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I've gone to some lengths the last few years to research and try to understand the popularity and finances of the pro wrestling business. (Brace for thread...) 1/ https://twitter.com/HoldenPro/status/1344118636223614978
There's good reason to believe WWE's popularity diminished each of the last 3-4 years, based on consistent annual declines in ticket sales, merchandise sales, Google web search, Network sub losses in 2019, and Raw's viewership under-indexes since at least 2019
compared to other TV trends.
WWE is the industry leader, obviously. They attract the vast majority of the eyeballs and view time globally, and the vast majority of the revenue.
WWE is the industry leader, obviously. They attract the vast majority of the eyeballs and view time globally, and the vast majority of the revenue.
The business model for the biggest wrestling companies transformed drastically over the last several years. As cable homes and viewership have diminished, the most-viewed programs have become increasingly valuable. Top wrestling programs are among these.
To maintain their diminishing subscriber bases, cable networks and cable/satellite systems are increasingly reliant on highly-viewed programs that people watch live. Viewing programs that are live (like sports and news) is emerging as cable TV's enduring value. Because of that,
cable networks are paying increasingly huge fees for that kind of programming.
For the first time, WWE will get the majority of its revenue this year from TV rights fees. That will be the case after Covid is long gone too. This will also be WWE's inflation-adjusted most
For the first time, WWE will get the majority of its revenue this year from TV rights fees. That will be the case after Covid is long gone too. This will also be WWE's inflation-adjusted most
profitable year ever, despite not selling a single ticket since March and not being able to do Wrestlemania in front of fans.
So while cable TV is perceived to be a dying medium, it's actually making wrestling more profitable than ever.
So while cable TV is perceived to be a dying medium, it's actually making wrestling more profitable than ever.
And -- you may be thinking: But what happens to wrestling when cable actually dies? I'm skeptical it truly will, but even if cable subscribers were to evaporate entirely, I don't see the value in highly-viewed live content diminishing much. Big live audiences will be highly
monetized some way or other.
Clearly there's a ton of watch time and other forms of engagement happening digitally, across many wrestling brands. That digital consumption drives far less revenue, though, even for WWE. Even if you live in an economy where the digital CPMs
Clearly there's a ton of watch time and other forms of engagement happening digitally, across many wrestling brands. That digital consumption drives far less revenue, though, even for WWE. Even if you live in an economy where the digital CPMs
(ad rates) are high, an hour of watching WWE content on YouTube is probably worth about 1/20 of what it is when you watch on traditional TV.
That said, time spent on wrestling is probably stable, maybe
That said, time spent on wrestling is probably stable, maybe
growing. WWE still makes up the vast majority of time spent, but the brands people are engaging with are more diverse and probably make up a larger minority than any time since the end of WCW, especially with the introduction of AEW on cable.
Quality of the current content notwithstanding, it's a great time to be a fan. Fans have more easy and low cost access to a wide variety of current and historical wrestling content than ever.
And creative fulfillment notwithstanding, it's a great time to be a wrestler. There are
And creative fulfillment notwithstanding, it's a great time to be a wrestler. There are
more living-wage-paying positions for wrestlers in the industry than at any time since the fall of the territories. And that's the case as we head toward a time where WWE might cut back on house shows post-Covid, and AEW will probably never run them, meaning there are more
positions with less time and physical wear required. Even as house show fees may disappear, competition for talent among major companies is tremendous and should result in increased salaries. It likely already has.
At the independent level, wrestlers and promotions are empowered
At the independent level, wrestlers and promotions are empowered
(and hazarded) with the tools of social media, which allows them to connect with fans, wrestlers, and promoters like never before, and there's an endless relatively low cost video library at our fingertips to study. The enormous time people spend using the internet also empowers
ambitious indies to monetize video in various ad- and subscriber-support and even PPV forms. This allows relatively small companies to monetize not just live events (via ticket sales) with fans within driving distance but monetize video as well with fans globally, without the
expense, shipping, and labor required of creating a physical product like a DVD. /end
