WWE Announcement |OT| Tonight's the night....

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It's official -- the WWE Network is coming, set to launch on Monday, February 24th. The world's largest pro wrestling organization made the presentation Wednesday night at the annual CES event in Las Vegas, NV.

Here are the big highlights:

- The network will be $9.99/month with a six-month commitment. Fans can sign up for a one-week free trial starting on Feb. 24th at 9 AM EST. It officially launches with the RAW post-show at 11:05 PM EST that night.

- All 12 WWE pay-per-views will move to the network, starting with Wrestlemania 30.

- All past WWE, WCW, and ECW pay-per-views will be available on-demand.

- The network will feature original shows like Legend House (reality show featuring retired wrestlers), Wrestlemania Rewind (looking back at specific matches), Countdown (a rankings/list-style show), Monday Night War: WWE vs. WCW, and more. Legends House begins in April.

- NXT and Superstars will be on the network.

- 30-minute pre and post shows for RAW and Smackdown will be part of the network, and a daily live studio show will also launch.

- In total, over 1500 hours of video on demand will be available at launch, including encore airings of RAW, Smackdown, and Main Events. Classic matches "uncut and uncensored" will also be available.

- The network will be available on all devices like PS3, Xbox 360, Roku, smartphones, desktops, laptops, and more. Coming soon: Xbox One, select smart TVs and more.

- Using the WWE app, fans will have access to a second screen experience for live events and original shows.

- MLB Advanced Media will help power the network, including video stream infrastructure, app development and operational support.

- The network will not immediately be available around the world, and is scheduled to launch in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Nordics by the end of 2014 to early 2015.

The presentation featured Steve Austin, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Shawn Michaels, Michael Cole, and several key office personnel discussing the Network. Social media reaction was extremely positive, and the overwhelming consensus was that the network already blows the UFC Fight Pass offering in its current state away.

Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez are in Las Vegas and attended the presentation. Tune into Wrestling Observer Radio later tonight for more insight and details.

There's the Observer's report on the main points, to summarize. Cool stuff.
 
This is perfect. As I work from home I can start the day with sports radio and end it with wrestling. Having only been a casual fan this will be neat.
 
Pretty dope I must say. Every few years I try to get back into wrestling for a month or two then come to my senses that it's still fucking awful. All the bonus original produced shit seems interesting, but classic PPV's and eventually classic shows of Raw and Nitro are going to be worth it. Finally I can watch all the Aldon Montoya 5-star matches!
 
Great deal, as a old school fan who stopped watching in the mid 2000s, this is enough for me to get back in.

No Canada at launch sucks, though.
 
They didn't pull a Sega and announce that the app was available now.
They lost

We'd all be dead right now had that happened.

Will we have access to the old WWF Live Wire, Confidential, Shotgun Saturday, Sunday Night Heat, Jakked/Metal, TNT, Prime Time, Black Saturday, Superstars of Wrestling, The Main Event, Prime Time, and All Stars?
 
With this deal WWE will most likely put much less focus on the ppvs. It will become like another episode of Monday Night Raw(they already are for the most part). They don't have to make monthly events feel special if they won't be making any money off of them. This is a bad long term gamble if it doesn't pay off, because after getting all the ppvs free noone is going to go back to paying $60 for one. They are going to need 1 million+ subscribers to break even.
 
With this deal WWE will most likely put much less focus on the ppvs. It will become like another episode of Monday Night Raw(they already are for the most part). They don't have to make monthly events feel special if they won't be making any money off of them. This is a bad long term gamble if it doesn't pay off, because after getting all the ppvs free noone is going to go back to paying $60 for one. They are going to need 1 million+ subscribers to break even.

I share some of these concerns, but it would be incredibly stupid to shift focus away from one of the service's primary selling points. Quality PPVs will keep subscribers and attract new ones.
 
I wonder how much material is on the VOD. Says "classic matches" but not full shows of past RAW, Smackdown, Nitro, etc.?

I suppose they will add shows over time, so to not put everything online all at once and appear the content remains stagnant every month.
 
I suppose they will add shows over time, so to not put everything online all at once and appear the content remains stagnant every month.

They will have to rotate content in and out. This doesn't have the benefit of a service like Netflix where new movies are always coming out. Much less WWE content is being made so once all the old stuff is out there it's pretty much done.
 
So it's $120 a year for all the content and PPVs? I'm in.
 
With this deal WWE will most likely put much less focus on the ppvs. It will become like another episode of Monday Night Raw(they already are for the most part). They don't have to make monthly events feel special if they won't be making any money off of them. This is a bad long term gamble if it doesn't pay off, because after getting all the ppvs free noone is going to go back to paying $60 for one. They are going to need 1 million+ subscribers to break even.

They already have the smark audience who will buy everything, not to mention the countless other fans with money to burn. They'll be fine.
 
It's not launching in Canada until the end of the year? What the FUCK

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Nope. They've been working on the Network for a few years now and sorting out stuff like this. They worked out a deal with the WWF last year, so they can show the WWF scratch logo uncensored and say WWF all they like now.

Oh man, that's great. That shit absolutely ruined stuff like the Wrestlemania DVD set.

Do you know if they've worked to resolve music licensing issues as well? I know at some point they were even dubbing over the nWo music in Wrestlemania X8 re-releases. Seems like they do have the rights for the nWo music again as it's in WWE 2K14.
 
Haven't watched wrestling since about 2004, but will buy into this wholeheartedly. As soon as it makes it's way to Australia, that is.

Great price and looks like it'll be a wonderful service.
 
If it was cheap enough, I said I would get it. Looks like I am. that price is a steal for what we are getting.

They said all ecw ppvs, so hopefully if enough people watch the ppvs they will then release the actual weekly shows, if they have them.

The WWE video library consists of all of WWE (going back to its days as CWC and the WWWF), ECW (both Extreme and Eastern Championship Wrestling), WCW, the AWA, GCW, MCW, OVW, WCCW, Stampede Wrestlng, all of Jim Crockett Promotions, Smokey Mountain Wrestling

Here's an outline of the non-WWE/WWF/WWWF/CWC content owned:
Code:
    American Wrestling Association (1957-1991)
    Georgia Championship Wrestling (1944-1985)
    Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) (1994-2001) and its predecessor
        Eastern Championship Wrestling (1992-1994)
    Memphis Championship Wrestling (2000-2001) 
    Ohio Valley Wrestling (1998-2008)
    Deep South Wrestling (2005-2007)
    Florida Championship Wrestling (2007-2012)
    NXT Wrestling (2012–Present)
    Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1992-1995)
    Stampede Wrestling (1948-1989)
    Ultimate Pro Wrestling (1998-2007)
    Global Wrestling Federation (1991-1994)
    World Championship Wrestling (WCW)(1988-2001)
        Jim Crockett Promotions (1931-1988) which by the end included
            Eastern States Championship Wrestling (1945-1973)
            Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (1973-1988)
            Central States Wrestling (c. early 1950s-1986)
            Championship Wrestling from Florida (1961-1987)
            Championship Wrestling from Georgia (1984-1985)
            NWA Tri-State/Mid-South Wrestling/UWF (1950s-1987)
    World Class Championship Wrestling (1966-1988)
    Maple Leaf Wrestling (1930-1995)
 
They will have to rotate content in and out. This doesn't have the benefit of a service like Netflix where new movies are always coming out. Much less WWE content is being made so once all the old stuff is out there it's pretty much done.

The draw of the old stuff is having instant access to a wealth of content, not saying "hey, I want to watch that episode of Mid-South where Ted DiBiase turns face against Flair", only to discover it got rotated out a few weeks back.

Honestly, that'd affect my long-term subscription to this service. I want them to go all out crazy with the legacy stuff - give me whole TV seasons of WCCW/Mid-South/CWF, handicam versions of MSG house shows, etc.
 
This is genuinely a brilliant deal for the amount of content, especially considering it includes all PPVs. I'm surprised, I expected at the very, very least $15 per month. Well done WWE, seriously.

The news that the logo won't be blurred out all over the place is fantastic too, it probably wasn't a big deal for most but digital blurring or whatever it's called just looks horrible and annoys me anywhere it's used.
 
I saw bits and pieces of the announcement anybody have a link to the full show? $10 for all the WWE ppvs plus The Monday night Wars and ECW sold take my money WWE.
 
They will have to rotate content in and out. This doesn't have the benefit of a service like Netflix where new movies are always coming out. Much less WWE content is being made so once all the old stuff is out there it's pretty much done.

Why would they have to? They're the content owners.

Did they even say they would?

The point is having access to the whole archive I would think and then the weekly shows being added after a couple days or whatever.

Also are they going to stop selling the ppv events completely or are they having it in both ppv and in the app?
 
The blurred WWF logos have been removed for a while now as they have a deal with the World Wildlife Fund to show the logo on old broadcasts.

No idea if old music or announcers are getting censored. My guess is yes.
I could see the music being edited if they don't have the licences, but I hope if the network is successful for them then they'll gradually negotiate licencing deals and reupload unedited versions of each show as they do.
 
So Australia at the end of the year? As long as the price is okay, I could be tempted. If the price is busted (or you need cable or something stupid) I can't see it.
 
Oh man, that's great. That shit absolutely ruined stuff like the Wrestlemania DVD set.

Do you know if they've worked to resolve music licensing issues as well? I know at some point they were even dubbing over the nWo music in Wrestlemania X8 re-releases. Seems like they do have the rights for the nWo music again as it's in WWE 2K14.

Eh, I don't know that there's much they can do about that. If they don't have the rights anymore, they can't use it, unless they pay for it all over again, and I doubt they will.

Will there be encores for recent PPVs? Like when Wrestlemania XXX airs, can I rewatch it soon after?

You will be able to watch WM XXX live, and probably watch it as an encore from the next day. That's when the RAW/SD encores are happening I think, the day after.
 
Apparently anything that airs on the network will be available OD right after, I'm assuming this includes live PPV.
 
So it's not available right away in UK, but it's on PS3, so I should be able to make an American account like I did with Netflix
 
This has probably already been mentioned over and over, but how awesome is it that a hyped press conference actually delivered and didn't disappoint.
 
The ease with which this will allow me to watch their programming is going to get my money. Sure, I can find a way to watch a PPV without spending $60 and try to catch Raw and SD when I can, but if I miss a few, I lose interest and don't bother to catch back up. That's how they lost me when MNF began this season and haven't won me back, but if it's as simply as Netflix to catch up that's amazing.

Hope they support my Samsung Smart tv. I have my consoles but it'll be easier for the family to use that way.
 
Is the full announcement available to watch anywhere? The Youtube link is private now, and there's only highlights on wwe.com.
 
Chromecast support too?

WrestleZone.com @WRESTLEZONEcom
RT: "@STEINBERG5 will it work with Chromecast" || WWE was giving away Chromecast at the event tonight. So yes.
 
Gonna assume both Chromecast and iOS Airplay will be there from the start, esp. since there's no native app for Apple TV.
 
PS4 support?

I have a US PSN account. Wonder if I can sign up to this when it hits the US.

I'm a very casual wrestling viewer these days, like usually just Wrestlemania and maybe 5 or 6 Raw's at most a year as and when, but I'd sign up for this like a shot. Mainly for the old stuff, but hey if the latest episodes are interesting (and it doesn't look bad at the minute) then bonus.

All future PPV's being included in this is just.. crazy really. I'm sure I paid about £18 just for Wrestlemania this year.
 
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