While there is a Sunday night UFC Fight Night from Saskatoon, Canada airing on FS1 DSunday night, the event might be overshadowed by WWE’s Summerslam which will air at the same time as the live MMA event on the WWE Network and through PPV.
The WWE has received support in promoting this event from ESPN which is airing live at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York where the company is holding three sold out events which started last night with the WWE’s developmental arm NXT holding an event. In addition to Sunday’s Summerslam, the company will air Monday Night Raw from the same venue. Former WWE commentator and current ESPN anchor Jonathan Coachman was a central part of the coverage.
According to Forbes.com, there was some controversy as to whether ESPN should cover the WWE event. However, the company decided to make the decision to cover it for a variety of reasons. Forbes.com touched on the fact that ESPN is losing subscribers and covering the WWE is a way for ESPN to attract more viewers. Earlier this year, ESPN aired Brock Lesnar’s decision as to whether he would sign with the UFC or stick with the WWE. It also produced a documentary featuring WWE superstars.
Strategically the WWE has offered a free month of WWE Network for non-subscribers which should boost viewership. The offer is an almost quarterly strategy to entice curious fans to sign up. As of the last earnings call, it appears that paid subscriptions are doing well and offering the free month is one of the reasons the sub numbers have progressively increased.
Payout Perspective:
This summer, ESPN has done live remotes at unique sporting events across the nation to give little known events some notoriety. This, of course, is a little different. In the past, ESPN has covered Wrestlemania in the past but never in a serious capacity. ESPN’s involvement in covering Summerslam is great for the WWE. In year’s past, the company’s biggest card of the summer was held in Los Angeles but interest had waned. This year appears to have had a resurgence and part of that has to be due to ESPN’s involvement. Brock Lesnar was on the network earlier in the week and you may recall he indicated that Vince McMahon was a better promoter than Dana White.
Based on the attendance from Saturday and the anticipated attendance for the next two events, it appears that the WWE has found a new home for Summerslam.
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