Below are some of the highlights from WWE’s quarterly investors call from Thursday.
-Vince McMahon was on the call briefly to kick things off, going through some of the major successes including “a stupendous WrestleMania.”
-Nick Khan touted how well WWE is doing on Peacock despite the streaming industry audience now shrinking and stabilizing in terms of growth. He said they are reaching new fans on the service and reaching a new audience. They are confident the company viewership there will continue to grow and that 1/3 of Peacock accounts watched some programming during Mania week.
-Khan said to expect news on the next Saudi Arabia show soon.
-Khan said 20 episodes of WWE Rivals are coming to A&E in addition to some post-shows for certain A&E Biography episodes featuring the star featured in the show. It’s part of the aforementioned 130 hours of programming in the deal.
-Khan said that when WWE enters next round of TV rights negotiations, they will have more potential buyers than last time. He feels it’s a matter of time before Netflix is interested in live programming, citing Apple and Amazon’s recent pushes in that area.
-When asked about bundling Raw and SmackDown in a deal, Khan said that “can be a powerful tool” and that they will talk to both NBCU and Fox before deciding how to proceed.
-He feels a robust international market awaits for WWE rights, citing the Peacock success in the U.S. They are in “deep talks” in many territories. and also mentions everyone is waiting on India cricket rights to gauge what’s happening there.
-Stephanie McMahon said sponsorship accounted for more than $10 million the last quarter — a 50+% increase year-over-year. She also mentioned gaming as a big strategy for their future, something that has come up on calls before. She cited a survey where 80% of WWE fans identify themselves as gamers.
-CFO Frank Riddick said there’s no decision as of yet when it comes to the expansion of Performance Centers globally, but they are looking at it.
Source: F4WOnline