On his 83 Weeks podcast, Eric Bischoff defended TKO’s decision to raise WWE ticket prices, calling it a standard business practice. Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics.com recently reported that the average ticket price for WWE’s North American television events has nearly doubled since the TKO merger in September 2023.
“I mean, does it make sense? …you have a product, it’s a widget, and you sell that widget, people go, Well, I really like that widget. So you raise the price a little more…and you keep increasing that price until you find your threshold. And then once you find your threshold, you then begin to adjust your prices accordingly…I’m not shocked, but it’s interesting to me that people are surprised that any company will continue to increase the price of the product until they find that threshold. ”
Bischoff also suggested comparing the price hikes to other forms of live entertainment. “I wonder how WWE ticket sales compare to, you know, it’s hard to come up with comps, but rock and roll, you know, concerts. What have concert ticket prices done over the last 12 months on a percentage basis compared to what WWE has done in the past 12 months on a percentage basis? It’d be interesting to see what other forms of value entertainment that people actually go to.
I am absolutely shocked when I look at some of the prices for buildings that I previously worked in and produced television in. I mean, it’s a different world today financially than it was even eight years ago. …It’d be fun to see somebody compare.”
He also agreed with the idea that an immediate sellout could be a negative, meaning money was left on the table.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit 83 Weeks with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. You can listen to the full episode on Apple and Spotify.
