WWE network : a bright choice for the WWE

The WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) is well-known for its professional wrestling events all around the world. They recently attempted to expand their network by entering a new market and develop a new activity called the WWE network. The WWE network is a video streaming application that allows people to subscribe to their service to watch any videos of previous shows and any “Pay per View event” live on your computer, tablet or video game system. By entering this new sector, is the WWE making a good decision?

After facing the most furious competitor in the wrestling industry, the WWE finally took the #1 spot and became the most famous wrestling company in the world. To maintain its success, the company decided to create two different shows on TV, plus one Pay per View (PPV) a month, and developed their activities by selling merchandise during their events. The principal owner of the company, Vincent Kennedy McMahon, helped the company reach an unseen level of power in this industry and in 2001; the company finally entered the stock market by joining the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Following their conviction to be the undisputed leader in the world of the entertainment, the WWE extended their market and created the WWE studios to develop movies and the WWEshop in order to buy every product related to the Superstar (name given to the wrestler) of your choice.

Every week, more than 14 million people in the US follow the most epic rivalries and fights on their TV screen; WWE shows are also broadcasted in more than 145 countries. To give the WWE universe more exposure, the company signed a partnership with YouTube. By following their channel, people are able to watch the “behind the scenes” of every show and also the daily lives of their favorite Superstars. This was the first cornerstone to the development of their advanced network. In February 2014, after months of eager anticipation, the WWE network was born.

Expectations were high, the Network was only available in the US and consisted of both an on-demand programming library and a 24-hour linear streaming channel. It allowed fans to be connected at any time with the WWE. For only $9.99 a month, users have access to any TV show, PPV, YouTube show, WWE DVDs, Blu-rays™ and exclusive shows. In April 2014, the company realised that the number of subscribers did not reach their expectations. In fact, the company announced a number of 667,000 subscribers, which was far from the one million subscribers expected to break even.

The problem is difficult to identify, people are usually ready to pay more than $15 per month to buy WWE's monthly PPV, and a recent WWE opinion poll shows that more than half of the WWE universe could be ready to pay for a network that will allow them to watch any show and DVD at any time on their TV or computer. We can assume that some people are misunderstanding the concept of this network and possibly the communication made around the network is not good enough to convince fans to subscribe.

WWE can't back out now, following the creation of the Network, some of the principal broadcasters of the PPV channel decided not to renew their partnership with the WWE. The only solution left for the company is to make people subscribe to their network and satisfy the shareholders of the company by developing their network abroad. The new goal of the WWE is to reach one million subscribers by the end of 2014. The problem arises since their platform won't be translated until 2015, which will certainly be a problem for the people abroad. What solution do you think would be best to convince fans to subscribe?