Though pay-per-view revenue was down for the fiscal year and well below the UFC benchmark, WWE got a hint of good news in returns for its Q4 2009 events.
For the three months ending December 31, 2009, WWE’s pay-per-view revenue rose from $15.9 million in 2008 to $16.3 million in 2009. Fueling the increase was a surge in buys for three of WWE’s four pay-per-views; all demonstrating that WWE’s new “gimmick” concept is generating additional interest over their B-show franchise counterparts.
Hell in a Cell for instance, posted 283,000 buys, compared with 261,000 for last year’s WWE No Mercy. Bragging Rights was up to 181,000 over 153,000 for Cyber Sunday, while WWE TLC scored 228,000, beating the 193,000 for Armageddon.
The limiting factor on the revenue increase, however, was the fact that WWE Survivor Series totally bombed. Buys fell from 319,000 to 235,000.