The Sports Business Journal (subscription required) reported on the WWE’s launch of its network as part of its feature last week on Over The Top (OTT) networks. The article compliments another within the same issue which talks about the new platform in general.
The article on the WWE reports on the tumultuous time it has had with the launch of the network. Upon the announcement in January, there was much anticipation. But, after the initial numbers came out coupled with the general disappointment the rights fees deal caused the stock to drop and momentum to stop.
The WWE did receive some interesting information from the first few months from subscribers. Despite being off on its projections, the subscribers that have the network are very satisfied with the network. Many utilize the network at least once a week. Also, Xbox and Playstation are the two platforms used by most subscribers. This last part of information would suggest that a younger demo has purchased the network and maybe not as many older viewers (those that one would presume would subscribe for the older content) have the network.
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The overarching theme about OTT is the direct competition it has with traditional platforms. At this point, OTT does not offer live sports with the exception of the WWE Network. No big revelation in the article about the WWE. Although the number of subscribers did not hit its target, the users that have it like it. What may be lacking is the older demo that the WWE thought would have been brought in by the vast WWE library.
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