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Wrestlemania 37 this weekend was brought up. Khan said they have two nights in an open stadium this weekend in Tampa. It's the first event with fans back in attendance. Initially, they were supposed to be in Los Angeles. Nine months ago, Kevin Dunn (who he credited along with Vince about creating the look of their production, saying he would put it against any sports league), Khan and Vince sat down and had a conversation. Dunn said LA was completely locked down. If they have Wrestlemania there, they won't be able to have any fans there. Dunn suggested they move to Tampa so they have a chance to have fans safely there.
Khan said that they will have 25,000 fans and then they go back to The Thunderdome. There's no touring and returning to live fans yet. "Once we return, there's no going back." They would do that twice a week,with NXT it's three time a week. The level of performance on camera and off camera of their performers is incredible and they are so appreciative of that.
Khan was asked how this show's success will be measured. This time, the show is exclusively on PeacockTV, including for free in 25 million Comcast subs. Before they were available on upwards of 2 million subs on the WWE Network. Fastlane last month did great numbers, which Peacock asked them not to disclose, so he won't. He pointed out the cheaper price point for Peacock. For WWE consumers, they brought back the price point while offering them so much other content. They want to over-deliver to their fans and that's what they want to do.
Cowherd asked if there was a place where he'd be surprised how popular WWE is. Khan said they are super popular in The Philippines. They get award-show (think Oscars) level ratings. Things that aren't as highly rated here anymore (Miss America) does well there. He said WWE does extremely well there, partially because of the popularity of American pop culture there.
Cowherd asked where he wanted to grow the WWE market. He said Mexico and Latin America. He said that there are two smaller promotional lucha libre companies there now. He said if they built their own company and put the WWE "special effects", touch and work ethic on it, you can do massive numbers there on broadcast networks and you have the right local stars. Do that and you have a hyper focus on the market.
Cowherd said WWE at its best is dynamic. He asked if there's an "it quality" for a performer that always works. Khan said TV is a writer's medium. If an unknown is put into a great show, they become a star. He said their writers are phenomenal and it starts with them. Then, you have to create a character. When it works, it's an amplified effect of the performer. They have the good fortune that if you don't have that big Rock type personality, WWE can put a mask on you, they can give you a manager, they can change you up in a way other genres cannot.
Concludes on Page 6!
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