As part of WWE’s First Quarter 2012 earnings report announced on Thrusday, the company released pay-per-view buyrate information for this year’s Royal Rumble and Elimination chamber events.
The Royal Rumble drew 443,000 buys, down from 446,000 buys in 2011, and 462,000 buys in 2010.
Elimination Chamber did 178,000 buys, down from 199,000 buys in 2011 and 285,000 buys in 2010.
Even though the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber both did fewer buys in 2012 than they did in 2011, revenue was essentially the same due to more viewers ordering the high-definition feeds of the events, which are more expensive and made up the lost revenue.
As for WrestleMania 28’s buyrate, the official numbers will not be reported until WWE announces its Second Quarter 2012 results in a few months, but WWE CEO Vince McMahon did say that the buyrate is expected to be “nearly 1.3 million pay-per-view buys globally,” indicating the final number might be less than the 1.3 million estimate WWE previously touted.
