Variety reports that WWE is considering a WWE Cash initiative that would reward fans for their “activity via Apps or on Facebook and Twitter.” The idea is for fans to accumulate enough “cash” to receive a reward or purchase WWE items.
Variety interviewed Vince McMahon and WWE marketing executive Michelle Wilson about WWE’s social media push and balancing their “core product.” McMahon said on WWE stars being accessible that, “John Cena or the Big Show could walk down the aisle and shake your hand. It’s a little difficult for Spider-Man to do that.”
Wilson added that WWE doesn’t want to spend too much time on initiatives that don’t make money: “If you’re moving people from television, where we get a licensing fee, and trading down to a model where you get nickled and dimed, how do you build a significant business off of that? You don’t want to take people off of TV and put them on platforms where we make no money.”
The WWE currently receives licensing fees and ad revenue for distributing TV shows on YouTube and Hulu, but Wilson says that the company does not have one major online distribution deal, unlike other TV shows, in order to reach the widest audience possible. She stated: “It’s a fine line where your content should and shouldn’t go, but we’ve said we have to understand where our fans are consuming video content, and we need to be there. Some might say you’re over saturating the market, but we’re saying a rising tide lifts all boats.”
