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JR's Blog: WWE Financials, How to get More Subscriptions, The Brock Lesnar Dilemna, JR & Barry Switzer Team up Saturay for OU-Iowa State Football, Ross Report Podcast Rises in Ratings, Shop Online for Holiday Gifts w/ JR's Products

Posted: Oct 31st 2014 By: Jim Ross

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Big week for WWE with their quarterly conference call discussing their financials for the quarter. Disappointing number on the total number of subscriptions but with the UK coming aboard that should help their cause.

This matter of the WWE Network can be analyzed in a variety of ways but the bottom line is that the WWE core product isn't 'hot' and when a brand isn't hot it's difficult to sell spin off products of the brand such as subscribing to their digital network.

WWE Creative must do a better job of heating up the WWE TV shows, allow new, fresh, young talents to take on bigger roles and introduced new talents with a systematic plan to bring them in with fanfare and instant credibility.

Plus selling he Network primarily because of the price of $9.99 which has essentially become a punch line in a joke and is not a selling point. It's akin to saying that we have a lunch special for $4.99 but not saying what the special menu item is. In a three hour raw, WWE should feature vignettes of network offerings to remind fans of what they are missing. If I'm not seeing, feeling, or experiencing whet it is you want me to buy I'm highly unlikely to buy it.

The three hour, WWE flagship broadcast, Monday Night RAW, always has segments that should not make air and using some of the great content from the Network in lieu of such suspect content is a win-win for everyone.

I enjoy the WWE Network and have had it since day one and I'm not paid or encouraged to say so. I'm simply speaking as a fan but I do feel that the concept is a viable one but it will be a couple of years or so it seems before the financials reflect the concept. But it will happen if it is promoted creatively and with weekly time on RAW specifically designated for Network promotion in an enhanced way and by using more time.

Things such as 'This week in WWE Network history' to the superstars themselves tweeting daily what they are watching or are going to watch on the Network are just two simple ways to drive traffic to the newest, most important aspect of the company. Things need to change because what is being utilized currently is obviously not working. The good news is that WWE can change their creative as it relates to their air marketing plan in a manner of days or weeks to improve their results of gaining new subscribers to the WWE Network.

The old, promotes philosophy of giving the audience what they want and they will buy it still is applicable today in any business.

It's going to be curious to see how WWE addresses the contractual issue with their part time, WWE World Champion Brock Lesnar as his contract is allegedly expiring shortly after WM31. There is no way that I would roll into Levis Stadium with Brock as the Champion if I did not have a new contract in place for the amazing athlete. If Lesnar isn't signed to a new, more WWE friendly deal by early January there is no reason for him to make it out of the Royal Rumble as the WWE World Champion.

At some point WWE is going to have to stop reaching back in the past and commit to going with their core of young talent with it understood that these younger talents have to step up and make an impact or step aside and make room for the next talent who's hungrier and more willing to commit to becoming great which is a daily commitment that is not something that can be done while only inside the walls of an arena.

I will be joining Hall of Fame Coach and winner of three national titles in college football at Oklahoma and one Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys, Barry Switzer this Saturday to guest on his @CoachesCabana show that can be seen for free and online worldwide at http://www.coachescabana.com/university-oklahoma. We will narrate and discuss the OU vs Iowa State game that kicks off this Saturday at 11 am Central time. Check us out.

Great feedback for the Jason Powell @prowrestling.net Ross Report Podcast that's up now at podcastone.com. It was recently as high as #0 in the iTunes top 300 sports charts. Jason and I discuss WWE HIAC, Impact Wrestling potentially working with ROH, my top draft pick from NXT and how wrestlers were paid when I was in WWE.

Next Tuesday at 9 pm ET a new Ross Report podcast will drop with WWE HOFer JJ Dillon joining me to talk about his amazing career that started as a referee for Vincent J. McMahon, working the territories as a wrestler and a manager to his greatest in ring role as the leader of the Four Horsemen and moving to administration with NWA, WWE and WCW. This is a great show loaded with stories and history.

Online shopping at wweshop.com, americansoda.co.uk and beyondtheropes.co.uk

I've updated the Q&A's here on the site. I hope that your's made the cut.

Boomer Sooner!

J.R. @JRsBBQ