WWE Network Breaks Into Top Five Of Streaming Services

There’s no need for Netflix to watch out, but WWE is building up some steam with its streaming service.

WWE issued a press release Thursday touting the WWE Network as a top-five Over-the-top (OTT) streaming service, based on a report by Parks Associates, a market research and consulting firm.

WWE Network ranked higher than both NFL Game Pass and HBO Now on a top 10 list based on subscriptions. The complete rankings are below:

Netflix
Amazon Video
Hulu
MLB.TV
WWE Network
HBO Now
Crunchyroll
NFL Game Pass
The Blaze
SlingTV

The report noted that 40% of OTT video services in the United States were launched within the past two years—WWE Network launched in 2014—while 25% came out in 2015.

In its third-quarter financial report last month, WWE said that the addition of original content and additional live specials helped lift the subscriber count to a healthy 1.2 million.

That’s a long way from Netflix, which is closing in on 70 million subscribers, but WWE trails only MLB.TV in the sports genre. Parks said the WWE holds a distinct advantage over other sports programming, with its ability to resist “seasonality common to other sports OTT video service,” and as a result it continues to add subscribers. In other words, WWE’s lack of an offseason allows the promotion to add subscribers throughout the year without fear of a significant lull.

Many have called for WWE to explore a possible offseason for the safety of its wrestlers, who only get a break when they get hurt. Major injuries to top stars Seth Rollins and Randy Orton in 2015 add credence to that claim. But with WWE’s non-stop schedule adding a boost to subscribers, in addition to the company’s inherent next-man-up philosophy, an offseason is virtually out of the question.

source: forbes.com