WWE Q3 2014 results

Read on for my thoughts on WWE's Q3 2014 numbers.

Here are the numbers themselves.

WWE took a pretty sizable hit this quarter, but I don't think that's that big of a surprise.

The new Network plan might be a necessity with subscriber numbers that unimpressive. Wow. They've got quite an uphill battle.

I'm impressed by the social media improvements, but that only matters so much if they don't make money from those followers.

The TV right improvements are good, but they were similarly optimistic last time.

WWE trying to spin the minimal Network subscriber improvement reminds me of the quote "numbers don't lie, but liars use numbers".

They sound like they're adding some good new features to the Network, and continuing to expand it in important ways.

Latin America remains an unimpressive market. They need to really be building the likes of Sin Cara, Kalisto, etc. into stars.

Live events were notably down this quarter vs. last year, which was blamed on fewer international events. That's a delicate balance.

WWE offering a free month of the Network is great, but it's not like people haven't had opportunities to try it out for free previously.

Also of note, a LOT of people didn't renew their subscriptions after the six-month period ended. That's a real issue to address. Are that many people really that upset about the likes of Cena and Orton headlining a lot of PPVs? They're much cheaper now, so that shouldn't be as much of a problem.

Update: Here's the press release on the Network being free for a month, etc. I really hope this is the answer. It's going to take some other changes, too, though.

Update: Vince McMahon personally appealed to potential Network subscribers. I almost wish it was Corporation-era Vince doing the promo. "BUY THE NETWORK, GOD$&#%IT!"

Update: Here's coverage of the conference call.

I'm a bit surprised the VOD content is more popular than NXT. They could just have totally different audiences.

Rogers needs to get on the "expanding the Network to other places in Canada" thing. That's a big market for the company.

I love how they pretty much blew off the question about Creative being responsible for churn. There are definitely people who haven't renewed because they were upset about so many rematches, Cena still being a top name, etc..

Seeking Alpha looked at WWE's numbers. Needless to say, Wall Street was less than impressed. WWE's stock took a hit on a day when the overall market was up by a healthy degree.

Update: WSJ also examined what the numbers mean for WWE. It's a shame there's no chance of anyone calling for a change-up in top executives. Vince can pretty much keep power as long as he wants at the current rate of things.

More wrestling coming up.