Read on for my commentary on WWE's financial release.
WWE promoted the results of the first three months of 2017:
- Whoa. They actually made more money than they did from the quarter with the biggest Mania ever.
- I hope they can regularly pass two million paid subscribers before much longer. They're giving away free subscriptions like candy. It's insane.
- Throw beachballs all you want. WWE's cashing big checks!
- So, yes, Mania was BIG.
- Vince is on top of the world right now.
- Notice some journalists only report when live event attendance is down...
- How many more years can WWE have RECORD. HIGH. REVENUE? Surely at some point they can't keep growing.
- Look at that growth in live events and venue merchandise!
- WWE Studios isn't taking off like they want it to.
- I can see why they released so many social media people given the losses in digital media. That's surprising; they usually do pretty well there.
- LOTS OF EXPENSES WHAT IS GOING ON THERE. I'd imagine a lot of it is the added cost of 205 Live, all the signings, etc. Hopefully those things pay off, though.
Here's a recap of the post-release conference call:
- Vince McMahon is the king of the wrestling world. It's not even close.
- Yes, having additional live events is definitely a help. Thankfully NXT, 205 Live, and the UK brand will help out there in years to come.
- Yes, big corporate sponsorships and deals are key. WWE is after money, not ***** ratings from Meltzer.
- Yeah, we're waiting on those Network tiers with indie wrestling. Those are going to be a key next step for the company.
- WWE definitely learned from the last time they forecast TV negotiations. They made even more money for their USA deal, but stockholders expected a huge increase because WWE hyped their worth so much.
- I definitely hope HHH doesn't get too enamored with getting WWE over with the diehard fans. It's fine to have things like NXT, but there are going to be casual fans who don't want WWE to turn into what we see on the indies.
- TV ratings don't matter as much as they used to with so many fans moving online.
- I definitely think they know what they're doing in looking at the new digital frontiers. Younger fans aren't going to watch things on cable and satellite if they can help it.
- The e-sports idea is a pretty interesting one if they can get it going.
- Localized content is really going to be key going forward. They can only grow so much in the U.S., where people already know about their brand and might have watched decades ago.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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