As reported last week, the buyrate for this year’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view came in and the number was disappointing to say the least.
The show did 445,000 buys, with 40% of those coming from outside of the United States (thus bringing in less revenue to the company). The figure is down from the 575,000 buys the show did last year — a 23% drop.
The reaction backstage to the number was said to have been a complete shock to some, although others saw it coming as pay-per-view buyrates have been down in recent months. The main draw of the Royal Rumble pay-per-view is the Rumble match itself and many feel this year’s event year was not hyped as well as previous years. The creative team felt the match would simply sell itself. Apparently, it did not as this year’s Rumble pay-per-view drew it’s lowest buyrate in twelve years.
