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Welcome to PWInsider.com's ongoing coverage of World Wrestling Entertainment's first quarter 2017 financial conference call.
Michael Weiss welcomed everyone to the call and introduced Vince McMahon, George Barrios and Michelle Wilson.
Vince praised their revenue growth of 10% this quarter. Vince said his barometer has always been live event attendance and they've increased it this quarter. Their digital and social media views were up 8% this quarter. He said the Wrestlemania results were "excellent" in all aspects and Raw and Smackdown were "holding their own and more than that" and put over that they "just missed" 2 million subs for the WWE Network, which they were hoping for by Wrestlemania. He said things are looking well in all aspects of the company. He sounded much happier than he usually does on these calls.
George Barrios began recapping all of the material in the earnings release.
They had 19 more live events this quarter and raised overall attendance 100,000 from this quarter last year.
They made more money this quarter but costs including additional costs for production of the WWE UK championship and Holy Foley! cut into that.
Michelle Wilson talked about the company having over 4 billion video views across social media platforms, produced more than 75 hours for the WWE Network, raised the subscriber numbers and more. They averaged 13 hours of viewing per subscriber on Wrestlemania weekend. She pushed the women's tournament and new episodes of WWE 24.
Michelle also pushed the company's relationshps with KFC, Nestle, Crickett Wireless and Mars/Snickers.
Barrios said they were raising the low end of their projections for WWE Network subscribers for the second quarter.
They moved on to questions.
Michelle was asked about how they customized offers for the WWE Network during Wrestlemania and how they intend to customize utilizing their date. She said they have built a "strong muscle" around data analytics and are ahead of their competitors in that regard. The analytics allow them to promote the right message to the right customers at the right time and interacts with them based on programming they watch.
They were asked about updates in China and India. Barrios said they have been working hard on the e-commerce front in those markets. Wrestlemania was made available on a paid basis in English and Mandarin and was the first sporting event held on PPV in China.
On the planned rollout of the WWE Network tier system, Wilson stated they were still evaluating.
They were asked about renewal dates for Raw and Smackdown and when they would start negotiating a new deal. The current deal in America ends at the final quarter of 2019 and the UK and India would expire three months later. They are not going to comment on negotiations.
They were asked to prioritize recent regions. They said that are so global. India is the third largest growing market on TV and their second largest growing in digital. They are strong in the Middle East and elsewhere.
They were asked about the weekly WWE UK show. They are looking at a weekly show but nothing yet to announce. It's on their development schedule. They are working on the women's tournament and that will take place in the third quarter of the year as well.
They were asked about the Network and long-term plans. Barrios said they have a stronger connection to their most passionate fans and can serve them in a way they never could before. They still believe they can get to 3-4 million subscribers on the Network and as long as they are growing every quarter, they feel good about it.
They were asked about the potential of changing strategies or businesses to assist internationally. Barrios said that if you look at history, no one ever gets to their ultimate steady goal quickly. They are taking a long view and won't get caught up in the quarters as long as they see evidence they keep growing.
Vince was asked if they were really growing or just trying to serve more to their diehard fans. Vince said there is a huge effort on their part to grow their base. He said there's been an initiative to get to the younger audience and their secret has been to appeal to generation after generation. The Network helps them serve their super-fans. Vince said they are looking to grow and invest in all areas. They try to hit as many different demos and areas as possible and they aren't looking to get a "buck back tomorrow" if they spend it today on growth.
They were asked if they were going to have to expand the Performance Center and whether they were going to have to increase spending on a local level They are going to continue to invest in content, data and long-term technology. He didn't specify anything regarding the PC.
They were asked about the Raw ratings being down and what they need to do to improve the ratings leading into the renewal discussions with USA Network. They worry about the level of engagement and not worry about the quarters. They are excited about the storylines on Raw and Smackdown. He said at times, one brand do better than the other. Way to avoid that one.
They were asked about their social media and whether it can be cannibalistic to their TV and WWE Network especially as people cut the cords. Wilson said that with the next generation, they have to be there to bring in future consumers and for future monetization. They see it as a rising tide, not it taking away from traditional viewing. They want to engage the new generation and move them to long-term viewing. Their priority is to bring them into the brand over time. Barrios said that eventually, money follows eyeballs but it takes time. If they dominate on those platforms, they will have the choices. Five or six years ago, they could only get that video out through a partner. Now, they can release it anywhere. Wilson said they don't only look at Nielsen ratings anymore but in the engagement and analytics and they are getting smarter at reading and learning from those. They feel they are going in the right direction.
They were asked if they felt they had ESports opportunities with their game. Wilson said they are looking at that and there are development discussions but they are indeed looking at that with 2K.
They were asked about whether they feel they have arrived when it comes to their branding. Wilson praised Stephanie McMahon for getting the message of who they are with major influencers and decision makers as Brand Officers. She reinforced they have had family programming for some time and the message is out there and will continue to make progress at getting that message out there.
They were asked about expenses, specifically Network programming spending being flat if they are working on more localized programming. They were asked if they could expect to spend more money on programming. They make programming decisions based on analytics. They are finding that more in-ring content and localized programming are what subscribers are looking for.
A called asked about the push of Jinder Mahal and how that has helped in India. They noted their talents are popular globally but certain characters gain popularity in certain markets. This was a great example,
That's all from the call.
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