In just over a month since the launch, the early returns on ESPN’s big bet of the WWE for its new direct-to-consumer app, isn’t looking too promising.
Slow start for ESPN and the WWE
According to new data from Antenna, ESPN Unlimited garnered 2.1 million sign-ups from August 21-September 30. Of the 2.1 million sign-ups, all of them are considered new subscribers who are paying $29.99 a month or $299.99 per year. This does not include subscribers to the cable bundle who signed into the app.
To put it into perspective, ESPN’s deal for the WWE’s premier live events on the app is valued at $325 million per year. The value of the ESPN deal comes from how many fans end up paying for the WWE on the app.
In a new report from Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, the biggest weekend for new subscribers so far was during WrestlePalooza. Meltzer says of ESPN’s 2.1 million sign-ups to the new unlimited app so far, 100,000-125,000 of the new subscribers came from WrestlePalooza.
All about the Benjamins
Meltzer stated, “If every month ends up kind of like this one… it’s worth $35 million a year. Now, they’re spending $325 million a year for $35 million a year of revenue coming from having these WWE events. Which is a very bad number.”
In the short-term, ESPN is expected to lose a lot of money, but Meltzer says that down the road, they could be in good shape, “That’s why these companies are losing lots of money on this type of stuff—with the idea that down the road, when we get 50 million subscribers paying 30 bucks, we’ll be able to afford all this.”
It would appear that WrestlePalooza brought short-term hype to gain subscribers for the ESPN Unlimited app. The next question becomes, will those subscribers stay, and how can ESPN use more of the WWE’s premier live events to push for more new subscriptions to the service?
Hear T.J. Rives and Steve Carney discuss the ESPN “lukewarm” wrestling subscriber numbers on the newest “Last Word on Sports Media Podcast” by clicking play below,
FOX One by comparison
While ESPN Unlimited launched last month, FOX also started their own direct-to-consumer app, FOX One for $19.99 a month or $199.99 per year. From August 21-September 30, FOX One has generated just 1.1 million subscribers compared to the 2.1 million from ESPN Unlimited.
However, FOX One’s biggest day of new sign-ups beat ESPN Unlimited’s. In the data reported from Antenna, the Philadelphia Eagles vs. Kansas City Chiefs matchup on September 14 drove nearly 300,000 new subscribers, compared to ESPN Unlimited’s biggest day on September 20, which brought in just 125,000 subscribers.
Earlier this month, ESPN and FOX launched a bundle package, which includes both ESPN Unlimited and FOX One. The direct-to-consumer bundle is available for $39.99, and features all of FOX and ESPN’s content, including the WWE premier live events.
