WWE issued the following on Thursday, touting their earnings in a report of their successful Q1 2018. This included records broken by the recent WrestleMania 34 PPV in New Orleans.
Some highlights include:
* Revenues reached $187.7 million, on par with $188.4 million last year.
* WWE Network subscribers increased 5% to 1.56 million paid subscribers, up from 1.49 million paid subscribers in Q1 2017.
* WrestleMania 34 reached a record 2.12 million global households, up from 1.95.
You can check out the full press release below.
WWE® Reports Strong First Quarter 2018 Results, Raises Full Year 2018 Guidance
First Quarter 2018 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)1
* Operating income was $21.8 million($29.0 million on a comparable basis) as compared to $4.0 million in the prior year quarter
* Adjusted OIBDA2 increased 40% to $35.2 million (increasing 68% to $42.4 million on a comparable basis)
* WWE Network average paid subscribers increased 5% to 1.56 million paid subscribers, consistent with the Company’s guidance
* Digital video views increased 56% to 6.7 billion and hours consumed increased 69% to 243 million across digital and social media platforms4Selected WrestleMania Highlights
* WrestleMania (April 8, 2018) broke the record for the Mercedes-Benz Superdome’s highest grossing entertainment event at $14.1 million, attracting 78,133 fans
* WrestleMania hit a record 2.12 million global households on WWE Network alone, making it the most-watched WrestleMania in history
* 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 viewsSTAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WWE (NYSE:WWE) today announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2018.
“We’re pleased with our continued success in creating and monetizing our content as evidenced by another record-breaking WrestleMania, which set new highs for network subscribers and viewership,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We will continue to focus on broadening our global audience across multiple platforms, providing the basis for significant growth.”
George Barrios, Co-President, added, “During the first quarter, higher content rights fees, increased sales of advertising and sponsorships, and the continued growth of WWE Network supported strong 40% growth in Adjusted OIBDA. Based on our momentum and ability to capitalize on global opportunities, we are raising our target for 2018 Adjusted OIBDA to at least $150 million, which would be an all-time record, exceeding our previous guidance of at least $145 million.