After 36 years, World Wrestling Entertainment said it’s shutting down its Home Video category.
“No licensing deals will be renewed worldwide after 2023,” WWE Home Video UK said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.
This comes as an increasingly digital world has hit disc sales hard. The U.S. physical media revenue fell from $1.5 billion during the first half of 2022 to $754 million in the first half of 2023 — a 28% drop. As a result, companies like Best Buy and Ingram Entertainment have ceased the physical media aspect of their businesses.
“The home video business has long been in decline, and it will no longer be a place where the company dedicates time and resources,” a WWE source told Haus of Wrestling. It has been reported that this move will see WWE DVDs stop being released worldwide in 2024.
The last WWE Home Video release from Fremantle — WWE’s official licensee in Europe — will be the Crown Jewel 2023 on two-disc DVD. Crown Jewel 2023 released on December 18 in the United Kingdom and December 22 in Germany.
Survivor Series 2023 — which released on December 26 — is the last WWE DVD to come out in the U.S. following the news, according to Haus of Wrestling.
On its website, WWE DVD said it’s “fully dedicated” to keeping the site going for as long as possible, so for now, it seems like fans can still make purchases.
“Everyone at WWE Home Video UK would like to thank all our collectors and fans for many years of support and passion,” WWE Home Video UK said.
Image credit: WWE DVD UK
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