McMahon indicates WWE is in market to sell rights to PPVs, which would massively change WWE Network offerings and thus its appeal, calls it potentially transformative

Vince McMahon dropped a bombshell earlier today that WWE Network as we know it may cease to exist, perhaps with a major announcement as soon as this or next month.

With WWE Network subscriptions dropping below 1 million Q4 2019 (down 10 percent in 2019 overall), and no trajectory to even approach the 3 million level once floated by top WWE management, McMahon is looking at selling rights to WWE pay-per-views. With the gigantic MMA deals that UFC struck with ESPN+ and Bellator struck with DAZN for their PPV events, there could be a window to score big with rights to WrestleMania and other top WWE PPV titles if they were split from the WWE Network package. How fans would adjust to being asked to pay $50 or $65 for PPV events they have become accustomed to paying a flat fee of $9.99 a month for access to is a major unknowns, but it’d be nearly impossible to substitute content that would replace WrestleMania, even if the Network remained the exclusive home for NXT Takeover events.

When McMahon was asked in today’s investor conference call if they will be adding more advertising to WWE Network, McMahon said that’s an option if they continue with the WWE Network as is. When asked if WWE Network is “a must have,” McMahon said nothing is “must have” and said a potential deal with a new partner for PPV rights would be “transformative.” He said players are clamoring for rights to their content which could lead to significant additional revenue.

It’s highly unlikely WWE Network would be shut down, considering the massive library they’ve built up of past content along with original series and various live specials such as the Saudi Arabia shows (which air on weekday afternoons and aren’t a viable stand-alone PPV event to charge premium prices for). What is possible, though, is that WWE could risk losing hundreds of thousands off Network subscribers in exchange for selling the rights to WrestleMania, Summerslam, and the Royal Rumble. As with UFC on ESPN, there’s an entrance fee to become an ESPN+ subscriber after which you pay a premium per-event fee to watch the event.

With Disney+ and Apple+ entering the market, among other new streaming services, and HBO and Showtime along with various other cable and broadcast networks offering stand-alone streaming channels with monthly fees, perhaps Hulu or Netflix of Amazon Prime would be interested in offering WWE PPV distribution within their platforms, exclusively for subscribers. So they would not only share in the PPV revenue, but also stand to gain substantial monthly subscribers as ESPN+ has experienced with UFC added to the portfolio of content.

McMahon gave indications that the departures of co-presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson was related to disagreements with how to allocate resources and regarding their focus and execution; he said his preferences would be more successful. (Read more about the McMahon conference call at ProWrestling.net.)

Note: I discussed this breaking news earlier today at great length on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast with Jason Powell from ProWrestling.net and also with PWTorch VIP analyst Todd Martin on “The Fix” podcast (VIP-exclusive).

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