The WWE has issued a press release addressing its business growth in the first quarter of 2017, following the end of the financial year 2016-17 this March 31st. It’s essential to note that the following analysis of the press release is indicative of the statistics published by the WWE that includes virtually every possible area of the organisation’s income- right from the WWE Network to merchandising, live shows to Wrestlemania week collections and much more.
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First Quarter of 2017 Highlights
The revenue of the WWE has reportedly increased 10% from $171.1 million in the prior year quarter to $188.4 million. The Operating Income was $4.0 million and Adjusted OIBDA was $18.6 million.
In the aspect of paid subscribers for the WWE Network, the company saw a 16% increase in 2017’s first quarter from the first quarter of 2016, with this year’s first Q averaging 1.49 million paid subscribers.
Furthermore, the WWE has produced new episodes of its Cruiserweight series 205 Live and held a UK championship tournament featuring local talent. The promotion has aimed at producing more diverse content, that includes both live and tape-delay in-ring content, giving an opportunity to several young up-and-comers to showcase their talents in the aforementioned Cruiserweight series and UK tournament.
Besides, the WWE also announced its partnership with HBO Sports and the Bill Simmons media group to produce Andre The Giant, a documentary film that will reportedly chronicle the life of the legendary WWE competitor.
The promotion also completed a multi-year agreement naming StubHub as the WWE’s exclusive ticket resale marketplace for fans in USA and Canada.
Selected Wrestlemania highlights:
Wrestlemania 33 reportedly broke the attendance record for the Orlando Citrus Bowl, with the total number of fans adding up to 75,245. Over the course of Wrestlemania week, the WWE created yet another record by having five consecutive nights of sellouts at the Citrus Bowl and Amway Center.
This year’s Wrestlemania was the most watched edition of the event of all time and has reportedly reached 1.95 million global households on the WWE Network alone. This year’s Wrestlemania week content viewership saw a 4% year-over-year increase, as the WWE Network subscribers watched 22.5 million hours on content i.e., an average of approximately 13 hours per subscriber.
Wrestlemania 33 was reportedly the most social event in WWE history with 5.19 million interactions on Twitter and Facebook during the broadcast and 2.8 million tweets about Wrestlemania all through the day.
Out of the total social TV interactions on April 2nd, Wrestlemania 33 accounted for nearly 30%; edging the Country Music Awards (13%), The Walking Dead Season Finale (10%), and the MLB Opening Day on ESPN (10%).
Wrestlemania was broadcasted live in China for the first time and was aired on PPTV Sports via pay-per-view with an option of Mandarin or English commentary. Besides, the WWE also launched WWEShop.in an e-commerce website for WWE fans in India; on April 3rd at a time that coincided with the live broadcast of Wrestlemania 33 in that country.
Stamford, Conn., May 4, 2017 –
WWE reported a $0.9 million net income in 2017’s first quarter i.e., $0.01 per share as compared to $13.9 million or $0.18 per share in the first quarter of the year prior. Operating income in this year’s first Q was $4 million as compared to $22 million in the prior year quarter.
Meanwhile Excluding items affecting comparability and Adjusted OIBDA was $18.6 million as compared to $27.6 million in the first quarter of the prior year. Here’s what WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon had to say regarding the WWE’s first quarter performance-
“We are pleased with the continued growth of WWE Network, which is a critical building block of our content strategy, 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.”
George Barrios, Chief Strategy & Financial Officer of the WWE, stated-
“During the first quarter, increases in key operating metrics, including event attendance, network subscribers and global content consumption, supported strong 10% growth in revenue. As anticipated, our earnings reflected the timing of certain expenses, a significant portion of which are expected to reverse over the coming months. As we continue to focus on producing engaging content across all platforms, we remain on track to achieve our 2017 financial objectives with record revenue, record Adjusted OIBDA results, and record subscriber levels.”
Q2 2017 Business Outlook
The WWE has reportedly raised the lower end of its projected range of subscribers for the second quarter of this year, based on the performance of its subscribers for Wrestlemania.
The WWE is projecting average paid subscribers of at least 1.63 million for the second quarter of 2017. Furthermore, the Adjusted OIBDA for the second quarter has been estimated at approximately $13 million to $17 million.
2017 Perspective
The Adjusted OIBDA for the second quarter of 2017 is estimated to be essentially flat as compared to the corresponding period in the prior year. The WWE is anticipating significant year-over-year growth in Adjusted OIBDA over the second half of this year.
It goes without saying that WWE management is aiming to achieve yet another year of record-breaking revenue, with the Adjusted OIBDA reportedly being targeted at $100 million, which, if accomplished, would be an all-time record. It would be a significant spike (about 25%) from 2016’s Adjusted OIBDA of $80.1 million.
Comparability of Results
It’s essential to note that the Operating Income reported by the WWE includes several non-recurring items that influence comparability on a year-over-year basis. This includes $5.6 million in expenses relating to legal matters and miscellaneous contractual obligations and $2.1 million in film impairment charges.
The aforementioned items have been excluded from the WWE’s Adjusted 2017 results. Besides, for the first quarter of 2016, there were no such items that influenced the comparability on a year-over-year basis.
Performance of Segments:
The WWE divided the assessment of its performance over the first quarter of 2017 into various segments in order to ensure transparency of understanding for potential investors.
The segments for Net Revenues, Operating Income and Adjusted OIBDA are as follows:
Media Division, Network, Television, Home Entertainment, Digital Media, Live Events, Consumer Products Division, Licensing, Venue Merchandise, WWE Shop, WWE Studios and Corporate & Others.
Furthermore, the Net Revenues by region shows the WWE’s high dependence on the North American market, besides indicating a significant growth in 2017’s first quarter from the corresponding period in the prior year.
The WWE’s Net Revenue from the North American market in the 2017 first quarter is $146.2 million as compared to $130 million in 2016’s first quarter. At second place comes the EMEA region i.e., Europe/Middle East/Africa with 2017’s first quarter showing a decrease in revenue as compared to that of 2016, falling from $27.6 million last year to $26.6 million this year.
The APAC i.e., Asia Pacific region showed an increase in 2017’s first Q at $13 million from $11.6 in last year’s first Q. Besides, the Latin America region also showed an increase in first quarter revenue this year as compared to 2016’s first Q, rising from $1.9 million last year to $2.6 million this year.
All in all, the total net revenues for the WWE in 2017’s first quarter as compared to the prior year period has increased from $171.1 million to $188.4 million.
For further statistical information, fans can check out the press release courtesy corporatewwe.com right HERE.
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