Backstage news on WWE cutbacks, more expected in the future

On the latest episode of Wrestling Observer RadioDave Meltzer that WWE had promised everyone that they were going to have bigger profits in 2017 than they did in 2016 and as of now they are not even close. There are no longer pyros and some WWE Network programs have been canceled in order to cut back costs.

 


 

Dave Meltzer on WWE’s disappointing year so far:

“So last year’s profits were about $30 million. And this year we’re about halfway through. I don’t have the exact numbers in front of me, but it’s like 5 or 6 million, which means there’s a lot of catching up to do. They are not in any financial trouble but the Network subscriber number is a genuine disappointment. The growth coming out of WrestleMania that would have been expected wasn’t there.”

The brand specific PPVs not helping WWE Network subscriber growth:

“The one thing that we have learned is that the two PPVs per month, that has not helped. The Network number is not growing the way they expected it to so that’s been a bad situation. But I don’t think they want to drop one of the PPVs because I think that would hurt ratings a little bit.”

Meltzer also pointed out that more cutbacks are expected to come in WWE and that it’s one of the reasons the company has been slow with the United Kingdom show. The original UK tournament that saw Tyler Bate become UK Champion was expensive and it would cost a lot to have tapings each month.

Related Articles

Latest Articles

Videos