2014 “Hell in a Cell” Pay-Per-View Buy Rate Revealed

With the launch of the WWE Network on Feb. 24, 2014, the pay-per-view business for WWE has forever changed. Starting with WrestleMania XXX, fans were able to watch WWE’s pay-per-view events live for just $9.99 a month. Since then, the buy rate for these events have seen a notable decrease.

The latest pay-per-view buy rate to be revealed is that for “Hell in a Cell,” which occurred on Oct. 26, 2014. The event contained a double main event, which first saw John Cena defeat Randy Orton in a Hell in a Cell match to become the number-one contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. To close the show, Seth Rollins defeated Dean Ambrose in a Hell in a Cell match, thanks to interference from Bray Wyatt.

According to PWInsider, the event garnered 76,000 pay-per-view buys. This is down 66.7 percent from last year’s buy rate of 228,000. This continues the trend of pay-per-view buy rates being cut in half, or in this case, being dropped by two-thirds. The 2014 “SummerSlam” event saw its pay-per-view buy rate cut in half, as did the year’s “Extreme Rules.”

Editor’s Note

This trend is only going to get worse, as the WWE Network gains more popularity. What I’m really looking forward to, is the “Survivor Series” buy rate, seeing the event was “free” on the WWE Network.