Survivor Series PPV Buyrate Down 26% In 2009, Gimmick PPVs

With the release of WWE’s fourth quarter 2009 financial data earlier today, we have details on the performance of the company’s four Q4 PPVs. For the three months ending December 31, 2009, WWE’s PPV revenue rose from $15.9 million in 2008 to $16.3 million in 2009.

The overall increase in Q4 PPV buys is attributed to a the success of WWE’s new gimmick-themed PPVs, which out-performed their 2008 counterparts. However, this year’s Survivor Series took a sharp hit, which kept the revenue increase to only $400,000 for the quarter over 2008.

Here’s the data:

* Hell in a Cell did 283,000 buys, up 7% from No Mercy 2008 (261,000).
* Bragging Rights did 181,000 buys, up 15% from Cyber Sunday 2008 (153,000).
* Survivor Series totally bombed. The show did 235,000 buys, down 26% from 2008 (319,000)
* Tables, Ladders & Chairs did 228,000 buys, up 15% from Armageddon 2008 (193,000).

50+ names fired at WWE’s Titan Towers today – security in the building!