Read on for my thoughts on WWE's latest earnings report.
WWE announced a change in how they'll report their financial numbers beginning in Q1 2018. It sounds like it will be more straightforward under the new system.
WWE executives George Barrios and Michelle Wilson have been promoted to co-presidents, joining WWE's board of directors. So, they'll be pretty important going forward on the corporate end.
WWE touted another record-breaking quarter and record-breaking year for revenue:
- This is why Barrios and Wilson are moving up.
- Wow. Digital is definitely more of a focus on them.
- The second most viewed channel on YouTube is HUGE.
- Their action figures are OVER.
- WWE definitely expects things to get even better in 2018. We'll see how long that holds up.
- Raw and Smackdown's U.S. rights situation should be known in a few months.
- Ha. Physical media is getting buried. Thankfully it's not hurting their bottom line.
- Venue merchandise is definitely something to keep track of going forward.
- There's not much to say other than they were impressive in pretty much every category with some nice gains.
- WWE Network has pretty much peaked. Good God. They only grew 68,000 subscribers worldwide! It's time to really examine that end of the company.
- Phew. Fewer people are attending WWE events. That's a real concern as far as star power goes.
WWE followed this release with a conference call:
- Vince put over HHH and Stephanie for signing Ronda Rousey, and for the women's evolution as a whole. I think the goal is to increase their profile as decision-makers in the company so the stockholders aren't totally taken aback when Vince isn't chairman and CEO.
- George Barrios put over Mixed Match Challenge, and said both WWE and Facebook were happy with the results. He remained coy on the idea of Raw and Smackdown moving there.
- The company is working on their production facility, which could be a future expense.
- Vince confirmed he'll have a different team working on the XFL, and said he didn't think his $100 million stock sale would be enough to fund the league. That could theoretically mean other investors and/or more stock sales. He'll have to be careful with the latter since, as the top stockholder by far, him selling stock is going to raise eyebrows and cause reactions from Wall Street.
- WWE intends to invest in more social and digital content, as well as having content available in more languages.
- They basically said the tier system for WWE Network is a long-term goal. In other words, it's not in the works just yet. Publicly, they're happy with how the service is doing, but the numbers show it's sputtering along.
- WWE is looking to grow digital views outside the United States.
- WWE intends to continue plans for the UK brand, and further their local content for India. I wouldn't assume that means an Indian brand or anything, but they definitely have their eyes on the market.
- The Ronda Rousey deal is still being finalized, but it is a multi-year agreement and WWE is going to be her priority.
- Stephanie McMahon indicated WWE's media partners are also supportive of the women's movement in the company.
More wrestling coming up.
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