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What’s the story?
Earlier this week it was reported by f4wonline that WWE had total revenue of $186.4 million and profits of $21.8 million, in the third quarter of 2017.
In the report, it was also stated that the company saw a total of 388,000 sign-ups for the WWE Network, while 445,000 subscribers cancelled during the third quarter. However, this also meant that Mae Young Classic did not help WWE in terms of subscriber numbers for their network.
In case you didn’t know…
The Mae Young Classic was a multi-night tournament, featuring 32 women’s wrestlers from NXT and the independent scene.
The tournament took place on July 13 and 14 but was aired on the WWE Network from August 28th to September 12. The tournament was initially won by Japanese sensation, Kairi Sane, who defeated Shayna Baszler in the finale.
The heart of the matter
As reported by the f4wonline, it seems like the WWE Network has lost a huge number of subscribers over the past few months.
It has been claimed that the network had a total of 1,507,000 subscribers, out of which there were a total of 392,000 sign-ups and 453,000 cancellations in the last quarter—that is from the month of July-September.
During the third quarter of 2017, WWE had a total of 388,000 network sign-ups but on the other hand, 455,000 decided to cancel their subscriptions, so it can be stated that the company witnessed almost a similar amount of fans unsubscribing to their network. This also goes to show that this year’s Mae Young Classic didn’t help the WWE network much in terms of subscriptions as well.
What’s next?
While WWE keeps on losing their network subscribers they are trying to expand their business in India and the Middle East. Vince McMahon’s company apparently have secured 20 new television advertisers in these regions.
The company also has a deal with NBC Universal which will expire in 2019, along with another deal in the UK. The company is also currently targeting a new US deal which is likely to be announced within 2018.
Author’s Take
Personally, I believe the reason WWE has been losing so many network subscribers is due to them not giving the fans what they actually crave for.
The PPV numbers have been weak and there has also been some lacklustre booking of some top superstars in the company, which might have led to a fall in viewership numbers for WWE.
