WWE launches WWE Network, the Netflix of Wrestling

After months of buildup and with much fanfare, WWE launched their long-delayed and much-ballyhooed WWE Network today. Originally intended to be a TV network, after struggling with negotiations for years they turned it into an Internet-based streaming video service, available through apps on iOS (including AppleTV), Android, Roku, PS3, PS4, and Xbox 360. WWE says support for Xbox One is coming this summer.

A subscription to the WWE Network costs $9.99/month (with a mandatory six-month commitment, billable monthly or all at once), and includes access to every WWE, WCW, and ECW Pay-Per-View in history—including live streaming of all WWE and NXT Pay-Per-Views starting with Wrestlemania XXX, normally priced at $59.95. (Other WWE PPVs typically cost $44.95 apiece and air monthly.) A one-week free trial is available.

WWE is also producing original content for the Network, including pre-shows and post-shows for their live content, several reality TV programs, documentaries similar to their long-running documentary video releases, as well as including replays of their currently-running TV shows RAW, Smackdown, Main Event, Superstars, and NXT. WWE is also including “Flashback” episodes of RAW dating back to its premiere in 1993 and episodes of ECW Hardcore TV, with other content supposedly forthcoming as it’s digitized and cataloged.

Since purchasing WCW in 2001, WWE has had the most extensive pro wrestling video library in the world, owning the rights to most surviving video content of American pro wrestling filmed prior to 2001.

Launching the WWE Network is a major gamble for WWE. Broadcasting live Pay-Per-View events as a free part of network membership steps on the toes of Cable and Satellite TV providers, which is a huge profit center for them (and until now, for WWE). DISH Network declined to broadcast last night’s Elimination Chamber PPV (despite it airing before the Network launches and having a 30-day delay before being included in its video library), and claimed in a press release that it and other providers like DirecTV intend to assess whether or not to offer WWE Pay-Per-View events on a case-by-case basis.

Like any new video streaming service, the WWE Network is having a bit of a rocky launch—the web client is reporting “Media Error: Video not available” when trying to run videos, the iOS client is rejecting login attempts, and people who have managed to login have reported difficulty getting videos to stream without lagging and outright crashes.

The WWE Network is only available to customers in the United States.

Share this article:

Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
LinkedIn
Share on tumblr
Tumblr
Share on email
Email
Share on whatsapp
WhatsApp

Recent Posts

Fallout - Woman exiting the vault Movies & TV

Amazon’s Fallout Series Teaser Trailer

Live-action video game adaptations continue to get better and better. The Last of Us showed us what was possible when retelling the stories of a great video game on screen. …

Gaming News

GTA VI Trailer Incoming: Here’s What We Know

Get the latest scoop on GTA VI! Rockstar confirms trailer release for Dec 5, hinting a thrilling return to Vice City. Stay tuned for more details!

Gaming News

Bringing L.A. Comic Con 2023 From the Scene to Your Screen

Hey, Fanatics! Buckle up, because L.A. Comic Con is making its grand return to the City of Angels this weekend, December 1-3, and it’s shaping up to be an out-of-this-world …

Gaming News

PDP & VICTRIX REVEAL LIMITED EDITION COD-INSPIRED CONTROLLERS

PDP, Victrix, and Activision have had a great relationship for some time now. Last year they released a special edition Las Almas version of their their Pro BFG Controller. This …

Game Reviews

Lords of the Fallen Impressions | A New Challenger

Are you looking for a new challenge in the Soulslike genre? Well Lords of the Fallen may have what you are looking for.

Pax West (PAX Prime)

Ebenezer and the Invisible World Interview | PAX West 2023

When you mix Metroidvania and the holiday season, you get Ebenezer and the Invisible World. While walking around the PAX show floor this caught my eye. Not only because it …