There is nothing that Vince McMahon does better than drop bombshells on the WWE Universe. His range starts from announcing the beginning of the Attitude Era to coming on WWE TV and proclaiming the elimination of Chris Benoit in WWE history. The connotations of his huge announcements are irrelevant. It’s the impact McMahon makes on the wrestling community that is shocking.
Today, the WWE Network numbers came out. Before they did, the WWE had to plan their moves for either announcement. If the Network lost subscribers, the “chaos” that would ensue already had a plan. The odds of the Network drastically succeeding also had a plan attached to it. Either way, McMahon and his group of officials were ready for whatever was thrown their way.
Instead of a simple press release on WWE.com, McMahon decided to get creative with his announcement.
Along with the clever YouTube video, McMahon also had the WWE blast out an e-mail to all WWE Network subscribers that describes the company’s moves beyond the updated-WWE Network numbers.
“Great News! WWE Network is now $9.99 per month with no commitment. That’s right. You’ll continue to get every LIVE pay-per-view, access to our massive on-demand library and more for the same $9.99 per month you currently pay, but without a 6-month commitment!”
“There is no action is required on your part. On your billing date in December, your WWE Network subscription will automatically convert to a no commitment account and will continue uninterrupted for $9.99 per month, plus applicable taxes.”
“If you have any questions regarding your subscription, please visit wwe.com/help.wwe.com/help. Thank you for being a WWE Network subscriber.”
This could all be an act of desperation by the WWE. Like any good business professional, they will never admit to being desperate. Granted, with the numbers proving not to be as good as originally anticipated, McMahon needed to make wise business decisions. His video to the WWE Universe did create that formal presence that fans always look for.
They only added 31,000 new subscribers this past quarter, which will make some Wall Street-executives think the McMahon’s will sell. After wanting 1-million subscribers early on, they failed to hit their mark and then some. What still shocks me is the fact that people still pay for the pay-per-views the old-fashioned way. Don’t they know that it only costs $9.99 a month to purchase every pay-per-view, on-demand features, the massive archive of classic wrestling videos and WWE Network-exclusive content?
WWE’s promotion is not the problem. It could be society’s choice to not go solely online and stick with the traditional route of watching professional wrestling. Netflix didn’t become so large overnight. The process of online-only subscriptions took years to popularize. Vince McMahon may need to be patient enough to wait for his “creation” to skyrocket like Netflix did. When the WWE Network does go live in the United Kingdom, he’ll get his 1-million subscribers.
[Image via theverge.com]