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This week, on Tuesday, July 7, the WWE Network launched in Italy. For a monthly subscription fee of $9.99 (with the first month free for new subscribers), Italian fans have finally joined the “more than 175 countries” which are offered the WWE Network. Since the debut of the network, WWE has continued to push the trademark $9.99 price point. In August 2014, Vince McMahon tweeted a picture of a new $9.99 flag flying over WWE’s corporate headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. Announcers pushed the $9.99 WWE Network on television. Wrestlers brought up the $9.99 in promos. A barrage of online advertising touted the $9.99 ...

Thursday morning, WWE announced record-setting quarterly revenue of $176.2 million for the first quarter of 2015. This is a huge increase over last year's first-quarter revenue of only $125.6 million. A significant portion of this revenue growth is attributable to the timing of WrestleMania 31. When WWE's juggernaut event is held in March instead of April, the revenue is recorded in the first quarter instead of the second quarter. Powered by escalations in television rights fees, the WrestleMania live event, Wrestlemania venue merchandise revenue, video game licensing and growing WWE Network revenue, WWE posted a profitable quarter with $9.8 million in net income. It's ...

On January 4, WWE announced on its website that the WWE Network would be available in the United Kingdom and Ireland starting January 19. The website includes a video message from an excited Vince McMahon. U.K. fans remain cautiously optimistic that the WWE really will begin offering the over-the-top service this time. It's been a series of false starts, with the most recent misstep just two months ago.  The WWE had originally announced that the U.K. launch date would be November 3 as part of the #FreeFreeFree November campaign. However, things fell apart mere minutes before the launch date. It was an embarrassing situation for the WWE. Furthermore, the ...

On Thursday, October 30, WWE released third-quarter results and announced several prominent changes to the WWE Network. Going forward, there would be no more six-month commitments. The company eliminated the $12.99 pricing tier. And in a bid to grow the subscriber rolls, the entire month of November, including Survivor Series, is being offered without charge to new subscribers. On the international front, the second paragraph of the press release highlighted that WWE "[continues] to develop the international platform for WWE Network and [plans] to make the network available in the U.K. on an OTT (over-the-top) basis in November." After August's ambitious global launch of the WWE Network excluded ...

WWE announced their third-quarter results this morning. For the fourth consecutive quarter, WWE reported negative net income. Fans and analysts alike have been keenly interested in the latest WWE Network subscription numbers. The WWE Network announced expansion to over 170 countries and territories in an Aug. 12 press release. Many people expected that a strong SummerSlam build combined with new international growth could provide a much-needed boost to the number of WWE Network subscribers. Instead, WWE's announced that as of Sept. 30, there were 731,000 paid subscribers to the WWE Network. That was split between 703,000 subscribers to the domestic version of ...

WWE sent an email to WWE Network subscribers indicating that starting today “WWE Network will begin to run limited video advertisements.” (Full text of WWE's email to WWE Network subscribers is available at F4Wonline.com.) While many WWE fans were not expecting this development, it should not come as a total surprise. When WWE announced the loss of 128,000 WWE Network subscribers during the second quarter of 2014 due to "payment issues," I speculated that WWE may begin displaying advertising on the WWE Network.  WWE has always noted the possibility of adding advertising to the WWE Network in financial documents and investor presentations.  For instance, during May's conference call covering ...

Many European wrestling fans were greatly disappointed with Monday's revelation from the WWE that the launch of the U.K. version of the WWE Network has been delayed. Last month, when the WWE Network expanded to more than 170 countries, the press release said "the network is expected to be live in the UK by this October." However, as of today, the WWE Network FAQ for the United Kingdom reads, "The launch of WWE Network in the U.K. will be delayed given discussions with potential partners. A launch date will be announced by November 1." The last-minute delays in officially launching the WWE Network ...

WWE produces more than 300 live events each year. About half of the events are non-televised house shows held in the United States and Canada. Today, the major draw for a WWE house show is the overall WWE brand. Yet, subtle trends do emerge over time that suggest which wrestlers are most successful as live event headliners. For instance, a show headlined by John Cena vs. Randy Orton usually draws a larger crowd than the show headlined by Kane vs. Sheamus. Using data from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required) and CageMatch.net, it's possible to build up a database on house show attendance. Each year, WWE runs ...

After 20 years on national television, Glenn Jacobs has established quite the WWE legacy. No one else comes close to matching his character Kane's record for number of modern WWE matches. Kane has racked up nearly 900 television matches between 1997 and 2014. Additional stints as Isaac Yankem DDS (1995-1996) and Fake Diesel (1996-1997) bring dozens more to Jacobs' televised total. The secret to Kane's mammoth television record is his longevity.  Since his epic debut at October 1997's Badd Blood: In Your House, Jacobs has not left active WWE competition for longer than six months. That's an astonishing record. Kane's longest in-ring break was July 2011 through December 2011. On the July 22, ...

In this piece we'll examine the key elements necessary to successfully repackage a WWE Superstar. It's a lot more than just renaming a wrestler or giving them a new outfit. Repackaging involves creating an entirely new character. This character needs to highlight the performer's strengths and position him as an important player within the WWE.   Successful Examples A proper repacking can transform a languishing wrestler into a top superstar. Three recent successful examples of repackaged wrestlers are Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt and Fandango. Nick Nemeth began his on-screen WWE career in 2005 as the caddy for Chavo Guerrero's golfing alter-ego Kerwin White. When that gimmick ...