By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor
Torch VIP member BIGZIPZ contributed to this report.

WWE has updated the monthly business chart on their corporate website indicating PPV buys and revenue for the Summerslam PPV in August were down compared to the previous year as WWE's PPV business continues to decline.

According to WWE's preliminary estimate, WWE's second-most-hyped PPV of the year drew 350,000 total buys, down from 369,000 buys last year.

The year-to-year decline is magnified by a seven percent decline in PPV buys coming from domestic buyers compared to the 2009 Summerslam (63 percent domestic in '09 vs. 56 percent in '10).

Due to WWE's split of domestic vs. international buys continuing to shift toward the international side, WWE realized less total PPV revenue despite increasing the PPV price domestically to $44.95.

The following is a break down of the last five years of Summerslam PPV showing the progressive decline. WWE will report the official 2010 numbers in their third quarter 2010 financial report later this year.

Summerslam by year: Total Buys

2006 PPV: 529,000 buys
2007 PPV: 537,000 buys
2008 PPV: 477,000 buys
2009 PPV: 369,000 buys
2010 PPV: 350,000 buys (preliminary estimate)

Summerslam by year: domestic split

2006 PPV: 61 percent
2007 PPV: 66 percent
2008 PPV: 66 percent
2009 PPV: 63 percent
2010 PPV: 56 percent

Summerslam by year: domestic revenue
Numbers prior to cable split
2006 PPV: $12.9 million
2007 PPV: $14.1 million
2008 PPV: $12.6 million
2009 PPV: $9.3 million
2010 PPV: $8.8 million

-- The PPV revenue is split with the cable/satellite provider, which means WWE will likely collect $4.0-5.0 million domestically from the Summerslam 2010 PPV.

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