Independent Focus: The Internet PPV Craze Grows as DGUSA Founder Enters the Fray

When Ring of Honor presented Final Battle 2009 on Internet pay-per-view, the concept of streaming live wrestling shows to fans around the world was a relatively new one.

Just over one year later, it has become the latest trend to emerge in the independent wrestling scene.

Earlier this week, Gabe Sapolsky and Sal Hamaoui unleashed an announcement that proves just how far the iPPV concept has come in less than two years.

Sapolsky, the creative mind behind Dragon Gate USA and EVOLVE, along with Hamaoui, who runs the World Wrestling Network, a video production company, announced that they are opening their own iPPV website.

WWNLive.com will present exclusive streams of live shows from DGUSA, EVOLVE and Full Impact Pro. There are also plans to feature archived shows that can be accessed on demand.

Sapolsky and Hamaoui have taken a service which has mainly been offered by gofightlive.tv (GFL) and put their own unique stamp on it.

Up until this point, GFL has seemingly been the only player in the iPPV game. They have hosted six live ROH events, with two more coming during Wrestlemania weekend. Dragon Gate USA had their first four iPPV shows on GFL as well.

While WWNLive looks to make a serious splash in the iPPV pool, GFL is still the standard bearer for the live streaming PPV concept. They have hosted countless MMA and boxing events from various companies, along with independent wrestling from the likes of Beyond Wrestling, Women Superstars Uncensored, Lucha Libre International and NWA Pro Wrestling Fusion.

The East Coast Wrestling Association recently announced that their prestigious Super 8 tournament, which features some of the top talent on the independent scene, can be seen live on GFL’s iPPV service this year for the first time ever.

Most events on GFL cost around $15, though some of the lesser known promotions have offered lower priced events. It's safe to assume there is an arrangement worked out between the wrestling promotion and GFL in regards to splitting the profits made from these events.

WWNLive will cut out the middle man, so to speak. The profits made from the DGUSA, EVOLVE and FIP shows will go directly into the website and the promotions, which could potentially be huge for them if the iPPV concept continues to gain momentum.

One of the best features on GFL has been the archive, which allows customers to log on and watch any show they have ordered in the past. WWNLive will offer a similar on-demand feature, but customers will only be allowed access to the events for 30 days instead of the unlimited access given by GFL.

It appears as this has been done as an effort to lessen the blow that live streaming may have on DVD sales for DGUSA, EVOLVE and FIP. As a bonus, if you purchase a PPV event on WWNLive, you will receive a credit good for $5 off the purchase of that event’s DVD release.

The 30-day limit has seemingly been fans' main criticism since the announcement was made earlier this week.

Saving on the DVD releases is a nice incentive, but fans will still have to shell out about $30 for the live stream and a hard copy to own forever when all is said and done.

GFL offers the ability to access the event on demand without limits, which comes included with the average $15 price tag to order the show. This does not provide the user with an actual hard copy of the event, though, only allowing them access to watch via the web site.

For years, independent wrestling promotions like ROH and DGUSA have stuck with the DVD business model.

They tape their live events and sell them to eager fans; the price is typically within the $15-20 range. Both ROH and DGUSA have also both done taped PPV events via OnDemand and numerous other cable and satellite PPV providers, but the fact that these shows are taped and not live has likely hindered their success.

Now that iPPV has become the method of choice for independent wrestling promotions to deliver content to their fans, one has to wonder whether the taped PPV market will eventually cease to exist for smaller wrestling companies.

World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action are the main players in the cable and satellite PPV game, and they frankly do not need something like iPPV.

WWE has been especially successful in convincing fans to shell out nearly $50 a month for their events. While iPPV may be another option for them to deliver content, it is surely not their focus.

Unlike the mainstream promotions, iPPV has proven to be an incredibly successful tool for the independents. Dragon Gate USA and EVOLVE will be offering fans the chance to watch nearly every future live show from the comfort of their home as they happen.

That statement alone shows just how far the technology behind streaming live video has come.

While every single show may not be an iPPV, the majority will be. Five of the next eight DGUSA events will be available to watch live on WWNLive. Instead of browsing the Internet to read results of the shows, fans will now be able to plunk down their $15 to watch as it happens.

This strategy of offering a majority of shows online works well for DGUSA and EVOLVE because they only run a handful of events per year. If they were putting on shows as frequently as a promotion like ROH, the idea might not work as well.

WWNLive is an intriguing idea, but it's also a pretty big gamble for Sapolsky and Hamaoui.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming months, but giving the fans a chance to witness live wrestling seems like a chance well worth taking.