WWE Must Expand to International Markets to Further Business

The quarterly financial reports came out today, and they were anything but great news for the WWE. Since the initial subscriber count was announced after WrestleMania, the WWE Network has only added 33,000 net subscribers. While signing up 161,000 new subscribers, they've also lost 128,000, bringing them to a total of about 700,000, according to WrestlingINC.com.

In an effort to protect itself from Wall Street backlash, the WWE made two key announcements.

First, CFO George Barrios announced a set of improved "efficiencies" across the company that will bring down costs, including a reduction of seven percent of staff, per PWTorch's James Caldwell. This means a number of off-screen, behind-the-scenes personnel will be laid off in addition to the batch of on-screen talents released several weeks ago.

Second, the company announced the launch of the WWE Network to international markets: The initial launch date for some countries will be August 12 with the United Kingdom launching some time in October, according to WrestlingINC.com's Marc Middleton.

The date is much earlier than the company estimated when the WWE Network was first announced, putting international dates at the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015.

It also makes subscriptions available to most markets prior to the big SummerSlam show, hoping to spur a rush of subscriptions driven by the John Cena-Brock Lesnar main event. 

On the call, Barrios reiterated that the company seeks to reach 1 million subscribers to break even, according to the Associated Press' Dan Gelston (h/t ABC News).

With the initial rush and summer lull leaving the WWE at just 700,000 subscribers, they must bank on international markets to make up the difference, and even potentially drive a majority of the profit for the company to succeed with this new business model. 

Gelston also reported that that Barrios suggests the WWE could see "between 2 million and 4 million" global subscribers. For that math to work out, he's suggesting more than 50 percent of all of the WWE Networks subscribers come outside of the United States.

While WWE may be the biggest wrestling promotion on the planet, there are already entrenched, native companies succeeding in most wrestling-crazed nations.

There are numerous promotions in Japan, including the fantastically popular New Japan organization. In Mexico, the two top companies, AAA and CMLL, are established and are even making minor in-roads into the USA with the increased Hispanic population over the last decade. 

These wrestling fans may sell out arenas when John Cena comes to town once a year, but WWE must offer them more on a regular basis to earn monthly subscription commitments. Here are a few ideas for how the WWE can cater to an international audience without damaging its existing base audience in the United States. 

Take a pay-per-view/special abroad.

For years, WWE would run European-only PPVs. Frequently, they were based out of England, but they would also go into Germany on occasion. Rarely would anything prominent happen on these shows since the American audience wouldn't see it—and they are their bread and butter. 

WWE has not run a globally available PPV outside of the United States, Canada or Puerto Rico since SummerSlam 1992. That's more than two decades. While WWE has managed absolute dominance in the United States over that period of time, it has not once run a PPV internationally that wasn't broadcast solely within that country. 

It's time for the WWE to take one of its bigger shows overseas. It would be more costly. The timing and logistics would be complicated. But if the WWE was to drop the Money in the Bank into an outdoor venue in England in July, the spectacle would be fantastic, and you'd likely hook thousands of Brits into plopping down a long-term subscription. 

The average temperature in Mexico City in November is in the mid- to upper 70s. Sounds like great weather for an outdoor Survivor Series that features Rey Mysterio captaining a team of luchadores against some midcard villains. 

While TNA is having its problems, it's making a bold move in taking its biggest show of the year, Bound for Glory, to Japan. The time-zone issues would be too much for WWE to handle with one of their bigger shows, but while the company is intent on jamming two PPVs into one month at least once a year, why not take one of those and run it in the Tokyo Dome with a tape delay on the Network? 

While touring house shows on an annual basis through these countries does help build fanbases, they won't be as invested in the product on a month-to-month or week-to-week basis unless they think WWE is treating them as viable fans and not just a novelty act. 

Build a real international star.

First, Sheamus barely counts. He's not really a major star, and Ireland isn't a major fanbase. His comic book character persona makes him an Irish stereotype and not a badass that happens to be foreign. The point of the international star isn't to appeal narrowly to a single demographic but to give fans across the country the feeling that one of these days, one of their guys can make it because this guy did.

During their prime, Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio accomplished this goal for WWE audiences in Mexico. Now, the company is scrambling to try to recreate that glory and find the next great Mexican star.

It was tried with Alberto Del Rio before ruining him with inconsistent booking and little character development. Sin Cara fell almost as fast as the Shockmaster. Hope is alive again with Kalisto in NXT, but that's a long way out. 

Speaking of NXT, the brand's top face at the moment is Adrian Neville, a pint-sized British wrestler that would draw big crowds across all of Middle Earth. (Get it? Because he looks like an elf.) WWE just announced the signings of Kenta and Prince Devitt, showing they may actually be moving in this direction. 

Sami Zayn is another guy that could fit this mold. While he's from Quebec, he has wrestled internationally and speaks numerous languages. They even featured him during their tour of the Middle East because he can speak Arabic. 

I'm not suggesting we push aside Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt or any of the other talents on the brink of stardom. They do, though, need to incorporate someone with an international credibility (say, Cesaro?) into the main event scene and prominent storylines on a regular basis to make sure other countries feel represented. 

Reintroduce a cruiserweight/light heavyweight division.

In every major wrestling promotion outside of the USA, there is a thriving division of smaller, faster, more energetic wrestlers that fire up the crowd and complement the bigger, powerhouse heavyweights. In Japan, they call them junior heavyweights. In Mexico, they call them cruiserweights.

When WWE held such a division, they fought for the oxymoron title: light heavyweight champion. The one-time successful division ended when Hornswoggle won the belt and it disappeared. 

International audiences love WWE because of the production and the grandeur of the presentation and the feeling of enormity in the product, but they also need to see action they can connect with. This type of move pairs well with the suggestion immediately above. 

Looking at the latest signings to developmental and the talents in NXT, they already have the roster for a top-notch division. They idea of a thriving, competitive division based on in-ring skills based around Neville, Zayn, Devitt, Kenta, Kalisto and Tyler Breeze would be an exciting infusion into long, plodding episodes of Raw.

Start exclusive international touring roster.

So the WWE needs to give fans an impetus for signing up for the WWE Network, right? It gave away the farm by offering WrestleMania as part of the package to drive early subscribers. It gutted its DVD and PPV revenue streams to provide enough content to fill the Network. And its still only has 700,000 subscribers in the United States. 

So we have reached capacity in the homeland and need to look overseas. What could WWE provide exclusively on the Network that could both spur subscribers in the US to get off the fence and make the commitment while also driving international audiences to Network? 

How about WWE: Global, a roster that exclusively tours internationally, year-round with its own rivalries, championships and self-contained shows that feature a mix of established WWE talents and foreign-born stars that is broadcast only on the Network. 

This is the pipe dream of the list, and it's why I kept it last. It's 99 percent likely to never happen, but it seems too good to not mention. 

First, WWE goes on annual international tours to various parts of the world. These trips include Japan and Europe primarily. But they also have gone to the Middle East and Mexico and done shows in India. They always sell out where ever they go because of the novelty of the attraction, but the shows are little more than a feel-good TV special.

Much like what I said in the PPV section, these shows and the fans would be more rabid if they felt like what they were seeing was important. By making this touring group exclusive to nations outside the USA, they feel a greater ownership in the product. 

Second, by making it exclusive to the Network, American fans would be forced to sign up to see these shows. They can be plugged as part of the Raw and Smackdown broadcasts, incorporated into WWE.com and social media promotions like they do for NXT.

While NXT is a great program that is beloved by the IWC, the average wrestling fan thinks of it as the minor leagues. If the Global touring group is treated like the big leagues with some significant names from the main roster, it becomes "must see." 

Third, the touring schedule can be much lighter than that of the US main roster. The shows can be taped in advance, shooting multiple shows a night every couple weeks. This lighter schedule would be optimal for giving some of the company's workhorses a needed breather. It would be like sending them on sabbatical. 

Randy Orton is getting burnt out and the fans are ho-hum about his work? Send him overseas where he only needs to work two to four nights a month for six months. Then when he returns, he's fresh and the crowd pops. 

Big Show's body can't handle five-night-a-week schedules with media appearances, PPVs and house shows? Send him off where he can be a sideshow spectacle with his size. 

Ryback has lost all of his heat and momentum after turning heel and losing to CM Punk a couple times? Send him off to let him restart his character. He runs through superstars, re-establishes himself as a juggernaut and his dominance is plugged on Raw for several months before suddenly re-emerging one night to a big ovation with new momentum. 

OK, I'll get off my horse now because I know none of that last part will ever happen. The other three suggestions I think are much more realistic and could have a major impact on the WWE's ability to draw international subscribers to the Network and make the new business model a success.