Highlights from WWE’s First Quarter Fiscal Report

As part of today’s meeting with investors, WWE released their fiscal first quarter report and answered several questions on various topics involving the company.

In regards to the report itself, the company posted $188.4 million in net revenues for the quarter and up by around $17.3 million compared to last year’s first quarter. Operating Income was announced to have been $4 million and down compared to the previous fiscal quarter of $22 million. The WWE Network was announced to have averaged around 1.49 million paid subscribers for the quarter and up around 16% compared to last year’s first fiscal quarter.

Chief Strategy and Financial Officer George Barrios stated while the company made more money overall for the quarter, high production costs for the United Kingdom Tournament and Holy Foley Network show ate into profits. He also stated the company is currently targeting around 1.63 million paid subscribers as the average for the WWE Network for the second fiscal quarter.

In regards to questions from investors, Vince Mcmahon stated they are pleased with the current growth of the WWE Network and current expansion plans they have for for India and China as big markets for the company.

“We are pleased with the continued growth of WWE Network, which is a critical building block of our content strategy,” Vince McMahon was quoted as saying in a press release. “The recent production of WrestleMania set records for network viewership as well as digital and social engagement. As we leverage continuing innovation to extend our reach in India, China, and around the world, we are confident that the enduring and increasing global power of our brands will provide a solid foundation for long-term growth.”

When asked about TV related questions, Barrios stated their current TV deal with NBC and USA Network expires at the end of 2019’s final quarter. They are not currently worried about declining ratings for their shows. Vince stated one of their main goals is to continue growing their female viewership since the company sees them as the gatekeeper for the direction of their programing.

They are still working on plans for a weekly UK Network show but are not committed to an official date yet for its debut. Same goes for the upcoming Women’s Tournament which is now planned to occur during their fiscal third quarter.

On the topic of social media, the WWE stated the main goal they have for the platform is to use it bring in a new generation of fans as viewers for their shows. They currently view social media as another outlet for them to generate more awareness for their product and don’t see it as a negative in regards to potential cord-cutters.

When asked about India and Jinder Mahal’s current big push, Barrios stated it was not done to specifically cater to Indian fans but did imply storylines can help boost the popularity of wrestlers for certain markets.

Sources: WWE, Brandon Howard, PWInsider, Wrestling Observer