2014 "Extreme Rules" Buyrate Down More Than Fifty Percent From Past Years

With the WWE Network coming into play on Feb. 24, the pay-per-view industry in professional wrestling would be changed for the distant future. Starting with WWE’s biggest spectacle, WrestleMania, fans would be able to catch a pay-per-view live on the WWE Network. This meant fans could catch the event without the hassle of shelling out over fifty dollars to their cable provider. In turn, some cable providers started to not carry WWE pay-per-views.

Because of the network, the pay-per-view buyrate for WrestleMania XXX was down. The event received 690,000 buys, down from previous years, which tended to have at least 1,000,000 buys. However, when WWE Network subscribers were factored in, WrestleMania XXX was the most viewed WWE event of all-time.

While WrestleMania XXX was the first look at the WWE Network’s impact on the pay-per-view industry, its future pay-per-views will likely be a better indicator of what effect the WWE Network has. Unlike WrestleMania, events such as “Extreme Rules” and “Payback,” tend to not draw in the casual fan.

A recent report by PWInsider has revealed the early numbers for the 2014 “Extreme Rules” buyrate. The website reported that based off of WWE’s recent key performance indicators, “Extreme Rules” garnered 107,000 pay-per-view buys. 67,000 were international buys, while the other 40,000 were domestic.

The buyrate for this year’s “Extreme Rules” is down more than fifty percent from the past two editions of the pay-per-view. In 2012, the event received over 250,000 buys thanks in part to Brock Lesnar’s return match in WWE. A year later, the event garnered over 230,000 buys.

Editor’s Note

A more than fifty percent loss in pay-per-view revenue definitely hurts WWE. Though, I’m sure the company expected to experience a great loss in pay-per-view buys from here on out. At first, I don’t think the WWE Network will be able to counteract the loss in pay-per-view money. However, in due time, I think the WWE Network will be able to combat the losses.