Report: WWE Trying To Sell Their Library To Warner Bros.

Sep 11, 2014

The following is an article from TheWrap.com:

Warner Bros. is in talks to acquire the WWE library, two individuals with knowledge of the negotiations told TheWrap.

Warners Bros. and the WWE decline to comment.

While the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, the library is estimated to have nearly 150,000 hours of content, consisting of television shows, pay-per-view events and house shows dating back to the 1950s. It also contains a large selection of the visual history of modern professional wrestling, and is currently held by Cinedigm.

An insider with knowledge of Cinedigm’s WWE contract told TheWrap there is no end date as yet, but the company is transitioning away from the library.

The WWE Network, which launched in February, has made use of the library but hasn’t received enough monthly subscribers to make up for its lost pay-per-view orders. At $9.99 per month, it needed 1.3 to 1.4 million subscribers, but the company closed its first quarter with just under 670,000 subscribers and declining PPV revenue. The WWE Network believed it would reach one million subscribers this year.

The WWE Network is a 24/7-streaming network that features 12 WWE live pay-per-view events, original programming, reality shows, documentaries, classic matches and more than 1,500 hours of video on demand at launch.

Basically, we’ve been trying to tell some of you guys this for MONTHS now … the WWE Network #’s are WELL BELOW what they wanted/thought they could get. Hopefully this is proof that you see now. It’s sad as most of us wanted the Network to succeed but it’s simply not happening. WWE would need to go back to traditional PPVs … and take a HUGE LOSS as they basically said “FU” to PPV companies hoping the Network would work. Now … the PPV companies would set the profit split as WWE comes “begging back” …. something like a 60/40 (maybe more) split in favor of the cable providers. A HUGE loss for WWE if this happens. As noted, the network is failing #’s wise … and WWE knows it. Not good. It’s possible WWE may try to “merge” with UFC’s network as sources say they are paying significant money to acquire a number of MMA libraries. A source with knowledge of two content libraries that UFC doesn’t own said that negotiations for purchasing them has reached significant amounts of money. WWE would surely negotiate with them before they go back to traditional PPV events. The issue is …. would UFC be willing to combine networks with WWE?

100% DIRECT LINK (PHOTOS): Triple H Gives A **BACKSTAGE** Speech At NXT TV Taping! COOL INSIDER PHOTO LEAKED!!