Reported by Adam Martin of WrestleView.com
On Wednesday, September 7, 2005 at 12:50 PM EST

WWE held a conference call earlier today to discuss their first quarter numbers that were released today. If you have yet to check them out, you can do so here. Linda McMahon and Michael Sileck both read prepared statements and then took questions from investors. Here are some newsworthy items from the discussion:

- WWE's current lawsuit with Jakks Pacific is said to be "slowly progressing" through the court system. The company is looking at setting timetables for discovery in the case very soon.

- Linda stated that WWE's five year relationship with Spike TV was "good for us", but added that the USA Network has a larger audience and that they are preparing for a great a launch with them in October. She added that going back to the USA Network was like "going home" for them.

- The WWE Films produced "The Marine" starring John Cena is expected to be released within the first six months of 2006. The film is in the final editing stages at the moment and some additional scenes were shot recently.

- McMahon noted how well WWE 24/7 has done on Rogers Cable in Canada and that they are seeing a growth in subscribers on call cable systems where WWE 24/7 is available. WWE is said to be in discussions with other major cable outlets to carry the service as well.

- Linda mentioned how well merchandise sales have been via the Internet and credited that to its improved look of the website, better packages and the overall popularity of characters.

- The company is in final negotiations for a distributor for the film "The Condemned" that will star Steve Austin.

- McMahon credited the lift in buyrate for the Vengeance PPV as appeal for "veterans vs. younger stars" and the draw of the Hell in a Cell match between Batista and Triple H.

- The topic of how the Taboo Tuesday PPV was hurt last October was discussed, noting the "hot series" in baseball that drew away from their events.

- Linda mentioned how the first hour of SmackDown will be airing on WWE.com this Friday. She also noted how they would have rather debuted on a new night in a different fashion, but that it was out of their hands due to the Hurricane Katrina situation.

- McMahon admitted that SmackDown would be having a very difficult first month on Friday as the show will be preempted in many markets due to baseball coverage. She added that they feel they can bring in more viewers during that timeslot than they were on Thursday.

- It was noted that if there was a huge increase in ratings for WWE programming on USA during its three-year deal, it would not change the current financial terms set in their contract with the network. WWE would continue to make the same amount of money off the deal. McMahon added that increases in ratings would lead to an increase in other areas such as merchandise, PPV buys and live attendance.

- WWE is still in negotiations to obatin several other wrestling tape libraries, both large and small. Linda noted that they have only "scratched the surface" of what they can do with classic footage. She said around 65 former stars have already agreed to "Legends" contracts with the company. Linda also stated that they have over 75,000 hours of programming in their current tape library with more to be added.

- Linda confirmed that WWE would be greatly reducing their programming hours upon the move back to USA in October. She noted that they will be producing a weekly two hour RAW broadcast along with a one hour Saturday morning recap show. As noted before, both Velocity and Sunday Night Heat will be gone starting in October.

Credit: Buck Woodward @ PWInsider.com