The WWE Network, while a valuable addition to the channel lineup of the most devout WWE fans, has struggled with getting the subscriber base up to where it needs to be. However, the latest WWE rumors suggest that thanks to WrestleMania , the subscriber base has gone up exponentially. However, the question remains whether the subscriber base went up enough to merit the network still being around? And what does the future hold for the still-fledgling network?
That’s all I got for the evening. Come back for #SDAfterMania tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/xjCy8JWRtK
— FanSided WWE (@FanSided_WWE) April 4, 2017
First, let’s discuss the latest WWE rumors from CNET . According to them, WrestleMania was a benefit to the company in more ways than one. Aside from driving the subscriber base up to nearly 2 million (though it hasn’t quite cracked that mark as of yet), “wrestling’s biggest night” gave the company something it’s been missing for a long time, and that is a direction. The era of John Cena and the whole Attitude Era is now over, especially now that Goldberg announced his retirement from the company, and Kurt Angle is the new general manager.
“Meltzer reported last month that the working plan for WrestleMania 34 next April is for Roman Reigns to headline against Brock Lesnar. Those seeds were planted last night. Lesnar beat Goldberg in a four-minute blowout brawl to become WWE Universal Champion. Reigns got the biggest win of his career against Undertaker. Plus, the only other guy to beat Undertaker at WrestleMania? That was Lesnar back in 2014. Their rumoured collision at next year’s Showcase of the Immortals writes itself.”
@ChrisVannini @JackJorgensen14 pic.twitter.com/5tliD2uaDW
— FanSided WWE (@FanSided_WWE) April 4, 2017
And, according to the latest WWE rumors from Sportskeeda , the company now has to decide what it wants to do to push the subscriber base up even further. Since February 2014, when the WWE network was first announced, stock prices, investor confidence, and fan interest have steadily increased as the network has improved with their shows and their ratings.
One of the biggest incentives for new subscribers, of course, is the free month that they get when they first sign up. The company is now about 50,000 subscribers short of the 2 million goal, but Chief Strategy and Financial Officer, George Barrios , said that the overall number of subscribers is up by 11 percent over the past three months, and WrestleMania gave them the extra push that they needed.
OH, IT’S TRUE. pic.twitter.com/NuvIGch6qV
— FanSided WWE (@FanSided_WWE) April 4, 2017
But now that they’re slightly short of their goal, what will happen next with the network?
According to the latest WWE rumors from CageSide Seat s, the company plans to roll out additional promotions to keep the fans and the investors happy, and ultimately, they hope to hit their 2 million subscriber goal by the end of the second quarter.
They also said that they would bring back the three-month free promotion. In this promotion, new subscribers will get three months free of the network, instead of just one, to further entice potential new subscribers.
And while it wasn’t clear how many people who watched WrestleMania were part of the free promotion, or who actually paid, one thing is clear, and that is the WWE wants as many subscribers as they can get.
“WWE held a post-WrestleMania 33 conference call today (April 3, 2017) for investors and the business press, the focus of which was an updated subscriber count for the streaming Network service. The company rolled out numerous promotions in an effort to attract subscribers ahead of Sunday night’s “Ultimate Thrill Ride”, including the standard one month free for new customers and a three month offer for some lapsed ones. It, and presumably excitement for the ‘Mania card, helped WWE improve on their last reported number – but they still fell short of their rumored goal of reaching two million subscribers.”
Wrestling fans, now it’s your turn. What do you think of this latest round of WWE rumors? Do you subscribe to the WWE channel?
Leave your thoughts about the latest WWE rumors in the comments below.
[Featured Image by WWE]
