WWE Q4 2012 analysis

Read on for everything from WWE's financial meetings yesterday.

Here's the overall picture.


WWE will buy a new corporate jet, which is expected to cost over $30 million. Some of this will be offset by the sale of the current jet. I wish I had that kind of money to blow. I can see that number causing a stir as it's a really big expenditure.

WWE is expected to take a loss because of their video game license issue. Not a shock. I hope they rebound when Take Two takes over.

The WWE Network continues to be kind of up in the air, being referred to as a "potential creation". They are thinking of having all non-Mania PPVs on the channel (though keeping them available through traditional means), and could license some of their content to current TV networks. They expect big losses early on as it's very expensive to launch and promote a network. Still no timetable, but they're taking it very seriously. They also want it to go international and they're looking at digital distribution for content. They think they'll get 2-4 million subscribers, with 1 million being the "break-even" number. Not all content will necessarily be PG, which I'm sure a lot of fans are glad to hear!

WWE will continue to put a lot of money into marketing, new content creation, and talent acquisitions.

WWE's internet business has been more successful, due primarily to their deals with YouTube and Hulu Plus. Good to hear.

The third hour of Raw and the launch of both Main Event and Saturday Morning Slam meant an increase in TV rights revenue. They've got to be happy about that. They're not going to voluntarily cut back on the number of hours of TV they're doing given the numbers they're doing.

DVD business was up. Good.

International business was solidly down compared to the previous year-quarter. That's a cause for concern that they should look into.

Update: They had fewer shows internationally. That'll do it. For some reason, they weren't as hot in Mexico this go-round. That could be why they're pushing Del Rio so hard. Why they won't get behind Sin Cara more is beyond me.

PPV revenue was slightly up due to higher prices for HD content. Hell In A Cell had a significant uptick from last year, due perhaps to the sudden rise of Ryback. Survivor Series was pretty far down from Rock's return last year. TLC was slightly down from last year, which is a shame because it was a hell of a show.

WWE's action figure line is #2 in the United States. Cool.

The Rolling Stones PPV is leading to other opportunities. Also cool.

They've really made waves on Facebook and Twitter. They're on the ball with that stuff.

WWE Studios continues to be unimpressive, but they are making money with it and expect it to continue to grow. They're keeping an eye on how the new releases do to see where to go with the division.

That's it for today's news. More tomorrow and a podcast coming up later at Blue Echo.