WWE held their first quarter 208 earnings conference call on Thursday that featured Michelle Wilson (Investor Relations), George Barrios (Chief Financial Officer), and Vince McMahon (CEO and Chairman). Here are the highlights.
– The conference call opens with Barrios welcoming everyone to the call and runs through the earnings.
– McMahon got on the call and stated that the WWE Network averaged 1.56 million subscribers, which is an 5% increase. McMahon stated that all of their programs continue to push their performance and Raw and SmackDown helped USA Network the most watched TV network of 2017. He was amazed by the digital numbers, which were up 56%.
– Barrios started going through the financial highlights. Revenues reached $187.7 million, which was on-par with Q1 2017 (increasing 5% on a comparable year-over basis excluding the impact of ASC Topic 606 in Q1 2018). WWE Network subscribers viewed 25.2 million hours during WrestleMania week or 14 hours per subscriber during the week.
This compares to 22.5 million hours last year, a 12% year-over-year increase. During WrestleMania week, 13.9 million hours were consumed on digital and social media platforms, up 27% from the prior year; April 9 was WWE’s most-viewed day ever on YouTube with more than 50 million views.
– Weitz opened the call up for questions.
– When asked about their current TV rights deal with USA Network and how they’ve improved their metrics from 2014 – 2018. Barrios stated that the data is out there and they will be announcing their new TV deal anytime from now through September. Barrios refused to comment on the question furthermore.
– Wilson was asked about their sponsorship deals with the likes of Snickers. She brought up how they have a unique way to create content over all of their platforms and showcase those ads. They want to bring in sponsors brands into their world. She also pushed the fact that they can monetize on several different platforms.
– When asked about the performance of Mixed Match Challenge on Facebook. Barrios stated that partnership with social media company’s are a success and their investment paid off with such shows as Mixed Match Challenge and Greatest Royal Rumble. He noted that these shows will not be a one-off going forward.
This wraps up the call.
