WWE Open to Transitioning Back to Old Pay-Per-View Model

WWE created a lot of buzz when it was announced that Endeavor will merge Vince McMahon’s company with the UFC. That could also change the company’s presentation on Peacock down the line.

We previously reported that it was Endeavor’s request that Vince McMahon stay with WWE through the UFC merger. It was also made very clear that WWE hopes to remain with NBCU and FOX as their media partners through the ongoing television rights talks.

WWE is also open for business. Nick Khan made it clear that the company is interested in selling off every ring asset possible for long-term sponsorship deals.

While speaking to Lightshed Partners, AEW CEO Nick Khan was asked if WWE would consider a shift back to traditional, or digital, pay-per-views. For WWE, they are certainly open for business, but Vince McMahon is the revolutionary in that market.

There could be, but when Vince and company got out of the traditional pay-per-view business, think about this, the first person to take events out of closed circuit and onto traditional pay-per-view was Vince McMahon. The first person to take it off traditional pay-per-view and put it on an OTT platform, Vince McMahon. Again, the first person to take his programming off his own OTT platform and take it to a streaming service, Vince McMahon. In 2014 when WWE Network launched, you only had to be the third-best OTT service next to Netflix and Hulu. Once the streaming wars started, Vince McMahon took them off.

He has been able to see around the corners on this stuff, so for us, we didn’t like traditional pay-per-view because fifty percent of the dollars go to direct just for plugging in, which is absurd. So, getting out of that and going direct to consumer got around that. You see even with the UFC ESPN+ deal, there’s no demand direct, so might we consider going back to digital pay-per-views, if it was available for our fans and priced right, of course we’d consider it. We’re open for business. A fifty percent model where half goes to the plug-in is not gonna happen.”

WWE has a lot of possibilities for the future. Endeavor merging WWE and UFC could open up a lot of new avenues to explore as well. Only time will tell what’s next in this situation, but some fans might find themselves watching WWE in very different ways soon enough.

What’s your take on WWE thinking about going back to traditional pay-per-views? Sound off in the comments!

Transcription by Ringside News