The WWE has made some very select content free to view via the WWE App and website across all platforms. But to call what the WWE is doing a free version of its network is way overstating the reality of the offering.
The offerings which mostly consist of short compilations to highlight specific performers seem like they are set up to essentially entice people to order the full version of the Network. We took a look at the content that is available for free and found that very few of the selections are more that 5-10 minutes long (Hey maybe Quibi was on to something after all), but on the other hand full programming is hard to find.
This is understandable from a business standpoint. The content is presented ad-free, so the WWE has nothing to gain financially unless the offering leads to new subscriptions to its on demand/live TV hybrid network. The big push behind the WWE Network has always been that it provides access to the companies PPV events as part of the package but the company has also spent the last few years putting together retrospectives on the pro wrestling business including collections of every pay per view event in the history of its major brands like the WWE and before it the WWF along with WCW/NWA branded events. This kind of content is not free.
If this multipart commercial works out for the WWE, which will have the full focus of Vince McMann now that he has again folded the XFL after a shortened one season return, works out, the WWE will see a rise in subscriptions for the network at a time when people may see a need to cut back drastically in face of a 40 million plus unemployment figure nationally.
