WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon. Bryan Bedder/Getty Images Big name brands including Pepsi, Mattel, and Kmart are jumping at the chance to advertise for World Wrestling Entertainment's WWE Network, the company's online subscription service, despite concerns of slow adoption.

The WWE Network offers a 24/7 stream of programming, with no commercial breaks within the programs themselves. But users will experience 15- or 30-second ads between shows, served on every fourth stream, according to the company.

Ad Age reports these brands will start advertising for WWE sometime this week. However, some brands were hesitant about advertising with WWE's fledgling online service.

The subscriber numbers for WWE Network aren't astounding. During the company's second quarter earnings call, WWE reported it had only signed up 700,000 users. This fell short of the company's goal of 1.4 million subscribers, which would make the online network profitable.

Fans can currently subscribe for the online service at a rate of $9.99, with a six-month commitment, or can pay $12.99 a month with no commitment. Even after offering a one week free trial, the WWE Network only saw 33,000 new subscriptions coupled with a loss of 100,000 users.

Brands like Pepsi and Kmart are still jumping at the chance to advertise on the platform, though.



WWE has a very dedicated fan base of young men. In its June earnings report, the company said 67% of its fanbase are men, and 44% of its fans are under the age of 34. So the WWE Network is a great opportunity for brands and marketers to get their products in front of the typically hard-to-reach group of younger men when they're online.

Plus, the service differs from something like Netflix because WWE's biggest events can go on for several hours. People aren't hopping on and off like they would with Netflix, but instead are spending a solid chunk of time consuming the content in one sitting.

WWE also announced plans to launch the network to 170 countries in late August, opening up the opportunity to gain even more subscribers and followers.