Earlier today the WWE issued us with a press release where they revealed their financial results for the second quarter of 2015 ending June 30th.
In the press release, which can be read in full over at this link, the WWE highlight the performance of the WWE Network, future plans, live event revenues and much more.
Below are the highlights of the release:
Second-Quarter 2015 Highlights
- OIBDA of $13.2 million increased $27.8 million from the prior year quarter
- WWE Network total subscribers increased 75% to more than 1.2 million from the second quarter 2014; average paid subscribers increased 31% to approximately 1.2 million from the first quarter 2015
- Tough Enough premiered June 23 on USA Network. The Company’s reality franchises, Tough Enough and Total Divas, have expanded WWE’s weekly television audience by nearly 5 million unique viewers
- WWE is one of the brands that will participate in an ad-supported video test on Facebook that shares revenue with content creators. WWE served more than 440 million video views on Facebook during the quarter
Year-To-Date 2015 Highlights
- Network segment revenue reached a record of $131.0 million on a trailing 12-month basis
- International revenue increased by 38% to $78.6 million through the first six months of 2015
- WWE surpassed 500 million social media followers across all its global platforms, and now ranks 6th on Sprinklr’s Social Business Index, ahead of the NBA, NFL and other media properties
WWE Network Update
- For the remainder of 2015, the Company expects to add approximately 180 hours of original content to the network’s featured programming.
- Exciting original programming coming to the network includes a reality series following the stars of NXT as they strive to make WWE’s main roster, a new series Table for 3 that gives viewers a seat at the table with our Superstars and Divas, a studio show highlighting current events in the world of WWE and beyond, and new episodes of WWE 24, The WWE List, and Stone Cold Podcast, as well as teasers of Camp WWE, an animated adult series premiering in 2016.
- In addition, the Company plans to expand WWE Network’s robust video-on-demand library, which currently has more than 3,300 hours of content. Themed programming collections to be added to this library include The Raw Attitude Era Part 2: Austin/McMahon, WCW Nitro: Accelerating the War, and The 20th Anniversary of Monday Nitro.
- The Company plans to continue utilizing this capability in its subscriber communications. The Company also plans to leverage its sizeable social media and digital assets, such as video sampling on Facebook and WWE.com, to target and acquire new subscribers.
- To facilitate network subscriptions, the Company plans to introduce a three-month subscription card at retail, enabling a “no credit card required” payment option.
- Over the coming months, the Company will continue to improve the user experience by enhancing the network’s search functionality, adding the ability to organize content as themed “collections” and allowing non-subscribers the ability to explore the breadth and depth of programs available on the service.
- The Company continues to develop plans for geographic expansion to India, China, Germany, Japan, and Thailand.
The Press Release can be read in full over at this link.
