I was sat watching Wrestlemania, looking at the similarities between WWE and Fortnite. Hell, I even wrote about it here.
What didn’t click until the other day, though. Was that all of this is on Netflix. I’m being served adverts for products in Netflix, via WWE.
It’s blatant, there’s no hiding it and none of us seem to have twigged that it’s happened.
I’m watching regular WWE content at the moment. Namely RAW and Smackdown on a weekly basis, and I’m sat there taking it all in. Like we all are. It’s just a given that adverts are a part of US Sports broadcasting, right?
WWE Breaking Boundaries
I don’t think anyone can say for certain that this was a part of the plan. But holy cow. Here we are.
WWE obviously need to keep the cash rolling in so sponsorhip deals, ad space on-screen etc is a given. Nobody really minds. That’s how it works, right?
It’s no skin off my nose, this is the world we live in and it’s been like that for decades. The US obviously take it a a new level, but it is what it is.
So we all moved to streaming services that we pay for monthly, and got away from adverts. Lovely!
My kids don’t really understand what adverts are, thanks to streaming services. But all of a sudden, these aren’t ad breaks by the TV network/streaming provider (yes this does exist now). No, this is advert spots in WWE content.
I’ve watch, bemused at adverts for Snickers and Old Spice. Talked about the Clash of Clans crossover, muttered about the ring mat sponsor for a week.
It’s all there, but it flies in the face of why we have streaming services, and pay a premium to not have adverts.
We’re being served ads when we shouldn’t. WWE has broken that barrier and it was with a whimper, not a bang.
Does anyone care?
I’m not even mad, to be honest. We’re all so desensitised to it that most people haven’t realised.
Am I impacted by these spots? Not really. But as an 80’s kid, I’ve been advertised to on TV my whole life. I imagine there was a lot of discussion in the WWE/Netflix negotiation about the morality of it (perhaps I’m a little naive here….). But just because a live event is showing on a different channel/platform, it doesn’t remove their costs and nee to drive revenue elsewhere.
That fact that I’ve seen nothing about it anywhere, indicated to me that people just don’t care. That’s fine. Like, do we need to be up-in-arms about everything all the time?
I just finding it really interesting how it happened overnight, and now it sets a precedent for everything else moving forwards.
Watchin the NFL games on Christmas day. I’m now thinking back, what adverts where there, then? Were there any? I bet there were and it was all just a part of the broader presentation.
Future impact
What does this mean long term, though? This is my concern.
I think it’s almost expected of sporting events, and maybe that’s a nice clean line to draw under it. But what deals are Netflix making? Are they getting revenue from these adverts from the WWE? Or are they still relying on the core subscriptions model?
If it’s suddenly a money maker throgh the backdoor from the WWE, you can bet your bottom dollar we’ll be seeing more.
Im mostly concerned that it took me months to even realise it was happening. How much more is being thrust at us without even realising? Either because of the contect of the adverts, or because we’re already so desensitized that it makes no difference anyway.
Shrewd business? Sure. But what impact will it have on us, the viewer, that thought we were paying for ad-free viewing?
Lets keep eyes open, and see if only WWE pulls this off, or if it becomes more prevalent.
