A new article has confirmed the possibility of DirecTV dropping WWE pay-per-views in the future.

The Los Angeles Times recently posted a story on the new WWE Network and what it means to the relationship between WWE and their pay-per-view providers.

When asked about cable and satellite providers ditching WWE pay-per-view events, McMahon said it would be "foolish for them not to want to carry the pay-per-view anymore. It's found money for them." While it's hard to argue that fact, DirecTV still feels they will have to re-evaluate things once the new network has launched.

"Clearly we need to quickly re-evaluate the economics and viability of their business with us, as it now appears the WWE feels they do not need their PPV distributor," DirecTV noted in an official statement to the LA Times.

Pay-per-view subscription fees have typically been split 50-50 between programmers and distributors. With WWE events averaging around $55, with the exception of WrestleMania around $70 each year, distributors (in this case, DirecTV) have done quite well over the years. However, the satellite provider noted that buy rates have been on the downward trend and the WWE Network will likely make matters worse.

"[WWE's pay-per-audience] has been steadily declining," DirecTV continued in their statement, "and this new low-cost competitive offering will only accelerate this trend."

A WWE spokesman responded to DirecTV's statement, saying that "WWE hopes to continue to be in business with our pay-per-view distributors, ultimately giving our fans the choice between the two offerings".

I kinda agree with DirecTV. 6 months of WWE app = $60, one PPV = $60. WWE App = 6 PPVs for $60, DirecTV = 1 PPV for $60. It's not rocket science.

I remember one year when I was reading PWI if someone had bought all WWE, TNA and ROH pay per views they would have spent over a thousand dollars  

Eventually Pay Per View will die out anyway with all these new media platforms to watch stuff on. There is very little else that's offered on Pay Per View anyway, at least here in the UK. The only other thing I can think of is boxing and even that doesn't happen once a month.

Razor wrote:

I kinda agree with DirecTV. 6 months of WWE app = $60, one PPV = $60. WWE App = 6 PPVs for $60, DirecTV = 1 PPV for $60. It's not rocket science.

People who dont get the Network can still order PPVs, so i dont see the reason for crying about it

How many people aren't going to get the Network?
Any WWE fan that has the money to spend on PPVs obviously
1. Likes WWE enough to spend $60 on a show.
2. Has money.

If there is a WWE fan willing to spend $60 on them, it makes no sense that they'd pick one PPV over 6 months of WWE Network. It doesn't seem logical. The only people I can see not getting the network are customers that don't have money.

Well, if the only PPV you watch all year is WrestleMania (or the Rumble, some people only watch that), then it'd be worth it to stick with ordering PPVs. Otherwise, yeah, the network's a better deal. Even if you don't watch it frequently, you'll get your PPVs cheaper overall so long as you watch three or more a year.

Is the network going to be available in the UK? and are the ppvs shown live?

some people might still wanna buy WM on ppv over streaming it on a tablet, ps3, and everything wwe network will be on because the stream might not be reliable and might freeze up or crash a few times.