WWE held their third quarter 208 earnings conference call on Thursday that featured Michelle Wilson (Investor Relations), George Barrios (Chief Financial Officer), and Vince McMahon (CEO and Chairman). Here are the highlights.
– The conference call opens with Barrios welcoming everyone to the call and runs through some of the earnings.
– McMahon got on the call and stated that they continued the focus on deepening engagement, increasing the production of original content including Miz & Mrs., Mae Young Classic and Mixed Match Challenge. He bragged about holding SmackDown 1000 and their Super Show-Down event that had more than 70,000 fans in attendance. He looks forward to Evolution and Crown Jewel.
– Barrios started going through the financial highlights. WWE Network averaged paid subscribers increased to 1.66 million paid subscribers, consistent with the Company’s guidance. This is also up by 9%. Revenues reached $188.4 million for the third quarter 2018 and a record $657.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018, representing 12% growth over the prior year period. Digital engagement increased with video views up 61% to 22.9 billion and hours consumed up 81% to 842 million across digital and social media platforms. WWE Co-President Michelle Wilson said that this Sunday’s Evolution PPV is “sold out.” Wilson also mentioned that WWE will be doing more “localized content.” Barrios on continuing to hold the Crown Jewel event in KSA: “This was a difficult decision.” He then just quickly said they outlined their decision in the earnings release.
– This is when they opened the call up for questions.
– McMahon was asked about continuing Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. McMahon declined to comment because of the sensitivity of this topic and brought up their statement that they issued in the earning reports. “We’re not going to talk a lot about that it’s a very sensitive subject. I think our statement says all we’re going to say about that today.”
– McMahon was asked about live events and said that they understand how to fix their attendance issue. If they didn’t then that would be a problem. He insists they’re going to “reimagine” live events very soon, and expects to see a “big turnaround in short order”. He says they, “know how to fix that.”
– Wilson was asked about their relationship with Facebook and their reaction to Mixed Match Challenge. She said that they’re happy and has been a learning curve with moving their fan base to that watch tab. Both sides are in this together. They learned that 11-minute episodes in the first season was a mistake and thus, the reason they made episodes in the second season longer.
– When asked how many events they plan to hold in Saudi Arabia in 2019, Barios stated that they wouldn’t comment on that yet but would likely be disclosed in the next quarter. Also asked about the tiering of the WWE Network, Barrios stated, “We’re always getting a little closer. When We do things with Direct to Consumer, We want to do it right It becomes a 2019 event, not ready to say exactly when. We’re getting closer.”
– Wilson was asked about more 1-hour programs, she stated that the fans are watching more in-ring products rather than other content. She stated that fans want longer content and will build more engagement in the local markets. Wilson said that they have talked about a permanent women’s show but there is nothing formal yet but on the roadmap of possible ideas.
– A caller asked about the frame what risks that relate to Saudi Arabia outside your control, Barios said, “The complexity of the situation as Vince said. All our thoughts are in our statement.”
This wraps up the call.
