3 takeaways from WWE and the McLaren Formula 1 Team when optimizing digital performance

WWE superstars and fans know what a ‘lights-on, lights-off’ moment feels like in critical junctures of matches. The arena unexpectedly plunges into darkness, there’s momentary commentary confusion as the cameras keep rolling; then the lights return, and there’s a surprise twist to the match. 

But these aren’t the only high-stakes ‘lights-on, lights-off’ moments that WWE cares about.

For engineering teams, WWE operates under the pressure of delivering high-quality live broadcasts into the living rooms of millions of fans each week, from venues across the world. The critical network infrastructure that supports the delivery of a vast array of content can be heavily strained, especially during live events, and any network issues must be resolved swiftly to avoid disruptions.

“Our road operations are never up for a sustained amount of time, sans our biggest event of the year, WrestleMania, where we’re up for 7 days plus. One of the things that we need to measure and constantly be on the lookout for is how reliable is our connection from the TV studio to our corporate network, and especially to the road. How can we be alerted to any inconsistencies, drops, latency, throughput, or bandwidth issues from our TV studio to the road?” says Ralph Riley, Director of Broadcast IT Systems at WWE.

Streaming glitches seriously damage the fan experience and impact revenue. They also put WWE in danger of missing SLAs with broadcast partners. “When we record [weekly show] Monday Night Raw, we have to get this packaged out to our client within a certain timeframe, which is an SLA that we have signed with them,” Riley says.

This is a challenge not just seen in the world of sports entertainment. The adrenaline-fueled sport of Formula 1 is similarly high stakes. Milliseconds matter and operational precision is paramount to performance on the track. Racing teams, for example, have about three seconds to decide – based on car, driver, and track position data – if a pit stop is possible, and if it is, less than three seconds to execute it.

Like WWE, F1 racing is also a traveling show. Teams like McLaren Racing build and dismantle a mobile data center 24 times a season as F1 tours the globe. The center is configured remotely by the McLaren Technology Centre, in England, which then uses it to gain telemetry data and insights from cars on the circuit. But connectivity conditions at each track vary: “The team encounters different and unpredictable conditions within the network environment that must be addressed and tuned for optimal performance.”

Both WWE and McLaren Racing might seem a world away from enterprise IT, but the similarities are stark – and IT leaders can take three key takeaways from the way WWE and the McLaren F1 Team have approached this challenge.

Takeaway #1:

Quality digital experiences matter. F1 and WWE illustrate how you truly only have one shot to get digital experience delivery right. In their own domains, enterprises are just as dynamic and data-driven – expected to operate at the speed of digital and adjust to evolving conditions in real-time.

Takeaway #2:

All businesses need end-to-end visibility across owned and unowned networks. F1 and WWE are extreme examples of “hyper remote” and “hyper dynamic” mobile environments, relying on an ever-shifting mix of networks and infrastructure for digital experience delivery. Enterprises aren’t too dissimilar, with employees also “on the road,” on the move, working between remote and distributed locations, while expecting a consistent experience that enables their productivity.

Takeaway #3:

Optimal digital experiences serve customer satisfaction, brand loyalty, and employee productivity. F1 and WWE are examples of multi-million live audiences where the breaking down of a digital experience is a non-option. This rings true for all enterprises dealing with customer expectations and business demands. Putting the effort into digital experience assurance drives up engagement and ensures exceptional digital experiences are consistently delivered to every user, everywhere, every time.

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