On a rare Friday night edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez detailed new tiered pricing plans that WWE is considering offering for the WWE Network.
Alvarez noted that WWE is doing market research on the new plans, and Meltzer said they’re looking very strongly at moving to a four-tiered system.
Notably, WWE is considering an enhanced $14.99 a month pricing tier that would include the ability to watch regular content from non-WWE promotions on the Network.
Meltzer said that it’s not a secret that WWE has been talking to TNA about their video library. He noted that they definitely want TNA and Ring of Honor, and there have been rumblings of talks with ROH, possibly about their library.
No deals have been made with any promotions, but Meltzer speculated that EVOLVE and World Wrestling Network content, among other independent promotions, could be a good fit given their preexisting relationship with WWE.
Meltzer compared the system to what the UFC is currently doing with streaming other MMA promotions on UFC Fight Pass. He also noted that there is a competitor looking to get into the business of streaming independent wrestling shows.
The new enhanced tier would offer live episodes of NXT, but Meltzer didn’t know if that meant that NXT would now tape weekly or if their tapings would just be streamed live. The Cruiserweight Classic would also be expanded to a regular series showcasing matches from cruiserweight wrestlers. That show would be available on both the $14.99 and $9.99 a month tiers.
The $14.99 a month plan would also offer exclusive perks, including voting for the WWE Hall of Fame, first access to purchasing event tickets, second screen content, and invitations to exclusive VIP meet ups.
Additionally, WWE is considering adding a free plan and $4.99 a month plan to the purchasing options. The free tier would include access to the WWE Network 24/7 live stream, but the stream would be blocked out during WWE PPVs and episodes of NXT and the Cruiserweight Classic. The tier would also include access to five hours of archived content a month, but all content would include a heavy amount of commercials.
The $4.99 a month plan would be available only on phones and tablets. It would include access to the WWE Network 24/7 live stream and video archive. The “big four” PPVs (Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series) would stream live, but all other PPVs would be blocked out on the live stream. Episodes of NXT would be available to watch, but wouldn’t be live.
The $9.99 a month plan would be similar to what is currently being offered, but would include the addition of live episodes of NXT and access to the new Cruiserweight Classic series. All WWE PPVs would still be streamed live and it would still include full access to the video archives.