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In the Earnings release, WWE noted they have added 30,000 international subscribers since opening those countries over the summer.
In their Earnings Release, WWE commented, "Subscriber growth reflected the acquisition of 286,000 subscribers, which was 71% above the gross subscriber additions in the period between April 7 (the day after Wrestlemania) and June 30 (WWE Network added 182,000 gross subscribers during the April 1- April 6 period, which included Wrestlemania). Through September 30, WWE Network had attracted approximately 971,000 unique subscribers with 75% of these subscribers active as of that date."
The WWE Network launched in February 2014. In April 2014, WWE announced the Network had signed up 667,287 subscribers. In August 2014, the company announced 700,000 subscribers.
WWE announced that going forward, they will be offering the Network for $9.99 per month with no commitment. Previously, the Network was available for $9.99 with a six month commitment. The commitment aspect of the Network will officially change as of December. WWE commented, "The new pricing structure reflects management’s belief in the broad appeal of WWE Network content and is comparable to that of other subscription-based content platforms including Netflix and Hulu Plus."
The $12.99 one month price plan (which the company said brought in 23,000 subscribers) is being eliminated.
They also announced a promotion where new subscribers who sign up in November will receive that month for free.
Regarding advertising being added to the Network, WWE announced, "The Company’s advertising strategy anticipates no commercial breaks during scheduled programming, limited advertising between shows, and occasional advertising before the network’s video-on-demand content."
On the UK front, WWE announced, "The Company continues to develop the international platform for WWE Network and plans to make the U.S. version of WWE Network available in the U.K. on an over-the-top basis in November."
WWE also announced, "The Company plans to roll out new "resume play" and “watch list†features across WWE Network media platforms by the end of December."
WWE stated, "Viewer data continues to indicate that, on average, close to 90% of subscribers access WWE Network at least once per week and 99% access WWE Network at least once per month."
Overall, WWE Network generated $22.4 million in subscription revenue in the third quarter. PPV revenues now fall under the Network umbrella. Traditional PPV brought in $3.7 million in revenue with approximately 294,000 buys for the three PPVs held during this quarter.
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