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[QUOTE="Symphony Steve, post: 3353374, member: 911"]
Vince openly talked about how he was gonna strike a deal this year. He couldn't.  We're talking solely and specifically about the rights to show WM, not the live event, ticket prices, or merch sales.  WWE made the (IMO) disastrous decision to offer it on the network as a means of driving subscriptions.  At best, it's been a wash since they took it off PPV. Well, they didn't REALLY take it off PPV, but they openly ridiculed on their shows the idea that people would buy the PPV when they could get it on the network.  In fact, most people learned how they could get it for free on the network and then cancel their free trial subscriptions.

WWE's ratings have fallen consistently for years now.  They were in a strong position when they negotiated the latest Raw and Smackdown deals, yet the ratings have continued to diminish.

I take your point about this year being different.  But I don't see any sort of boost in demand for their product increasing for some time now.  We're likely talking about at best a few more months of empty arena matches if they can even FIND a place that will let them tape.  The product largely sucks. And, for the supposed 'stars' who were made at WM, including Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman, they're gonna have to take the baton in the empty arena era.

Finally, keep in mind that we're not merely talking about [B]adding[/B] something to WWE, we're talking about largely striking such a deal [B]in lieu of having it on the network[/B].  Since WM is, by all measures, the single biggest attraction that the network has, a sharp decline in subscribers is inevitable.

(JEE-zus, this latest screed is proof that I've got too much time on my hands...we've gotta get our fantasy baseball back.)
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