WWE Network Week 1 Reax

- From VIP member Cabledude on Day 1 (Feb. 24): I signed up this morning (took me about
an hour and was able to get through by paying through PayPal, the billing screen on WWE.com was a mess). I've got it on my Roku and everything looks good. Been streaming from my iPhone 5s throughout the day with minor buffering issues (but you can hear the commentary/audio
the entire time). Overall, the stream on my mobile device has been pretty good.

I'm really not sure about the financials and if they can really get one million subscribers, particularly when this WrestleMania looks the least-inspiring in some time. Also, this is a product really for the hardcore fans (are there really enough out there for this?). That being said, I think WWE really deserves kudos for putting this together like they did and not going the traditional model through cable/satellite TV (no way they'd get enough ad revenue for that). So many of the networks are moving in the direction of mobile viewing/watch anywhere type apps, but they have to deal with authentication from the cable provider, which has proven to be a real hurdle for many consumers. Take ABC's "watch app" for instance - constantly plagued with error issues and not reliable in the least. WWE Network has no such middleman, which benefits them tremendously. However, I think they're going to need to do much more off-air marketing and get it into international markets A.S.A.P. to truly benefit. Definitely the greatest thing to come along for a hardcore fan in years, though.

- PWTorch reader Raymond posted his review of the Network at RPad.TV, which can be read HERE.

- From Keith Sterling of Albuquerque, N.M.: I am happy I am getting this year's WrestleMania 30 on the Network. So far, the card for this year is only worth $9.99 and not the normal price pre-Network Era of $54-64 for a PPV.

- VIP member Glenn King: So far, I’m really enjoying the WWE Network. It definitely has some problems with slowness and buffering, but it has been great watching an old episode of WCCW. It blows me away how much those fans were into it. I grew up in Dallas and, for us, the Von Erichs and Freebirds were rock stars. The Kevin Von Erich vs. Wild Bill Erwin episode is a great start.

- Ryan of Ft. Walton Beach, Fla.: Maybe it's a little early, but I am very disappointed in the WWE Network, not for its content, but performance issues. I commend its content, although the library seems to be missing several '80s PPV's. I've played the Network on three devices: PS4, PS3, and my Galaxy S4. When I hit play initially, it starts up fine. However, if you pause or fast-forward, I'm lucky for it to ever play. I have to back out and start again, which sucks even more because there are no bookmarks. If it does play, it will freeze every five seconds, stay frozen for 10 seconds, then play another five...over and over. I verified that my internet connection was good, as I flipped to Netflix and had no issues.

One feature I actually do like, and it seems to be exclusive to my PS3, is the ability to skip chapters not only from match to match, but also skip to the deciding moment in each match...very cool feature. If they get these technical issues ironed out, (and they better...fast) the WWE Network would be simply amazing.

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