The big announcement this past Wednesday evening is that World Wrestling Entertainment, after years of hints and months of speculation, are finally launching their own 24/7 network. The term game changer, though overused, is definitely apropos in this case.
At 9 a.m. on February 24th, the WWE Network will join the ranks of Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, National Basketball Association and National Football League as organizations touting an around the clock network. This will be a streaming service priced at ten dollars a month and will require a minimum six-month commitment. Subscribers will have access to all twelve pay-per-view events (normally each priced at between 40-50 dollars each), as well as classic WWE programming, their reality shows, documentaries, even vintage matches from World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling.
Devices with streaming capability such as iPad/iPhone, Roku, Samsung Galaxy or gaming devices like the PS3 or Xbox 360 can join the Mac book/PC users via WWE.com to access the nearly 1,500 hours of available programming.
This is possibly the smartest business decision that Vince McMahon and company have come up with in quite some time and I will be watching the numbers on this one very closely in the coming months. A few million subscribers will ensure that they do more than break even as fans wanting to watch premium entertainment don’t break the bank. Hopefully, the network will be a win-win for the business and the fans who support it.
Will you be signing up for the WWE Network? What other types of programming are you hoping to see on the channel? Let us know what you think in the comments!
And for even more wrestling goodness, you MUST check out what our friends are doing over at All Rings Considered. Every podcast is main event quality.
