The WWE Network is a subscription-based video streaming service owned by WWE. The concept was originally announced in 2011. On January 8, 2014, WWE announced the network would launch on February 24, 2014 in the United States, with launches in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Nordic countries set for late 2014/early 2015. In September 2011, WWE officially announced plans to launch the WWE Network.
WWE conducted a survey asking if people would pay for the WWE Network if it were a premium channel. In an email sent to WWE fans who might be interested in the WWE Network, WWE surveyed fans for their thoughts about the WWE Network airing WWE’s pay-per-views to subscribers for no additional charge. The survey also noted that feature repeats of Raw and SmackDown, as well as footage from WCW, ECW, NWA and AWA would also make the lineup. Original programming was also noted in the survey.
WWE Network launched last Monday, signifying the beginning of a new era in both WWE and the pay-per-view television business in general. After a shaky start that was somewhat expected due to high demand, the service normalized in the second half of the week, so most users were able to access all programming and get a better feel for the service.
Obviously, the inclusion of every PPV event live on the Network is a big deal, and really, it’s the most important part. But we’re still five weeks away from the first one, which is WrestleMania 30, so I can’t really say anything about that yet other than that it’s nice to be paying a lot less for PPV shows.
The biggest problem with the WWE Network right now is that the WWE has been repeating the same shows over and over again. It is hard to watch what is on because there really isn’t anything new to watch now I know its only been a little over a week but the company can do better.
WWE Network is a subscription-based service costing $9.99 a month with a 6 month commitment. So basically you get all of what the WWE Network has to offer for 6 months for the price of one WWE pay per view in HD through a traditional cable TV service.
WWE Network has a lot to offer and for $9.99 you get every Pay Per View plus access to all the old shows, PPVs and much more. So even with the shaky start of WWE Network it still has a chance to be great it just needs time.