As part of WWE’s Q1 2010 financial report, in which WWE achieved operating income of $37.3 million and net income of $24.7 million off revenue of $138.7 million, the company also announced the pay-per-view buyrates for Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania 26.
While the Rumble and Chamber events improved over their counterparts last year, WrestleMania 26 declined from last year’s already-disappointing number.
Royal Rumble 2010 drew 462,000 buys, up from last year’s 450,000.
Elimination Chamber did 272,000 buys, down from No Way Out 2009, which did 285,000.
WrestleMania XXVI drew 885,000 buys, down from last year’s 960,000. The strong UFC 111 pay-per-view, which aired the night before WrestleMania, will likely receive some credit for adversely impacting the WM26 buyrate.
WrestleMania’s popularity has been eroding sharply over the past few years, despite the fact that WWE claims the decreased buyrates are due to more fans gathering together for “PPV parties.” The past 4 years WrestleMania buyrates have been:
- 2007 – 1.18 million
- 2008 – 1.06 million
- 2009 – 0.96 million
- 2010 – 0.89 million
It’s interesting to note that despite WWE’s price increase to $44.95, and the increase in buys for Rumble and Chamber, revenue was slightly down compared to last year. The January and February shows garnered $13.6 million in 2009 and $13.4 million in 2010. This can be attributed to a relative increase in international buys, for which WWE does not receive as much revenue.
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