WWE Q2 2017 Earnings Reax

Read on for news and my thoughts on WWE's latest earning release.

Here's WWE's press release on their earnings:
- Obviously the revenue is great for them. They continue to soar and reach new heights.

- WWE Network is still kind of struggling. Yes, subscribers have grown from last year, but a lot of that has to do with international expansion. WWE fans have a LOT of content already available on Raw and Smackdown, so they probably don't fill the need to get the Network. They see all their favorite stars a lot already. It's worth considering revamping the PPV model so those shows feature things we don't see on weekly TV. That's much easier said than done, though, as their top source of revenue is their TV deals.

- Wow. Very impressive digital growth. I hope they can turn that into money.

- WWE getting and keeping sponsors is absolutely key. They want other companies to be proud to be associated with their brand.

- WWE's Mattel deal is very big. Glad to see it.

- Wrestlemania was another smash hit for them. I can't say I'm really surprised.

- I'm very interested to see how those Snapchat stories go for them. The digital "frontier" is an important one to be in, although there's always going to be the question of how that will make a lot of revenue compared to the TV deals.

- WWE's doing big things digitally. It's an important transformation.

- Sounds like WWE's going to continue to hit big revenue milestones going forward.

- Interesting to see that venue merchandise has really dropped. It could be because people have moved to buying online.

- Surprisingly, things aren't growing in Europe/Middle East/Africa. That's something to work on. Obviously the big TV deals are part of making that happen.

- U.S. WWE Network subscribers have basically flatlined. That's not good AT ALL. They need to get on that.

- WWE Studios is doing OK, but not stellar. I'm sure they'll keep it going.

WWE had a conference call to discuss the releases. Here are highlights:
- I'm glad WWE is growing their female fan base and people are responding well to female wrestlers. That will hopefully grow in the years to come as WWE continues to recruit and develop top female talents.

- WWE's definitely looking to really grow their international offerings. That's going to be key going forward, as they've pretty much hit peak saturation in the U.S.

- I'm interested in seeing what other plans they have in the vein of the Bellas' shows. It's going to be important to have personalities that get over, not just great wrestling.

- They're going to stay PG for the foreseeable future.

- I'm also really curious what they're going to do to get Network subscribers up, because 205 Live, etc. haven't really brought in fans like WWE was hoping.

- Interesting to tease they'll move Raw and Smackdown online. It might not be in 2019, but it could definitely be coming in the future. That could be a big game-changer, as I can see their older audience not wanting to migrate to something like Facebook.

- It looks like the UK brand will stay a special occasion for now. They jumped the gun because they were worried about the World of Sport revival signing all the talent they wanted to use.

- Their digital ventures will be something to watch in years to come.

- It's interesting fans don't stay tuned outside of Wrestlemania season.

More wrestling coming up.