More Original Programming Is Key to WWE Network Gaining New Subscribers

The WWE Network is a wonderful service for wrestling fans, especially those who didn't like paying $50 or more for pay-per-views, but it isn't quite as successful as management would like it to be.

According to a recent WWE conference call (h/t Nick Hausman of WrestleZone), the current subscriber count at the end of WWE's third quarter is 1.458 million, which is slightly below where WWE predicted it would be by now and down from where it was at the end of the second quarter.

Having every PPV for the price of $9.99 per month is a value no customer can deny, but there needs to be more to bring in more people from all around the world.

Original programming is going to be what keeps the streaming service going strong, and while WWE has produced some great entertainment exclusively for the network, it's not enough.

WWE has, on average, released a new show on the network every other month, but most of them have not been consistent.

Take Unfiltered with Renee Young, for example. It's one of the more entertaining programs on the WWE Network because it gives us a chance to see Young, our favorite Superstars and a few random celebrities in different ways than what we see on Raw and SmackDown.

We are almost at the end of 2016, and there have only been seven episodes this year. This is the kind of show WWE should be trying to make on a biweekly basis.

The roster is big enough to do 26 interviews in a year, and there are more than enough celebrities who attend WWE events to interview on a regular basis.

There is no shortage of ideas for content, many of which have been proposed by writers on this site, including yours truly. In fact, it was on Thanksgiving in 2013 when I published "5 Reality Show Concepts That Would Thrive on Potential WWE Network."

The "Behind the Barricade" idea is quite similar to Breaking Ground and other similar documentary series WWE has produced, and while the WWE Comedy Hour never came to be, the network is home to a Mick Foley comedy special and The Edge and Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness.

The best thing we can say about the original shows WWE has created is that they fill a wide variety of categories.

There are reality shows like Holy Foley, Ride Along and Legends' House, cartoons like Camp WWE and WWE Story Time, documentaries like Breaking Ground, interview series like The Stone Cold Podcast and Legends with JBL and panel discussions like Table for 3 and Talking Smack.

The problem is consistency and volume. It's still early in the life of the network, so there is still time for management to increase the number of original shows, but there also needs to be a set schedule.

Look at Table for 3, for example. There were four episodes in May but then nothing until the one episode we got in September and then nothing again until the most recent episode on Oct. 31.

Legends with JBL and The Stone Cold Podcast have similar scheduling issues. Even if we knew we were only going to get a new episode every other month, it would be better than having no idea when new interviews would be broadcast.

WWE has some of the greatest production staff in the world, but it's still a wrestling company with an in-house crew. Perhaps Vince McMahon needs to think about establishing a separate studio to handle original content for the network while the rest of WWE focuses on the wrestling.

Believe it or not, but this is something Eric Bischoff might be great at. He has been producing television shows for years with Jason Hervey, so he has the connections and knowledge to help create new content and keep it on a tight schedule.

PPVs are the bread and butter of the WWE Network, but it's the other programs people will keep coming back for during the periods between events.

Consistently coming up with new shows and producing them on a regular basis will keep existing subscribers coming back and bring new eyes to the network. It might not be as easy as it sounds, but it's not even close to impossible.

Take a moment to share your thoughts on how the WWE Network can improve, which shows are your favorites and ideas you have for new content, and have a happy Thanksgiving.

Thanks for reading, and follow me on Twitter @BR_Doctor.