Pulling A Live Audience In The Era Of Social & Streaming
In our era of social and streaming, “live” entertainment moments are significantly less common than they once were in the era of network TV. As streamers seek to justify subscription value, we see a growing number of platforms experimenting with the value of live Entertainment events – from supplemental Sports coverage, to Comedy specials, Concerts and much to be expected in the coming year, Political coverage. This past week, Wrestlemania 40 broke Peacock’s record for most watched live Entertainment event ever, reporting over 660 million views consumed over the two days. In case you missed it, Netflix signed a $5B deal to acquire the rights to WWE Raw, Wrestlemania, and Smackdown, starting in 2025.
Though maybe only exciting news for wrestling fans, it’s a broader trend signal in the industry where live Entertainment may become more of a competitive tactic to deepen the relevance of a platform in the streaming routine of subscribers with access to many. Outside of Sports, pulling live audiences is extremely challenging in our culture of on-demand Entertainment. As a result, it’s worth looking closer at how Wrestlemania 40 managed to grow its live audience YOY with a campaign narrative that outraged core fans with uncertainty and transcended the coverage of the sport entirely. The connected campaign story is an inspiring case study across talent, press, and platform support, for any upcoming live event marketing campaign:
April 2023: Fan favorite, Cody Rhodes loses the final match in Wrestlemania 39
Spring 2023: Fans rally for a rematch between Rhodes and his opponent for next year’s event, unanimously deciding a year out that he’s overdue for the victory
July 2023: Peacock rolls out a documentary on Cody Rhodes, “American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes”, driving investment in the story among broader audiences
September 2023: Dwayne The Rock Johnson makes a surprise appearance back into wrestling for the first time in 4 years, adding uncertainty to assumed storylines and outcomes
January/February 2024: Core fans mobilize in support of Cody Rhodes to make sure his rematch is not derailed by superstar The Rock’s return to wrestling. The controversy boils over into broader pop culture coverage
April 2024: The campaign unlocks interest from core and reach audiences, versus simply bringing back last year’s viewers to “finish the story”. Wrestlemania 40 sees 140,000 in live attendance while garnering over 660M streams