Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

WWE Is Laying the Smackdown on the World

The market’s enthusiasm for WWE stems largely from its lucrative TV contracts, combined with its early success in direct-to-consumer streaming TV apps. In 2014 the company made a risky move, deciding essentially to cannibalize its traditional pay-per-view business. Instead of paying their cable companies one-time fees to see WWE’s marquee events—say, $44.99 for the Royal Rumble—fans would be encouraged to subscribe to a streaming video service, the WWE Network, and pay a monthly fee. After some early turbulence, the move is paying off. Roughly 1.5 million people now hand over $9.99 a month for the WWE Network, making it the 11th-most-popular streaming video service in the U.S., according to Parks Associates, and the second-most-popular, after Major League Baseball’s, in the “sports-related” category.

From the article "WWE Is Laying the Smackdown on the World" by Felix Gillette and Kim Bhasin.

Previously In The News

DirecTV Wants To Be The Next Online Substitute For Cable

But analysts estimate that Sling has racked up fewer than 1 million subscribers since it launched in February 2015. Vue's numbers are harder to get a handle on, but it's not on the list of top 10 most...

Can an AI burglar alarm predict break-ins before they happen?

Despite all of the talk surrounding smart, connected homes and the Internet of Things, according to analysts and research firms, the only area where the technology is really gaining traction with cons...

Streaming Boom Reaches 2021 Crossroads: Can Big Media Really Catch Netflix?

Streaming is continuing to replace other forms of viewing. As pay-TV subscriptions continued to wane in 2020, the number of households subscribing to multiple streaming services reached 61%, up from 4...

'Streaming fatigue' got you down? The 'great re-bundling' could be the answer

And companies are already catching on. Amazon, Apple, and Roku (ROKU) allow consumers to buy individual channels through their platforms that they can pay for through a set billing option and view usi...