By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

A decline in Total Revenue for Second Quarter 2012 cannot be blamed on the PPV segment, which delivered the best Q2 revenue total in the past four years. On the strength of WrestleMania 28, WWE recorded $40.8 million in the quarter, up $6.4 million (18.6 percent) from the prior year quarter.

The official PPV buys total for WrestleMania was 1,217,000, which led to increases for the next three PPVs during the Second Quarter.

WWE noted revenue from other events in the quarter "increased 28 percent based on a combined 20 percent increase in buys and a 6 percent increase in the average revenue per buy." WWE added that "the rise in revenue per buy was attributable to higher retail prices charged for viewing our events in high definition."

The following is a break down of the PPV buys for the Second Quarter events, as compared to previous years.

Individual PPV buys

WrestleMania
2009 - 960,000 buys
2010 - 885,000 buys
2011 - 1,059,000 buys
2012 - 1,217,000 buys

Extreme Rules (Post-WM)
2010 - 182,000 buys
2011 - 209,000 buys
2012 - 263,000 buys

Over the Limit (May)
2010 - 197,000 buys
2011 - 140,000 buys
2012 - 167,000 buys

June PPV
2010 - 143,000 buys (Fatal Four-Way)
2011 - 170,000 buys (Cap. Punishment)
2012 - 194,000 buys

Second Quarter PPV Revenue

2009 Q2 - $35.6 million (WM quarter)
2010 Q2 - $10.4 million (non-WM quarter)
2011 Q2 - $34.4 million (WM quarter and with $5 increase compared to 2009)
2012 Q2 - $40.8 million (WM quarter)

PPV Revenue (first six months of year)

2007: $55.6 million
2008: $59.1 million
2009: $49.2 million
2010: $42.8 million
2011: $47.9 million
2012: $54.3 million

Caldwell's Analysis: Although WrestleMania 28 provided a significant boost in revenue that helped PPV business recover from the downturn in 2009-2011, the PPV segment still has not recovered to the 2007 and 2008 level through the first six months of the year. More PPV revenue from HD buys has helped in 2012, but more people were willing to buy the non-WrestleMania events four-to-five years ago.

[Torch art credit Travis Beaven (c) PWTorch.com]

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