Dave Meltzer reported on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio that the ESPN App has gained 2.1 million subscribers within its first month of launch.
He noted that during the weekend of WrestlePalooza, the app added 175,000 subscribers.
In the weekend before the event, it gained 80,000 subscribers, and the weekend after WrestlePalooza, it brought in an additional 50,000 new subscribers.
Meltzer highlighted that the fourth weekend following the app’s launch saw more new subscribers than the third weekend, confirming that the WWE premium live events (PLE) deal positively impacted the ESPN App’s subscriber count. He estimated that approximately 95,000 to 125,000 people subscribed to the app specifically for WWE content that weekend.
Meltzer emphasized that the value of the WWE deal, worth $325 million per year, is not derived from the revenue ESPN generates from its existing 30 million subscribers to traditional cable or satellite services, as ESPN would have that revenue regardless of the WWE partnership. Instead, the deal’s value is based on the number of people who subscribe and remain subscribed for an extended period, ideally about a year, primarily due to WWE content.
He further estimated that if ESPN App viewership remains consistent in the following months, the worth of the WWE deal could translate to about $35 million annually. While companies like ESPN are making substantial investments in streaming, Meltzer pointed out that they are currently losing money on these ventures. However, ESPN entered into the WWE deal hoping to attract as many as 50 million subscribers, each paying approximately $30 a month for the Unlimited tier.
Additionally, Meltzer mentioned that the revenue WWE generated from the new ESPN App is nowhere near the amount ESPN paid to stream WWE premium live events. Nonetheless, he noted that WWE PLEs are likely to be more valuable than the UFC streaming deal for Paramount+, valued at $1.1 billion, and he predicted it would result in a significant financial loss.
He concluded that while it is beneficial for companies like WWE and sports leagues to negotiate lucrative deals with streaming services to attract them, the streaming content providers are incurring substantial losses in this business model.
Despite the ESPN App being the exclusive streaming home for WWE PLEs in the U.S., Netflix continues to air these shows internationally. ESPN acquired the rights to broadcast WWE PLEs earlier this year, with the five-year deal commencing earlier than initially planned, starting with WrestlePalooza.
WWE had reportedly fulfilled its agreement with NBCUniversal’s Peacock for premium live events after splitting WrestleMania and SummerSlam into two nights.
