The idea of a tiered system for the WWE Network has been floated out to the public since late 2018. And with the revamped version of the WWE Network launching over the summer, it appears that new system of tiered pricing is just around the corner.
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WWE co-president George Barrios spoke with The Verge for a new story that dropped on Tuesday, explaining what each tier level would provide to fans. The new network would involve three tiers — Free, Regular and Premium.
The Free tier would include all of the videos you’d find on WWE.com, along with some timed previews of other network content. The regular tier would be what the network is now, complete with pay-per-view streaming, the massive catalogue of past events and original shows. When it came to the Premium level, Barrios indicated that it will provide more than simple streaming content, though didn’t indicate what the price would be.
“We think there’s also an opportunity to super-serve our most passionate Network subscribers with a premium tier that’ll bring together more content for them, more features for them, and also integrating some of our other non-video services like our commerce — potentially integrating something like free shipping, bringing together our digital ticketing efforts in there,” Barrios said. “It becomes the one place to experience everything WWE.”
He also spoke about the possibility of upgrading to 4K resolution, saying the company was in no hurry to make the jump to ultra-high-definition.
“4K, I think that will be driven more by the penetration of 4K devices and then 4K consumption. It seems like a century ago, but when we moved to HD 10 years ago or so, we waited until about 25 or 30 percent of the big screens in the homes were HD-capable,” Barrios said. “I think similarly, both from a broadband standpoint (5G driving some of it) as well as the big screen penetration of 4K, when we go 4K kind of will be driven by that. To your point, we’ve experimented with it, but I wouldn’t expect a significant amount of video content in 4K this year certainly.”
The story also interviewed Endeavor (one of the companies WWE teaming with for the revamped network) chief digital officer Guy Schory. Schory said his company already has 4K HDR (high dynamic range) on the “roadmap for this year,” so it appears the ball is in WWE’s court for when they want to make the switch.
WWE’s next network event, Clash of Champions, takes place this Sunday.
