WWE Business Class Day 5: What the Future Holds for the Company

Welcome, students, to day five of WWE Business Class. My name is Doctor Chris Mueller and I will be your instructor. I am not really a doctor, but I play one in my head.

In this five-day course, I will take you through five lessons which can help to improve WWE in several different ways.

On day one we discussed how to reschedule the WWE PPVs, on day two we discussed three new pricing structures which could help sell more PPVs and save people money, on day three we discussed how to manage a large roster and on day four we discussed what WWE is doing right.

The final lesson in this five-part series will be looking to the future. We will go over the things we already know WWE is doing as well as some things they could add to their business repertoire.

WWE has gone through many changes over the years, and it would be the safe bet to say that they will continue to grow and change for as long as they are a business.

Before we look to the future, please allow me to give you a brief synopsis of WWE and how they came to be the global powerhouse they are today.

Around 1953, a boxing promoter named Roderick James "Jess" McMahon formed the Capital Wrestling Corporation and joined the National Wrestling Alliance.

When Jess McMahon died a few years later, he was succeeded by his son, Vincent James McMahon.

After a disagreement about how to handle the NWA World Title, McMahon took his company out of the NWA and formed the World Wide Wrestling Federation.

For a period of time, WWWF was a non-McMahon venture, but in 1971 Vince McMahon Sr. joined back up with the company.

In 1972, they dropped the first W from their acronym for marketing purposes to simply be the WWF.

In 1982, Vincent K McMahon bought the company from his father and the other shareholders, and he grew it into a national brand.

At the time, wrestling was still a territorial system, and McMahon saw that there was more money to be made by touring nationally.

Over the years, he either bought out most of his competition or they simply had to shut down, with a few holdouts still operating as small Indy promotions today.

In the 90s, McMahon began exploring different aspects of the entertainment business, and WWE began trying their hand at the film and music industries, with some successes and some failures.

Other things like WWE Niagara Falls and the XFL have come and gone, but when you look over WWE's entire corporate history it is really amazing how many different things they have tried.

Some have worked and some have flopped, but the only way to keep succeeding is to keep trying, and no one can say there is a lack of effort on Vincent K McMahon's part.

Now, let's look at a couple of things we know WWE is planning for the future and how it can impact the business.

WWE TV Network

We all know WWE is planning what could be its riskiest venture by launching their very own television network.

This is a move that could potentially make or break the company, depending on how much they put on the shoulders of those running it.

By creating their own network, WWE could receive a backlash from customers who might subscribe to a cable or satellite service that does not get the WWE network.

If they choose to keep Raw and SmackDown on USA and SyFy in the US, then it could at least keep people happy who do not have access to the things that will be offered on the network.

This could also be WWE's greatest success. If offering a monthly price that is reasonable allows fans to see some of the PPVs as a part of the package then it could be a wildly popular venture.

The main thing that has to be focused on is content. What is shown on the network is going to be key during the non-peak hours of programming.

The risks of starting up a television network have been well documented over the years. ESPN was a risky move at first, and so was Rupert Murdoch's decision to compete with the broadcast networks by creating FOX.

ESPN and FOX have grown into multi-channel empires over the years, but others have not been so lucky.

Oprah's network is still struggling to find its audience, and we have seen others fail and fade before people even knew they were available to watch.

WWE will really have an uphill battle ahead of them, but it could end up being the best thing the company has ever done.

WWE Studios

WWE has been in the movie-making business for a little while now, but they have never had a huge blockbuster that was mostly their own project.

The films WWE is a part of which featured The Rock were not full WWE films like The Marine franchise has been because other major studios were the primary backers.

WWE has to refocus their efforts in this division, and one thing that may help them find greater success would be to start making movies that have no affiliation with the wrestling business.

If Vince McMahon truly wants to build a media empire then he needs to be willing to separate one part from the other every once in a while.

Making a film without a WWE superstar in it would not be a bad thing, especially if some movie-goers were driven away because of the stigma pro wrestling has.

One area WWE has yet to dabble with in regard to movie genres is comedy. They have done action, horror, family and drama, but there has never been an adult comedy from WWE Studios.

Many of the top stars in WWE used their sense of humor to get to the top, and with the right writers they could have a hit comedy.

There are plenty of ways WWE can make their film business more successful, and the first thing that can help is to stop focusing on low-budget, straight-to-DVD movies.

They need to take a chance and get in bed with a bigger studio to make something that could potentially be a blockbuster.

No risk, no reward.

Digital and Social Media

WWE management have been embracing the Internet since it became widely available, and they continue to do so by using social and digital media to reach as many people as possible.

Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and WWE.com are all major sources for information on the web in addition to the multitude of wrestling sites out there.

By using these services to their fullest potential, WWE has effectively expanded their reach to anyone with an Internet connection, even those who do not get to watch WWE shows broadcast in their home countries.

What could greatly help the company is using these outlets to entice people to pay for the product.

Doing things like offering a code redeemable for a discount on a PPV that only works for an hour after it's posted to Twitter grabs people's attention and creates buzz.

YouTube has been a great way for WWE to put original content in front of millions of people, and they continue to experiment with new things they may be looking to try on their network.

WWE had their own social media site, which shut down after a few years due to lack of interest, but they have used Facebook and found that it was just as effective.

Even though we may not like to constantly hear about what is trending on Twitter from Michael Cole, we have to accept that it is part of the world now and it will be going forward.

Unfortunately, there is no way to really measure what these things have to offer in terms of profitability, but there are ways to measure how much activity is happening in the name of WWE, and in that area they do very well.

Conclusion

WWE has a very bright future, but much of their success will be based on how well the WWE network performs.

By making this kind of investment, Vince McMahon is betting the future of the company on a lot of people being willing to pay for a 24-hour wrestling network.

Creating original content that is supported by WWE's social media platforms will be their best chance of success.

Despite starting as a wrestling company, WWE has grown into more of a media empire, and to take themselves to the next level they have to start doing projects that have nothing to do with the wrestling business.

Thanks for reading, and please feel free to share your thoughts below.