WWE: WWE Network and Business Thread III [network count a "genuine disappointment"]

[Sheppy]

Wrestlemania 32 official attendance was 80,709.

WWE claimed 101,763.

Just curious... How can they get away with saying that? Is it actual attendance or ticket sales?

 

[M.C.G. 31]

Just curious... How can they get away with saying that? Is it actual attendance or ticket sales?

Vince included everyone in the building. Not fans, but people who worked there for security, people who set up the ring, people who were backstage, etc.

Arlington police confirmed the 80k number.

 

[Kimi]

Vince included everyone in the building. Not fans, but people who worked there for security, people who set up the ring, people who were backstage, etc.

Arlington police confirmed the 80k number.

That's not actually correct, Vince just flat out makes up a number and runs with it. He just lies.

The WWE have never in their entire existence reported factual attendance numbers. They ALWAYS inflate it, even on Raw they lie about the attendance. Vince has even lied about attendance numbers on financial calls with investors, which is actually illegal. But it's "part of the entertainment aspects of the programming" or whatever the line is...


WCW was just as bad, except that one time when they reported a number lower than the actual amount, 'cos WCW xD.



But the 80k number is lower than what was reported by Meltzer, he said just over 93k fans attendance. Not sure if he's commentated on the 80k number at all.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

Oh I know he lies, it was just his backing when he was confronted by it at a QE call a bit ago.

 

[KesselBuiltMyHotrod]

http://www.fightful.com/pay-wwe-executives-revealed?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

name | title | 2016 | 2015
Vincent K. McMahon | Chairman and CEO| $3,071,600 | $3,308,998
Michelle D. Wilson | Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer | $4,317,617 | $4,507,801
George A. Barrios | Chief Strategy & Financial Officer | $4,311,056 | $4,494,878
Paul Levesque | EVP, Talent, Live Events & Creative | $3,993,417 | $3,112,624
Kevin Dunn | Exec. Prod. & Chief Global TV Prod. | $4,637,652 | $4,758,170

Vince McMahon actually makes far more in dividends related to his ownership of the company. He currently owns 35.5 million shares (46% of all WWE shares), which pay a quarterly dividend of 12 cents per share. So Vince made about $17.7 million in dividends alone in 2016.

WWE's Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon earned approximately $2.0 million in total compensation in 2016. Stephanie also holds a large amount of stock, 1.9 million shares, which paid about $914,000 for the year.

Shane McMahon, who holds no corporate position in the company and is contracted only as a performer, was paid $2.15 million in 2016 for his services as on-air talent. Shane holds little or no WWE stock.

Linda McMahon solely owns 566,770 shares, which yielded dividends of $272,000 for the year. Linda is currently the administrator of the Small Business Administration for the White House and holds no official position in WWE.

"Triple H" Paul Levesque's compensation referenced above includes his pay as on-air talent. As a performer, Levesque has a "minimum guaranteed annual payment" (also known as a "downside") of $1 million. Levesque looks to have made about $2.4 million total for his role as talent, which includes payments toward his downside, additional performance fees and royalties. Not counted in the table above, he also would've made an additional $30,804 on the 64,174 shares the proxy statement says he owns.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

WWE's goal is to get 2-million network subscribers by Monday's conference call to look good to shareholders.

 

[Hire Sather]

They're practically giving it away.

i've never signed up for anything other than a free trial and i got an email to sign up again and not pay until June 27th. No commitment.

I'll take it if theyre gunna give it to me

 

[M.C.G. 31]

Paid subs are about 1.66m.

They didn't hit 2m subs. Total and free subs are 1.949m. 1.661m paid, 1.462m domestic, 1.257m domestic paid, 497k international, 424k international paid.

 

[Natey]

Paid subs are about 1.66m.

They didn't hit 2m subs. Total and free subs are 1.949m. 1.661m paid, 1.462m domestic, 1.257m domestic paid, 497k international, 424k international paid.

Not too far off.

They need to make it more easily accessible. Its stupid that I can't watch on PS4 in Canada without jumping through hoops. .

 

[M.C.G. 31]

Not too far off.

They need to make it more easily accessible. Its stupid that I can't watch on PS4 in Canada without jumping through hoops. .

Agreed. I can't even watch on my Apple TV. I've emailed them about it too and said they have no plans to update that stuff for Canadians. It's ridiculous.

 

[DenisSamson3]

Agreed. I can't even watch on my Apple TV. I've emailed them about it too and said they have no plans to update that stuff for Canadians. It's ridiculous.

Is it possible that the local cable service providers may be working with wwe? Do you have to end up buying cable along with your internet?

 

[DenisSamson3]

It took 6 years for Canadians to get amazon prime streaming.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

Is it possible that the local cable service providers may be working with wwe? Do you have to end up buying cable along with your internet?

Not happening. WWE is like the ******* of all cable providers. No one has a clue what it is lol. The on-demand library channel hasn't been updated since it was first rolled out in Canada which is embarrassing. It's a horrible interface to begin with.

You don't have to buy cable along with your internet.

 

[DenisSamson3]

Not happening. WWE is like the ******* of all cable providers. No one has a clue what it is lol. The on-demand library channel hasn't been updated since it was first rolled out in Canada which is embarrassing. It's a horrible interface to begin with.

You don't have to buy cable along with your internet.

I'm with shaw and they said I had to have cable to get the network. Only had internet. That was around the time when the network rolled out in Canada.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

I'm with shaw and they said I had to have cable to get the network. Only had internet. That was around the time when the network rolled out in Canada.

Oh, you mean like that. Yeah you need cable to subscribe to the network legally in Canada.

 

[DenisSamson3]

Most popular wwe network programs last week. Came out Saturday I think.

#10 - Wretlemania 17
#9 - WrestleMania 31
#8 - Royal Rumble 2017
#7 - WrestleMania 32
#6 - NXT (382)
#5 - Fastlane 2017
#4 - Ride Along: 405 Live!
#3 - 205 Live (17)
#2 - Talking Smack (918)
#1 - NXT (383)

 

[MAHJ71]

Agreed. I can't even watch on my Apple TV. I've emailed them about it too and said they have no plans to update that stuff for Canadians. It's ridiculous.

iPhone app sucks too -- its not updated for the Plus screen size. I emailed them a few times.. never got a response. And I'm an American

 

[scrubadam]

Is it possible that the local cable service providers may be working with wwe? Do you have to end up buying cable along with your internet?

We have 2 major cable companies its a duopoly in Canada, same for mobile (with a 3rd in some provinces and some smaller companies that just essentially resell for the big boys).

And then we have the CRTC that makes foreign content jump through hoops.

So basically due to those things WWE can't just roll out the app we get stuck with a ****** version through our cable companies.

We pay like 90 dollars for 2GB of data on mobile, and those companies own the internet and cable.

 

[DenisSamson3]

Financials
First Quarter 2017 Highlights
Revenue increased 10% to $188.4 from $171.1 million in the prior year quarter
Operating income was $4.0 million and Adjusted OIBDA1 was $18.6 million
WWE Network averaged 1.49 million paid subscribers over the first quarter 2017, which represented a 16% increase from the first quarter 2016
WWE Network continued to super-serve its global fans with live, in-ring content by producing new episodes of its cruiserweight series, 205 Live, and holding a U.K. Championship Tournament, featuring local talent
Announced partnership with HBO Sports and the Bill Simmons Media Group to produce Andre the Giant, a documentary film examining the life of the WWE Legend
Completed multi-year agreement naming StubHub as the Company's exclusive ticket resale marketplace for fans in the United States and Canada

Full Year 2016 Highlights
Revenue increased 11% to $729.2 million, the highest in the Company’s history, including record levels of revenue from its Network, Television, Live Event, Venue Merchandise, and WWE Shop segments
Total international revenue increased by 11% to a record $189.3 million
Operating income increased 44% to $55.7 million and Adjusted OIBDA3 increased 17% to $80.1 million, with both measures within the relevant range of Company guidance
WWE Network subscribers watched a total of 294 million hours of content (up 15% from 256 million in 2015), yielding an average of 194 hours per household that places it among top cable and broadcast networks
Digital engagement continued to grow with video views up 56% to more than 15.1 billion and social media engagements up 45% to 1.1 billion from the prior year4

http://corporate.wwe.com/investors/sec-and-other-documents/financials

 

[Fish on The Sand]

Not too far off.

They need to make it more easily accessible. Its stupid that I can't watch on PS4 in Canada without jumping through hoops. .

That's not the WWE, that's our stupid government.

 

[DenisSamson3]

I was looking at this old chart. Can anyone explain what exactly do they mean when using the term advertising. Is it sponsors?

http://indeedwrestling.blogspot.ca/2014/05/an-assortment-of-old-articles-on.html?m=1

 

[DenisSamson3]

A newer chart of the ratings.

 

[DenisSamson3]

 

[M.C.G. 31]

So... the network subscriber count is a genuine disappointment, per Meltzer.

He said last year WWE promised to out-do their 2016 profit number which was $30-million. That's profit, not revenue. Profit. More than mid-way through 2017 and Meltzer says they're only around $5 or $6-million in profit so there's a lot of catching up to do. It's the reason for the number of network show cancellations and lack of pyro at shows. It's all an attempt to lower production costs.

He says they're not in any financial trouble but the network subscriber count is a genuine disappointment, as I mentioned above, and they didn't get that post-WM boost they were hoping for. He says it's clear that two PPVs a month hasn't helped the network at all but they don't want to drop back to one a month because it would hurt ratings a little.

More cuts are expected and it's also a reason why there hasn't been a UK show taping. The UK tournament earlier in the year cost a lot of money.

**

IMO, the people that were their target to buy the network bought it early on in its inception, the international rollout gave it a bit of a boost... but now you've reached the "glass ceiling".

 

[Disclose]

allow me to subscribe without a TV provider, i would pay... the **** theyre still doing? (in Canada?)