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

A new vacuum can alert you to incoming text messages. Why?

"The appliance category becoming connected does add a lot of opportunities to provide new information to a consumer," says Elizabeth Parks, the president and chief marketing officer at Parks Associate...

The Transformation of Making, Storing, and Keeping Energy Reliable

“Since the 1980s, energy efficiency has been one of the key drivers of home automation, which is what it was called back then,” said Elizabeth Parks, president and CMO at research group Parks Associat...

Streaming in 2025 Isn’t the Bargain It Used to Be

A recent Parks Associates report found that nearly half of U.S. households subscribe to five or more streaming video services, and 23% subscribe to eight or more. The bottom line? Cutting the cord...

‘Severance’ Workplace Thriller Gives Apple a Much-Needed Hit

Apple TV+ has historically been more reliant on creating standout content than its competitors, said Jennifer Kent, vice president of research at market intelligence firm Parks Associates, and it rema...