

    In addition to toys, a full WWE Slam City merchandise line, including apparel, back-to-school accessories, books, graphic novels and home videos will be available in stores by the end of 2014. In 2015, a WWE Slam City mobile game, as well as health and beauty items, home goods, party supplies and stationary will be available.

     

    The 26-episode WWE Slam City series is co-produced by WWE and Mattel’s Playground Productions, a new division within the Mattel Global Brands with a mission to identify, cultivate and produce compelling storylines through multiple platforms.

     

    “Slam City’s multi-platform animation engages kids where they are today with a unique larger-than-life Superstar inspired storyline that’s authentic to WWE,” said Mattel Playground Productions senior VP David Voss. “We worked closely with WWE to ensure our style and storytelling complimented the brand, and really tapped into our creative expertise to produce a playful narrative that both kids and fans enjoy.”

     

    With the launch of the WWE Network recently and this tie-up with Mattel, the wrestling giant is clearly looking at reaching out to a wider set of audience on both on-air as well as off-air platforms.

  • WWE Network not quite ready yet

    WWE Network not quite ready yet

    MUMBAI: So, WWE finally offered wrestling fans a trial of its much-hyped over the top platform, WWE Network for a week starting last Monday. At an offer price of $9.99 for a period of six months, avid followers of the sport readily lapped up the opportunity.

     

    I happened to be one such and though my experience was enjoyable on the whole, I’d say a lot of things can be improved before this beta graduates into the full-fledged video streaming service it is expected to be.

     

    To begin with, the network got off to a shaky start and though that was expected somewhat, users got a better feel of the service only towards the second half of last week.

     

    The good news is you can put on the 24×7 stream in the background and continue working or doing whatever it is you are doing. If talk of a particular match crops up during the conversation, you can quickly turn it on and watch it, friends in tow.

     

    In many ways, the WWE Network could be the beginning of a new era in both WWE and pay-per-view (PPV) television.

     

    However, while every PPV event has been included live on the network, the first such event i.e. Wrestle Mania 30, is still five weeks away. So, apart from the fact that you’d be paying a lot less for PPV shows, there isn’t much else to say.  

     

    Repetition of content is a major issue, especially with recent PPV events. Of all the shows WWE could pick, why does Survivor Series 2012 pop up so many times? While it’s good entertainment, there are only a few PPVs in rotation and that does not make sense. When WWE can plug in a wealth of PPVs, including a six-year-old library of high-definition shows, at a moment’s notice, why is it being so stingy with the content on offer on the network?

     

    In case of exclusive content, shows like Beyond the Ring have just two episodes so far. One can understand it being created as a weekly series but given that WWE isn’t doing much beyond recycling existing DVD documentaries, replication of shows makes watching the network stream a boring experience.

     

    Coming to home video content, what happened to the announcement made by WWE chief revenue and marketing officer, Michelle Wilson, in Las Vegas that the network’s on-demand archive would include their complete home video library? Where is it? Even if WWE dug into its archives and managed to offer on the network only its DVD era or everything it has released since 1985, it would give the network a more substantial and diverse on-demand library than the current one.

     

    Yes. The WWE Network is easily the most marketable content the company has but a hard-core wrestling fan would certainly want to see more of rare or off-beat content.

     

    Technically speaking, not all shows in the on-demand library have chapter marks added but wherever they have been, it’s a good thing. You can link anyone with a subscription to a specific match or even the match finish, which is great. 

     

    However, the biggest limitation is that only app and Web versions have a fully-featured search functionality which lets users look for specific shows and moves. On gaming consoles and dedicated streaming devices, users still require the app to auto-complete the performer name being searched, else there will be no results.

     

    At this stage, there’s not much to say about what’s good or bad about the WWE Network. Having access to old and new PPVs at a price tag of $9.99 for six months is pretty neat in itself. Overall, it’s an enjoyable product though a lot of things can be improved – some major, others minor.

     

    In my opinion, WWE Network has a lot of potential but isn’t completely ready. It feels like a product that needs quite a few months in beta testing mode though the company is comfortable charging for it now. The content line-up is great but has the potential to become brilliant. Hopefully, WWE will be able to make the network the service it has aspired for.