RaiZ-R

It's been a long time since I paid for a PPV, but I still feel ripped off by them half the time... I've not seen a WWE PPV worth paying for in quite some time, and that's even with the much cheaper British prices.

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iamthedestroyer

Why anybody with an Internet connection would pay 50 bucks after tax for a regular PPV or 60-70 dollars after tax for Mania is beyond me. When WWE has 14 shows a year very few get properly built up. Considering that there are sketchy JTV streams, reliable PPV HD Streams for 2 bucks, or numerous places to download the PPV the day after there is no way I'd pay anything to see it.

WWE will always have a small amount of hardcore fans who will purchase every PPV no matter what, but in the end the WWE presenting higher quality build up to shows will equal out to higher buyrates.

The Postman

I dunno, they support the industry perhaps?

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"Fix him up so I can break him again!"

Affliction

Not bad at all for the economy heck I paid for it I can't say much about other people
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iamthedestroyer

No company is entitled to support, it is earned.

I've ordered numerous PPVs in the past. Currently WWE's business model of cramming 14 PPVs in a year dilutes the quality of the PPVs. Combined with their subpar writing and TV shows during the last few years (with a few exceptions of small stretches where shows are exciting. IE the two weeks centering around Orton kicking McMahon in January, or Smackdown from the draf to right now.). With that said, I have no reason to act as a repeat customer because the WWE has dissapointed me before by not providing a service which I deem worth 50 dollars of my money.

Until the WWE earns my support as a consumer I will continue to watch streams and download shows. Downloading these shows only further perpetuates my view of WWE PPVs not being worth 50 dollars because since I didn't pay for it I'm not insecure enough that I have to kid myself that it was better than it was just so I don't feel like I threw money away. I end up comfortably skimming through most of the PPV. (insert line stressing that we're in a recession)

The bottom line is the WWE has tried, and there is no way to shut down the numerous ways to view their shows for free. With that said, it's imperative that the WWE provides not only the best PPVs, but the most intriguing weekly shows possible in order to draw people to the PPVs. The average fan is only barely tech savy enough to watch streams and likely doesn't know about megaupload/rapidshare and torrents like myself and a very small segment of the population do. If the WWE provides unmistakable quality people will order shows in fear of the streams going down half way through. Rehashing a Triple H/Randy Orton feud that people lost interest in when it happened earlier in the year to use as a Main Event for the biggest PPV of the year, along with an uninspired co main event Triple Threat match is not the way to do that.

The Postman

I hear what you're saying, but if you don't like the product, or haven't been convinced to order the show, then why watch it anyway? That's what gets me. When people say "I ain't paying for that shit", then spend 3 hours of their evening watching it anyway.

BTW, sorry, this isn't a personal attack on you, it's just the whole streaming culture in general.

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"Fix him up so I can break him again!"

Kizza

I'd rather sit watching something that could potentially be good and turn out shit for free, over paying 50 bucks for it and be raging cos I spent 50 bucks on a shitty PPV.

If you like it so much, buy the DVD when it comes out if you wanna "support the industry."

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iamthedestroyer

I understand it's not a personal attack and I'm not taking it that way. I'm sure mostly everybody who posts on a message board understands that at some point or time there will be somebody with a difference of opinion to theirs, which is pretty much what is happening right now.

When I say the product doesn't produce PPVs that I deem worth 50 dollars of my money every month, I mean just that. It is not worth 50 dollars. If I can pay 2.50 to certain unnamed sites for a clear HD reliable stream, or download it in HD for free the next day I will do so as it doesn't cost me a thing. I still enjoy it, but I don't 50 dollars of my money enjoy it.

Let's say you enjoy one of WWE's weekly shows, Raw per example. You watch it every week because aside from however your cable is set up, it is pretty much free to watch. The WWE announces that they are adjusting their business plan and now you have to pay 10 bucks an episode to watch RAW. Even know you enjoy Raw, odds are it isn't worth 10 bucks to you. This doesn't mean you don't enjoy it, it just means you don't 40 dollars a month enjoy it.

Likewise this is not a personal attack, but downloading WWE PPVs is no different than downloading a song for free. You're receiving the digital form of a piece of media for free that otherwise if not for the internet you'd have to pay for. If you've ever downloaded any forms of media it is hypocritical to talk down about downloading a movie or a TV show. It's the same thing.

I fully understand the moral dichotomy of downloading media, but it's something that is so widely available that most people myself included have decided to go with the flow.

From a business standpoint the WWE has to understand that even if it is a small segment of the more tech oriented fans are going to find ways to get the shows for free. They either have to cut their losses, or try to provide some sort of alternative to appease to them. (which is a very small segment. Most fans if any only know about JTV and don't know about torrents, megaupload, pay streams, etc)

RaiZ-R

As Destroyer said, support is earned, not guarenteed. The WWE have been consistently poor in producing quality PPV's this year and nothing has convinced me that it was worth paying for. The build up to 'Mania this year was good, but compared to other years it felt lacklustre and thrown together. Why should anyone pay for something that WWE produces, when it seems even WWE doesn't care that much about producing a quality product.

That said, everything WWE produces has the potential to be good (and sometimes even great). And as others have pointed out, it's much easier to sit down for three hours watching a show that is utter dross knowing you haven't wasted money on it, than it is to pay for it and have to suffer knowing you could've bought something else far more worthwhile. The UK fans like myself only have four or five PPV's that are actually pay-per-views (the other's are free on Sky Sports) and even then they cost around £15 a pop... So far this year nothing WWE has produced has been worth the cost of the PPV, which means that you Americans are getting seriously screwed over in my eyes, even with the exchange rate.

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The Postman

It is a shame to me that WWE can't convince everyone to pay full price. I suppose at the end of the day, if you don't feel confident in the product, you aren't going to buy it. That, I can understand. I can also understand that for American fans, paying over $500 a year for PPV is a fuck ton of money that can be better used else where.
Of the PPVs I've paid for this year (UK viewer, so, so far I've only paid for 3) I personally haven't felt let down by any. But that's just my opinion of things.

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"Fix him up so I can break him again!"