The market’s enthusiasm for WWE stems largely from its lucrative TV contracts, combined with its early success in direct-to-consumer streaming TV apps. In 2014 the company made a risky move, deciding essentially to cannibalize its traditional pay-per-view business. Instead of paying their cable companies one-time fees to see WWE’s marquee events—say, $44.99 for the Royal Rumble—fans would be encouraged to subscribe to a streaming video service, the WWE Network, and pay a monthly fee. After some early turbulence, the move is paying off. Roughly 1.5 million people now hand over $9.99 a month for the WWE Network, making it the 11th-most-popular streaming video service in the U.S., according to Parks Associates, and the second-most-popular, after Major League Baseball’s, in the “sports-related” category.
From the article "WWE Is Laying the Smackdown on the World" by Felix Gillette and Kim Bhasin.
Cord-cutter consumer research from Parks Associates shows the percentage of US broadband households that use only antennas to receive TV has steadily increased since 2013 to reach 15 per cent. The fir...
According to market research firm Parks Associates’ OTT Video Market Tracker service, the churn rate for OTT video services is 19 per cent of US broadband households, indicating roughly one in five ho...
A Parks Associates report finds that makers of smart TVs and streaming media players (SMPs) are shifting strategies to focus on the user experience (UX) as device sales start to flatten out. Accord...
“Today, consumers are satisfied with many of their existing products, provided they are working well,” said Tricia Parks, President, CEO, and Founder, Parks Associates. “Many product categories are fo...
