I think WWE is banking on a lot of HD owners wanting to waive their digital penis around to be able to buy a better looking show than the common folk. A lot of people will only watch programming in HD once they have the option.

 

Is it a sound strategy? Probably not, but that's what WWE has decided to do. I'd wager that they probably will end up keeping HD PPV the same price as standard once HD becomes further entrenched as the future of TV. Hell, right now where I live doesn't even have a HD PPV channel.

KCook, I really think you overestimate how the average casual fan views WWE. People will certainly get together and split the cost, as a friend and I have done for two PPVs in the last year. Get two people and it's $35, three and it's about $22, and so on. And considering this is Wrestlemania, there seems to be a large contingent of semi-hardcore fans who make this the one PPV they order annually.

 

On the price itself, WWE does a lot of silly things, but as a corporate company their pricing is usually spot on. They've surely had marketing do some studies and develop a price point. They are not just picking a high price out of thin air, they've done research. And frankly, if people are paying for HD TVs, extra for high definition programming, Blu-Ray players, higher priced Blu-Ray disks, etc., they will probably pay a little more for Wrestlemania.