The WWE’s second quarter wrapped up last week, and while we won’t know the full details from WWE’s financial performance for another couple of weeks, I think we can draw a couple of hints about the success of WWE Network based on some recent tidbits seen around the wrestling blogosphere.
On Sunday, the Wrestling Observer reported (via Cageside Seats) that WWE has pushed back the filming of Tough Enough, which was expected to be one of the original programming cornerstones of WWE Network, to October after previously hacking its budget to bits. WWE has also indefinitely postponed production of season two of Legends House, another one of those original programming cornerstones. Cageside Seats also notes that the pre-show and post-event programming has mostly been reduced to studio broadcasts, with live, on-site broadcasts disappearing.
Now, this could just mean nothing. WWE could be doing the smart thing, looking at their internal viewership numbers and realizing that this original programming wasn’t moving the needle at all compared to live pay-per-view streams and their massive vault of wrestling content. However, when you combine this news with the announcement of free one-week preview of the Network that doesn’t require a credit card, the situation gets a little more hazy. Companies like Netflix and Hulu can roll out free previews of their services because they are established franchises that bring in massive amounts of revenue. People who signed up for WWE Network upon the network’s launch haven’t even finished their six month term yet, and free previews are already being offered.
It’s not a deal breaker by any stretch of the imagination, but when those quarter two numbers are revealed, investors are probably going to start getting peeved if the Network hasn’t significantly increased their subscriber base. And once the investors start getting irritated, heads start rolling and changes start happening. That’s not good news for the future of WWE Network.
