The Death of Television: A look at the future of streaming media

"It's not your grandpas TV"

On-Demand streaming is the future wave of television sweeping the world
Image courtesy of Techchunks.com

It's the digital craze sweeping the world, the new form of visual media distribution, the On-Demand Streaming service. While streaming began with roots in radio, when ESPNSportsZone streamed broadcasts live to thousands of subscribers, the current era of streaming is more seen on websites such as Twitch, Ustream or Livestream. But what's On-Demand Streaming? Well it's not your grandpa's TV.

The WWE Network is the brain child of Vince McMahon Jr. the self-made billionaire in charge of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. which deals primarily in the production of Professional Wrestling, a niche product that yet stands upon the precipice of determining the fate of television and Pay-Per-View (PPV).
"What makes WWE Network so groundbreaking is that we are literally going over the top, WWE Network will be the first network ever to launch with a 24/7 streaming service with scheduled programs, exclusive live content and an On Demand library that our fans can access everywhere on any device directly from WWE." Said Michelle Wilson at the press conference on January 8th when the Network was announced. On the WWE's website is a helpful list of all devices that the network can be run on and how to run it on them.

In this Video, WWE Superstar Kofi Kingston explains how to sign up and use the network as well.

What this has to do with the future of streaming media

The WWE Network features an On-Demand library as well as a 24/7 stream of
content making it part television, part on-demand library. (VIA WWE.com)

What the WWE Network represents is the ability for niche products to find a successful platform for themselves to launch. The WWE holds PPVs which served as a main method of revenue. However with the launch of the network, the PPVs have been redubbed "Special Events" and the focus changed away but not completely removed from the PPV market. While Wrestlemania XXX may have been $60 to purchase, the WWE was receiving less than half of that amount. With their own Streaming Network, the WWE is earning a flat $10 monthly fee with 6 month commitment that goes directly into their pocket. Theoretically, this $60 per half year is much less money than that made through one PPV.


But on average, 100,000-200,000 viewers will buy in to a PPV. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for 2013, the two highest brought PPVs were Wrestlemania (662,000 domestic) and the Royal Rumble (364,000 domestic) Meanwhile, Night of Champions did a paltry 92,000 Domestic. Assume that Night of Champions was $40 US and that the WWE makes about $15 of that. That means that domestically the WWE made $1.44M off of Night of Champions for the PPV Audience.


The WWE Network as- of this post- has 667,287 paying customers, each paying $10/month. So for Night of Champions 2013, streamed simultaneously with the PPV version, the WWE made $6,672,870, an almost 5-time increase over PPV profits. On top of that, the WWE made additional money on the PPV buys. The network is therefore more profitable than the PPV industry was to the WWE.


If the WWE network continues its growth and replaces the PPV industry for the company, it provides a growth for the company, and shows that even a niche product like the WWE can do well.

Unfortunately the Honeymoon is over

NXT Takeover is a live special that will air exclusively on
The WWE Network (Via WWE.com)

While 667,287 subscribers in a manner of 2 months makes the network the fastest growing On-Demand streaming industry, the WWE still has a major problem. Wrestlemania XXX, which aired in April, has passed, and with the biggest event of the year gone the stream of subscribers it would bring are also gone.  The WWE's seeks to have 1,000,000 subscribers by 01/01/2015 in America alone. That means 332,713 people need to sign up for a network devoted to a niche industry like the WWE, without the presence of the latest Wrestlemania to attract them. That's just not very likely to happen. At the same time the 1,000,000 number was meant to be supplemented with PPV buys, and companies such as Dish and DirectTV have decided to not carry PPVs. This inflates the number needed to succeed, still without much to entice new subscribers. Meanwhile the WWE is running new promotions to entice subscribers with merchandise which shows the desperation of needing to hit that 1 Million by the end of the year.


In the end though, this would never kill normal television. Niche products are best promoted by being available on free TV where everyone can see them, when you lock content behind a paywall the only fans you'll have are the fans you've always had, creating an insular market. So is the future of streaming media the death of television? Not yet, but in the future, it very well could be, and the Network will show us, for better or worse, if a niche product can survive off a subscriber base.

Aaron Mikheal is an amateur reporter and writer, when he isn't working on a novel of video game, he writes articles for Reflections. 5/9/14