Source: Miami Herald
In the past few years, World Wrestling Entertainment has been aggregating the best of professional wrestling television by strategically acquiring the video libraries from a host of national and regional promoters.
With a collection totaling 75,000 hours of content and growing, the WWE video library is the largest of its kind.
In addition to its own extensive WWE Library, WWE purchased libraries dating from the 1950s including WCW, ECW, AWA, WCCW, CWF, CSW, OVW and SMW.
WWE intends to monetize the vast collection across several initiatives:
WWE 24/7 OnDemand, the company’s subscription video-on-demand-service featured on Cox Communications, RCN, Rogers Cable, Insight, Verizon and other distributors internationally. It will be launched on Comcast in August.
A new one-hour Classic television program, to be distributed internationally starting in the summer.
WWE Home Video, to which the library compilation has already contributed to successful titles like The Rise and Fall of ECW, The Monday Night War and The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection, three of the Top 20 best selling sports DVDs of all-time.
WWE website, on which events and matches from a cross-section of the WWE video library compilation are currently available for purchase.
WWE’s burgeoning broadband and mobile businesses, where WWE has seen its popularity and stars scale efficiently to a worldwide audience that wants more content beyond television.
The WWE video library includes events and matches with the biggest stars in wrestling history: Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Andre The Giant, Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, The Von Erichs, Triple H, The Undertaker, Rusty Brooks, Jesse The Body Ventura and many more.
