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With the advent of the WWE Network and the ability for fans to pay $9.99 per month for each pay-per-view (PPV) on the WWE schedule, buyrates for major shows have dropped significantly. Still, there are a number of fans who are electing to order each show through traditional means, so the PPV business hasn't been completely cannibalized just yet.
WWE recently released key performance indicators with an updated look at the numbers for the Battleground event that took place on July 20 in Tampa, Florida.
Total buys: 99,000
Domestic: 31,000
International: 68,000
The Wrestling Observer (subscription required) compares that to other shows this year:
As far as comparisons go, on the domestic side, it beat Payback (29,000) but was far short of Money in the Bank (53,000). Essentially what we can say is that Money in the Bank was a strong performance by the new standards. Keep in mind these domestic numbers are for the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, but the network technically isn't available in Canada.
It should be noted that last year's show, before the Network was launched, did 114,000 buys, though that was one of the worst drawing PPV shows of the past 20 years.
Battleground featured a Fatal 4-Way main event pitting John Cena vs. Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton vs. Kane for the WWE world heavyweight championship. It's also the infamous show that promised a highly anticipated Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins match and then failed to deliver on it.