That's the word according to MMAFrenzy:

According to a WEC official, the preliminary card broadcast is currently "under consideration" for WEC 48 and would be similar to the popular "UFC Prelims" series of its sister promotion.

Of course we've written about how the preliminary fights airing on Spike TV could possibly help the UFC PPV numbers.  The WEC promotion will be facing an uphill climb as they will offer their first PPV with WEC 48.  So any type of lead-in they can use to try and influence viewers to purchase the PPV should be implemented.  Not only that, it would give the guys on the preliminary fights some exposure that they wouldn't otherwise receive.  I personally don't expect the WEC show to do very well in regards to PPV buys, not because it's not a quality card.  It most certainly is.  The problem is that the WEC just does not have the name brand recognition it needs to do well.  However, if the WEC could get anywhere near 100K PPV buys, I would definitley call that a successful show for them.  So maybe if these preliminary fights serve as a lead-in prior to the PPV, that could influence the PPV buys.