WWE has broadcast pay-per-views since the 1980s, when its classic big four events (Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series) were first established. The companys PPV lineup expanded to a monthly basis in the mid-1990s, and reached its peak of sixteen shows a year in 2006 before returning to twelve in 2012. Pay-per-view shows are typically three hours in length, though budget priced events (e.g., In Your House) were shorter, while premium events such as WrestleMania can approach five hours. Since 2008, all WWE pay-per-views have been broadcast in High-definition. Pay-per-view events are a significant part of the revenue stream for WWE. WWE pay-per-views are made available in the United States by In Demand, Dish Network or DirecTV. In Canada, WWE pay-per-views are available through (depending on service provider) Viewers Choice, Vu!, Shaw PPV, or SaskTel PPV, and can be seen in movie theatres in HD through selected locations of the Cineplex Entertainment chain. In Australia, WWEs pay-per-views are shown on Main Event. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, some pay-per-views are shown on Sky Sports 3 and others on Sky Sports Box Office. WWE (then known as the World Wrestling Federation) broadcast its first pay television event, the inaugural WrestleMania, in 1985. The event was made available on pay-per-view, but since PPV systems were limited to select markets, most viewers saw the event via closed-circuit television.The first WrestleMania event, in March of the same year, was available on pay-per-view in some markets. Because of the first WrestleManias limited pay-per-view exposure, The Wrestling Classic (November 1985) is typically considered the companys first pay-per-view event. When rival Jim Crockett Promotions scheduled its first pay-per-view wrestling event, the fifth-annual Starrcade, in November 1987, the WWF introduced the Survivor Series event and scheduled it on the same night. Cable providers were told that if they chose to carry Starrcade, they would not be allowed to carry WrestleMania IV. Only a few cable companies defied this ultimatum, and the 1987 Starrcade was a failure. When JCP followed up in January 1988 with its second PPV, Bunkhouse Stampede, the WWF counter-programmed with a free cable TV special, the first Royal Rumble. In addition to WrestleMania and Survivor Series, the WWF introduced SummerSlam in August 1988 and moved the Royal Rumble to pay-per-view in January 1989, establishing its traditional big four annual events. A fifth pay-per-view, based on the King of the Ring tournament, was introduced in June 1993, and ran annually until 2002. In 1995, the WWF began moving to a monthly pay-per-view calendar, scheduling In Your House events between the established five shows. The In Your House events were offered at a lower price point, while the big five saw a price increase. The In Your House branding gave way to individualized event names by 1999. Aside from its standard monthly schedule, WWE produced additional international pay-per-views between 1997 and 2003. These events were not available in the United States, and coincided with overseas tours in the United Kingdom and Australia. Following WWEs brand extension in 2002, the company promoted two touring rosters representing its Raw and SmackDown television programs. Aside from the Smackdown-only 2002 Rebellion show, all WWE pay-per-views featured both brands until June 2003. The traditional big four continued to showcase the entire roster, while the remaining pay-per-views alternated between Raw and Smackdown cards. A special ECW event in 2005 led to the creation of an ECW brand in 2006, which also received its own dedicated pay-per-view. Additional brand-exclusive events were added to the schedule, which reached its peak in 2006 with sixteen pay-per-view events (five Raw, five Smackdown, two ECW, and the original big four). In March 2007, when WWE announced that all subsequent pay-per-views would feature performers from all brands. Dates were slowly removed from the pay-per-view schedule, and in 2012 WWE returned to holding twelve pay-per-views a year. In 2009, WWE began to rename several of its B-show pay-per-views, identifying them with types of matches such as the Money in the Bank ladder match and the Hell in a Cell cage match. Since 2012, WWE has offered a free kickoff show before each pay-per-view, available on WWE and from social media partners such as YouTube and Facebook. In January 2014, WWE announced that the WWE Network, a service launching in February, would feature its entire back catalog of pay-per-view events, as well as all future pay-per-views.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Feb 2014 05:02:53 +0000
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