Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

WWE Is Laying the Smackdown on the World

The market’s enthusiasm for WWE stems largely from its lucrative TV contracts, combined with its early success in direct-to-consumer streaming TV apps. In 2014 the company made a risky move, deciding essentially to cannibalize its traditional pay-per-view business. Instead of paying their cable companies one-time fees to see WWE’s marquee events—say, $44.99 for the Royal Rumble—fans would be encouraged to subscribe to a streaming video service, the WWE Network, and pay a monthly fee. After some early turbulence, the move is paying off. Roughly 1.5 million people now hand over $9.99 a month for the WWE Network, making it the 11th-most-popular streaming video service in the U.S., according to Parks Associates, and the second-most-popular, after Major League Baseball’s, in the “sports-related” category.

From the article "WWE Is Laying the Smackdown on the World" by Felix Gillette and Kim Bhasin.

Previously In The News

What To Watch For At The Newfronts: Day Three

The Mindy Project” moved from Fox to Hulu last fall, and it’s become one of the site’s most popular shows, according to Hulu executives, though the site does not release actual viewing numbers. Rea...

Ranking The Most Popular Sports OTT Networks

NFL Game Pass is the most popular sports OTT video service in the U.S., according to Parks Associates, although at this point sports video services are still a relatively niche market. Overall, jus...

TV's next big experiment: 'choose your own adventure'

Viewers vote on the actions of the protagonist -- leading to one of seven endings -- using a smartphone app while the movie keeps rolling seamlessly for between 70 and 90 minutes. "This type of con...

Why a Disney Spinoff of ESPN Would Be a Whiff | Analysis

According to first-quarter 2022 Parks Associates consumer research, 52% of U.S. internet households have at least one Disneystreaming service in their home. Within that, “ESPN+ is the most popular and...