WWE has released their annual report for 2015 (PDF of the press release summary), with an infographic (PDF) explaining some of the key notes. Check out Eric’s post from earlier for some of the key details.
Right now, WWE’s investor call is ongoing with Vince McMahon, George Barrios, and Michael Weitz running the show. At first, it’s mostly repeating information from the above releases, but once the investment firms start having their representatives call in, it can get interesting, and we’ll pick up ongoing coverage when that part of the call kicks off.
You can stream the conference call here.
11:19 a.m. ET Lines are open!
11:21 a.m ET Engagement levels of specific WWE Network shows? Barrios gives vague answer that they’re happy with. Will they bundle Network with over services, whether hosted by MLB Advanced Media (WWE Network partner) or otherwise? Maybe something like Crunchyroll? Barrios gives a vague answer and thinks it’s early. Makes a reference to major players vs. minor players that sounds like a shot at Crunchyroll, who was in WWE’s infographic as a top 10 paid internet streaming service.
11:23 a.m. ET Barrios not really answering anything, as usual. Vince asked how they’ll deal with the injury bug for WrestleMania. “By being creative! We’ll have an awesome WrestleMania.”
11:25 a.m. ET Oh no, it’s Laura Martin. She’s asking a weirdly specific and pointless question about hours viewed by Network subscribers and what shows they are, which Barrios happily answered because Laura Martin. She asked for India-specific numbers and of course she’s not getting them.
11:27 a.m. ETÂ What will impact WrestleMania quarter Network numbers? No specifics. How many current subscribers were around for WrestleMania last year? Barrios refuses to discuss.
"We are not going to talk about specifics" will be the George Barrios t-shirt when he gets a store on @ProWrestlingTs
— Live Audio Wrestling (@LAWradio) February 11, 2016
11:29 a.m. ET Any correlation they’ve seen between ratings and Network churn (subscriber loss)? “Not at the granular level” week to week, but yes, in the big picture. Is WWE going to build the planned media center? Looking like a no now.
11:32 a.m. ET How should we think about the continued ratings decline? Vince: “Hours are down, but not as much as the networks we’re on.” TV is old media and important, but when you add YouTube, the audience is consuming their content how and when they want to. Which is a totally fair answer given their YouTube numbers being sky-high, to be honest. He included other social media in there, and your mileage may vary on that, but they’ve tweeted more and more GIFs, short video clips, etc. during shows as the year went on, as well.
11:35 a.m. ET Brad Safalow is unbanned. Wants NXT revenues. Barrios won’t talk about specific product lines, but they’re happy w/ the engagement. What’s on the plate for NXT live events outside of Full Sail and Florida in general? Generic answer. Top five network subscriber countries? UK is a terrific market. Canada is good. “Outside of that, in the top 10, we’ve got a nice mix of countries.” TV budget? No pre-cashflow guidance from Barrios. More seasons of Total Divas, though.
Asking about YouTube: Someone can watch a significant portion of Raw, any tension with NBC Universal over this given the huge gap from the monetary perspective? Vince; It’s a combination of valuation. We’re live programming, which adds tremendous value. Keeps saying “huge ecosystem.” Not really answering the question and he came off terribly since he effectively cited YouTube as a big reason why ratings are down.
Brad: “It’ll be interesting.”
Vince, not sounding upbeat: “It sure will…”
11:40 a.m. ETÂ Is the cost of putting archival content on the Network de minimis (too minimal to warrant consideration) to WWE? Barrios says so. Network spending in the future will depend on subscriptions.
11:42 a.m. ET Follow-ups! Is there a way to draw more fans to the WWE app instead of third party platforms to keep them closer to the WWE Network subscribe button? App is an important part of their strategy per Barrios, but the established platforms are important. Still, continuing to invest in WWE owned and operated platforms. Remember, they dropped the live app experience fairly recently.
Could NXT be on regular TV? Depends on the market.
11:44 a.m. ET What markets does the Network need to get into? China, Phillipines, and Thailand.
11:48 a.m. ET Brad Safalow follow-up. When does the India TV deal change so that pay-per-views will air live on the WWE Network? Don’t comment on specifics of current deals. Barrios: “How the rights work, I’d like t stay away from that.” Haven’t discussed Japan lately, signing talent from New Japan, increased focus? Think about it as a really good market from a talent perspective.
11:50 a.m. ET Analyst thinks their stockholders are frustrated by flip-flopping between different criteria for network guidance (end of quarter numbers vs. average numbers). Barrios doesn’t do a good job explaining the switching back and forth. Basically said that end of quarter guidance on the subscriptions is too difficult to predict, so it’s easier to go with the average.
It’s over. Stock is $14.59 per share right now (-$1.16 which is -7.37%). Much more interesting call than usual, thanks in large part to the YouTube stuff, the return of Brad Safalow, and the YouTube stuff. SeekingAlpha should have a transcript soon.
