WWE issued the following press release to us:
STAMFORD, Conn., April 3, 2017 – WWE® (NYSE: WWE) today announced that its digital subscription service, WWE Network, reached a record 1.95 million total subscribers following last night’s WrestleMania®. This is a 7% increase from April 4th,2016 the day after WrestleMania last year.
“Results today demonstrate that we are effectively executing our multi-platform content strategy,” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “WWE Network continues to drive transformative growth for our company and is a key element of our global content ecosystem, which includes traditional television, digital and social platforms and our direct-to-consumer service (WWE Network).”
“With nearly 2 million total subscribers, more households than ever before watched WrestleMania on WWE Network,” said George Barrios, WWE Chief Strategy & Financial Officer. “Given the ongoing strong growth of WWE Network, we continue to expect record subscriber levels and record revenue in 2017 as we achieve targeted record profits.”
WWE Network Subscriber Highlights
WWE Network reached record levels of total subscribers, total domestic subscribers and total international subscribers as of April 3, 2017.
Total domestic subscribers increased 4% to 1.45 million; total international subscribers increased 15% to 497,000 from April 4, 2016 – the day after WrestleMania last year.
Paid subscribers reached 1.66 million (+14%), including 1.24 million domestic (+12%) and 424,000 international (+23%) subscribers as of April 3, 2017.
WrestleMania Engagement Milestones
WrestleMania broke the attendance record for the Orlando Citrus Bowl with 75,245 fans from all 50 States and 62 countries. As part of the week-long WrestleMania celebration, WWE will have an unprecedented five consecutive nights of sellouts at the Citrus Bowl and Amway Center
WWE Network subscribers viewed 22.5 million hours during WrestleMania Week or 13 hours per subscriber during the week. This compares to 21.7 million hours last year, a 4% year-over-year increase.
For the first time, WrestleMania was made available in China on a pay-per-view basis via PPTV’s digital platform.
Digital and social media video views reached 133 million (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube), representing a 105% increase over last year.
WrestleMania garnered a record 18 million social media fan engagements, up 66% from the prior year.
WWE 2017 Perspective Q1 2017: Based upon preliminary data to date, WWE Network attracted an average of approximately 1.49 million paid subscribers over the first-quarter 2017, representing a 16% increase from the first-quarter 2016 average. The first-quarter 2017 average was in-line with guidance of 1.48 million (+/- 2%).
During the first quarter 2017, the rise in WWE’s stock price resulted in an increase in stock compensation expense. Based on this increase and the timing of other items impacting our results, the Company currently expects (subject to the completion of its quarterly close process) that its Adjusted OIBDA for the first quarter 2017 will be $3 million to $5 million below the previously estimated range of $23 million to $27 million.
The Company anticipates that these timing elements will reverse over the coming months and is maintaining its full year Adjusted OIBDA target. WWE is unable to provide a reconciliation of first quarter guidance to GAAP measures as, at this time, WWE cannot accurately determine all of the adjustments that would be required. The Company is evaluating certain items for the first quarter 2017 including film impairments which (subject to the completion of its quarterly close process) may result in reconciling adjustments. Further information regarding such reconciliations can
be found on page 6 of this release.
Q2 2017: If the acquisition and retention of subscribers driven by WrestleMania is consistent with the subscriber activity associated with the prior year event, the range of average paid subscribers for the second quarter 2017 would be 1.63 million (+/- 2%), representing an increase of approximately 8% from the second quarter 2016. As future subscriber performance may differ from prior activity, this range is provided for perspective rather than as guidance.
2017: WWE management continues to expect the Company to achieve another year of record revenue and has targeted Adjusted OIBDA of $100 million, which would be an all-time record (up approximately 25% from 2016 Adjusted OIBDA of $80.1 million).
Additional Information
As previously announced, WWE is hosting a conference call at 3:00 p.m. ET today to provide an update on the growth of WWE Network, including the level of subscribers following WrestleMania. All interested parties are welcome to listen to a live web cast that will be hosted through the Company’s web site at corporate.wwe.com/investors.
Participants can access the conference call by dialing 855-200-4993 (toll free) or 913- 489-5104 from outside the U.S. (conference ID for both lines: 4389508). The presentation referenced during the call has been made available on the Company’s website at corporate.wwe.com/investors. A replay of the call will be available approximately two hours after the conference call concludes, and can be accessed on the Company’s web site.
About WWE Network
WWE Network is the only place to get all WWE pay-per-view events, including WrestleMania, at no additional cost plus 24/7 programming featuring ground-breaking original series, reality shows, documentaries, classic matches, exclusive coverage of special events and the most comprehensive video-on-demand library with over 7,000 hours of content, including every WWE, WCW® and ECW® pay-per-view. Like other digital subscription services, such as Netflix and Hulu, fans are able to sign up for WWE Network online by going to WWENetwork.com, and can watch WWE Network on their TVs through connected devices such as Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku streaming devices as well as Smart TVs including Sony, Samsung and Panasonic.
For a complete listing of WWE Network availability by country and device, please click here.
About WWE
WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE programming reaches more than 650 million homes worldwide in 20 languages. WWE Network, the first-ever 24/7 over-the-top premium network that includes all live pay-per-views, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library, is now available in almost all international markets other than the People’s Republic of China and embargoed countries. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, Munich and Tokyo.
