Entertainment news website TheWrap.com has published an exclusive report stating that Warner Bros. is currently in talks with WWE to acquire the entire WWE tape library.
The library holds an estimated 150,000 hours of content dating back to the 1950s. This would include all of the material included on the WWE Network and much more, including all footage from WWE, WCW, ECW, AWA and several other promotions. WWE’s archives are currently stored with Cinedigm, with The Wrap reporting:
“An insider with knowledge of Cinedigm’s WWE contract told TheWrap there is no end date as of yet, but the company is transitioning away from the library.”
The library is the cornerstone of the WWE Network, which up until now has been widely considered to be a disappointing venture. Although WWE’s recent cost cutting measured have greatly reduced the Network’s “break-even” subscriber metric, it appears WWE could be looking for additional avenues to monetize the library.
This is a potentially huge story that would once again completely alter WWE’s revenue streams.
That said, we cannot verify the validity of this report, which seems unlikely. We have reached out to WWE sources to get clarification on the matter and will post an update here as soon as it becomes available.
* WWE Trolls CM PUNK – Hilarious