As they continue down their road to a merger with Endeavor’s UFC, WWE announced on Wednesday a quarterly record of $410.3 million for the second quarter of 2023.
That is a 25% increase ($82.1 million) year-over-year (YOY), powered by the revenue from May’s Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia in addition in increased media rights fees and live event revenue.
The company also set quarterly records in operating income and adjusted OIBDA (operating income before depreciation and amortization).
The latest on Vince McMahon
The company continues to experience financial fallout from the Executive Chairman’s alleged hush money payouts that were exposed last summer.
“During the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, the Company incurred $5.3 million and $7.1 million, respectively, of expenses related to costs incurred in connection with and/or arising from the investigation conducted by the Special Committee of members of the Company’s Board of Directors, related revisions to the Company’s financial statements and other related matters.”
They noted that McMahon has continued to reimburse WWE for “all reasonable costs” related to the investigation and has paid approximately $17.4 million in reimbursements to date.
Also revealed in their filings:
“On July 17, 2023, federal law enforcement agents executed a search warrant and served a federal grand jury subpoena on Mr. McMahon. No charges have been brought in these investigations.
Additionally from the The Company has received voluntary and compulsory legal demands for documents, including from federal law enforcement and regulatory agencies, concerning the investigation and related subject matters.”
Nick Khan declined to comment on this matter on Wednesday’s investors call. He did confirm that McMahon had spinal surgery and is on medical leave, adding they will respect his privacy about his health during this time.
Inside the numbers
For the quarter, the aforementioned media rights finished at $320.3 million (up from $243 million YOY) while live event revenue finished at $62 million (up from $41 million YOY). However, consumer products dipped to $28 million, down from $44.1 million in last year’s Q2, due to a decrease in licensing and ecommerce revenue as they transitioned to Fanatics.
To give an idea of the continued Saudi Arabia positive financial impact, the Other category increased to $66.5 million, up from $9.7 million YOY.
The company held 53 ticketed events this past quarter (43 domestic and 10 international) with average domestic attendance of 9900. In comparison to last year, they held 59 ticketed events (55 domestic and 4 international) with domestic attendance of approximately 6800.
Khan said it was their highest-grossing live event quarter of all time and they see no slowdown coming.
Endeavor deal
There was no news related to the specific timeline for closing the Endeavor/UFC merger. WWE did disclose some costs related to the potential merger, reporting that “For the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, the Company’s consolidated pre-tax results included $18.8 million and $25.4 million, respectively, of expenses related to the strategic alternatives review and agreement with Endeavor.”
Khan said on the investors call that the process hasn’t been easy, but it also hasn’t been difficult. He did not give a specific month in which they expect the deal to be approved by regulators.
Media rights
There is still no further news on domestic media rights for Raw, SmackDown and NXT other than Khan saying they are continuing to talk to various players, including in the OTT (over the top) streamer space in addition to traditional companies.
When asked why the process is taking longer than last time, Khan said it’s due to the larger starting price for rights. He is confident in where they will end up, citing “significant interest” and that things are “progressing well.”
When asked about potentially splitting up how their broadcasts are aired between linear and streaming, he said that will be up to whoever owns the rights, citing the NFL and how their partners make content available to viewers.
PPV/PLE viewership increases
All three of the PPVs/PLEs that fell in the Q2 timeframe saw significant increases in “global unique viewership.” They didn’t break out Peacock as they have in past quarterly updates.
WrestleMania: up 29% year-over-year
Backlash: up 34% year-over-year
Night of Champions: up 45% year-over-year
Other notes:
Khan said they have already set a record in booked sponsorship dollars for the year.
Khan said their ad share deal with Twitch pays WWE talent more than if they were on their own. He expects bigger things out of that partnership as time goes on and after the Endeavor deal closes.
This post will continue to be updated as the investor call begins at 8:30 AM Eastern. Please check back and refresh for updates.
WWE announced $297.6 of revenue and operating income of $53.1 million on Tuesday for the first quarter of 2023 — their first such report since the news of their hopeful merger with Endeavor to spin off into a new combat sports company with the UFC.
The previously announced details of the merger were listed in the release and discussed on Tuesday morning’s investors call. It is still expected to close in the second half of the year.
The revenue number was down by 11% year-over-year (YOY) due to “to a shift in the timing of the staging of a large-scale international event, which occurred in the first quarter of 2022 but is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2023.”
That event is their bi-annual show in Saudi Arabia. Believed to be recognized in the Other category in their Media revenue section, that number was $4.8 million this past quarter compared to $60.8 million in Q1 last year.
During the Q&A portion of the investors call, WWE CEO Nick Khan revealed that the exclusive media rights negotiating window for both Fox and NBCU for SmackDown & Raw was “about a month each.”
As that window opened on April 1st, that would indicate more news could be coming soon as related to outside parties being able to bid. Khan said while talks have been productive, there’s no timetable for when new deals could be done while remaining positive on the prospects for both.
When it comes to interest from outside parties, Khan reiterated “exclusive means exclusive” regarding the negotiating window.
Ticket revenue & attendance increases
The company touted Q1 North American ticket sales revenue as increasing by 52% year YOY thanks to a 37% increase in average attendance. Overall revenue was $32.6 million, up from $23.1 million in Q1 last year. $30.2 million of that revenue was attributed to North America, up from $19.9 million in Q1 last year.
There were 50 ticketed events in North America last quarter with attendance of 7850. Last year, they held 53 total events (52 domestic and one international) in the same quarter with North American attendance at 5710 average.
That revenue, plus contractually escalated media rights fees for Raw and SmackDown, helped offset the decrease. Those fees accounted for $153.9 million, up from $139.1 in Q1 of last year.
Vince McMahon
WWE incurred $1.7 million in expenses for Vince McMahon-related legal fees in connection with a dropped shareholder lawsuit.
McMahon made a payment of $17.4 million to reimburse WWE for costs related to the Board’s Special Committee investigation into his scandal from last summer.
The success of WrestleMania
Per the norm, WrestleMania was a major focus even though it happened in Q2. As previously announced, 161,892 fans generated a gate of $21.6 million and the weekend was both their highest-grossing and most attended in company history. More than $20 million in sponsorship money was generated which doubled last year’s record.
Domestic unique viewership on Peacock increased 31% YOY while global unique viewership increased by 29%.
Merchandise sales were also up 20% YOY, beating last year’s record. On the call, Khan said sales were $7 million, breaking last year’s record of $5.2 million.
WrestleMania sponsorship revenue exceeded $20 million, more than double the previous record set in the prior year.
Other quarterly highlights & release notes:
Seven percent viewership increases for both Raw and SmackDown, “significantly outperforming overall cable and broadcast television, which declined 15% and 6%, respectively”
The previously announced expansion of their Fanatics deal which gives them on-site event merchandise management starting this month.
Consumer product revenue increased to $39.3 million, up from last year’s $32.2 million in Q1.
Q&A session:
Khan, CFO Frank Riddick and Paul Levesque were guiding the call. Khan and Riddick gave presentations while Levesque did not.
Riddick said they expect to save between $50-$100 million post-merger.
Khan said the success of Elimination Chamber in Montreal was strategic as they are negotiating with Rogers on a renewal of TV rights in Canada that was first signed in 2014.
Khan said the renewal on WWE media rights with Sony in India will be worked on following Sony’s merger with Zee.
Levesque attributed the higher viewership to assembling “the right team across the board” and how they are focused on character development. He specifically mentioned looking a year out and planning backward from where they want to be.
Khan said WWE will be unaffected by the Writers Guild strike and that includes any A&E programming.
When asked about potential international acquisitions, Khan said the three current focuses are closing the Endeavor deal, US media rights and building the existing business.
Khan said he expects sales and sponsorship to grow post-merger, but there has been no reach-outs to UFC sponsors as of now.
Khan said more sections are being opened up for SummerSlam at Detroit’s Ford Field for ticket sales.
Khan confirmed WWE received “a seven figure subsidy” for bringing Backlash to Puerto Rico this weekend. That was previously reported as $1.5 million by Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics.
The next-day rights to air WWE Raw will continue to be held by the streaming service after a deal was struck following months of negotiation. WWE revealed the news today during its third-quarter investors call. The two companies have been in business together since 2012.
WWE Chief Financial Officer & Chief Administrative Officer, Frank Riddick said the Hulu extension is a short-term deal designed to better align with the upcoming live TV rights negotiations.
Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics believes the short-term deal is structured to end at the same time WWE’s current TV rights deals expire in September 2024.
“Sounds like WWE settled for less money from Hulu in exchange for getting the deal to expire with live rights Sep 2024,” Thurston wrote on Twitter.
Hulu continues to hold the next-day rights to air WWE SmackDown until at least September 2024 as well. This is due to Fox sub-licencing all of its next-day rights to the streaming service.
Additionally, Nick Khan also revealed on today’s investors call that a WWE series focused on Bianca Belair and Montez Ford is coming to Hulu as well.
On Thursday’s investors conference call, WWE chairman Vince McMahon said the company has had advanced talks with major OTT players about changes to the WWE Network that could mean a significant revenue increase for the company.
McMahon called the potential deal(s) “transformative”.
Those changes could be content rights with marquee events like WrestleMania and the Royal Rumble or perhaps a different distribution model for the WWE Network altogether. McMahon said if a change is made, it will be announced this quarter as the talks are that far along.
When asked about the plans for the Network, McMahon said they have a lot of options. One is to remain as they are now with a free and paid tier while the other is to distribute more content to “the majors”. He later clarified “majors” as OTT companies.
“There’s no better time as of right now to exercise the selling of our rights,” he said.
In a follow-up answer, interim CFO Frank Riddick said that while the devil is in the details, there is nothing that would stop them from selling those rights if they chose to.
McMahon was asked about whether they would consider adding advertising to the Network and he said they would be interested if they kept the model as is. If they brought on other partners, that decision would be up to them.
As of last quarter, the WWE Network had 1.43 million subscribers, a 10% drop from the previous quarter, and generated $184.6 million in yearly revenue, down $15 million from 2018. The company predicted a modest increase for Q1 2020 for 1.47 million.
WWE signed two massive five-year TV deals with both Fox (SmackDown) and NBCUniversal (Raw), giving the company $2.35 billion from 2019-2024.
Before this week’s return to the norm, Joseph Currier looked at Heyman’s promising start in his new role.
Though it was only the beginning of him easing into the role, the first Raw of the Paul Heyman era showed promising signs for his future as executive director.
It was surprising that — during the build to a pay-per-view where the top of the card has already been announced — Heyman’s presence was so obvious. Even if WWE didn’t announce his executive director role, it still would have been easy to tell that something was different about the episode.
It started with a literal bang that doubled as a statement of intent. Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley’s falls count anywhere match kicked off the show and ended in a no contest. Strowman charged at Lashley, with explosions going off as they crashed through the stage. The angle was treated with complete seriousness. Corey Graves even let out an uncensored “holy sh*t” on commentary.
A look at Paco Alonso and his role in running the most traditional of all pro wrestling promotions, and what happens next with CMLL, is the lead story i the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We look at Alonso’s death, an update on who will be running the company, how things will stay the same, what could change, the 2008 Hall of Fame election, and the career of Alonso as a promoter including the wrestlings wars he was in and the boom periods he presided over. We also look at where things stand and why Alonso is the only promoter with so much tenure in the business who has never lost money promoting wrestling.
We look at the first show of the G-1 Climax tournament, including unique aspects of the crowd, the business notes and what was good and bad about the crowd, this week’s G-1 bouts, Dallas coverage with star ratings and poll results and will AEW and NJPW promote together any time soon.
We also look at a Saturday with five major shows, running down all of them and the story behind the change in WWE policy.
We also look at Dwayne Johnson and Conor McGregor earnings, Reigns winning award, new signings, Reigns talks why AEW isn’t competition, WWE’s latest network strategy, ideas that were nixed of late that were pitched, Eric Bischoff update, Stock price notes, new WWE television show, most-watched shows of the week on WWE Network as well as a rundown of all the arena events of the past week with results, highlights and business notes.
We’ve got full coverage of UFC 239, with all the different stories that came out of the show, the judging of Jones vs Santos, the future of several fighters, all of the business notes regarding the show as well as match-by-match coverage, fighter pay, and poll results.
We also look at the changes in All Japan Pro Wrestling and what it means going forward.
We also have coverage of the Impact PPV show, where Impact stands, how the PPV did, the crossover in buyers of Impact with other companies as well as match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
We also run down the ratings of all the major TV shows, along with detailed demo info for the WWE shows.
We also have the results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE’s next investors call is 7/25, which is when they will announce all the second quarter numbers. The numbers are probably going to be looked at closer this quarter than most after the first quarter was such a disappointment when it came to the core business.
Jorge Masvidal, who is one of the hottest fighters in UFC coming off his win over Ben Askren, was on Dan LeBatard today and said that he wants to fight Conor McGregor and said it would be an easy paycheck for him. He said that McGregor backs down and taps when he gets in trouble.
Weigh-ins for Bellator tomorrow night on both the Paramount Network and DAZN from Thackerville, OK:
Ed Ruth (170) vs. Kiichi Kunimoto (170.4)
Juliana Velasquez (124.9) vs. Kristina Williams (125.8)
Rafael Carvalho (189.9) vs. Chidi Njokuani (189.6)
Julia Budd (145) vs. Olga Rubin (143.5) for the featherweight title
At the latest booking meeting the decision was not to add any new matches to Sunday’s Extreme Rules show. There were a number of bouts built up, but they’ve already got ten bouts announced and that is more than enough.
There are limited tickets available for Saturday night’s Evolve 10th anniversary show at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia which airs live on the WWE Network. A dark match has been added with John Silver & Alex Reynolds vs. Milk Chocolate at 7:40 p.m. This bout won’t be televised. Shotzi Blackheart vs. Brandi Lauren has been added to the network broadcast. Evolve also runs Sunday at 7 p.m. from the Melrose, MA Memorial Hall at www.WWNlive.com with Matt Riddle vs Curt Stallion, Austin Theory & Arturo Ruas vs. Josh Briggs & Orange Cassidy, JD Drake vs. AR Fox, Joe Gacy vs. Babatunde and more.
WWE
Tickets for the first TV tapings in Madison Square Garden in ten years, on 9/9 and 9/10, go on sale with a registration until 7/14 at 10 p.m. for a presale that starts on 7/16 at 10 a.m. Raw is expected to sell out immediately and Smackdown is expected to do well.
Impact and AAA’s TripleMania are going head-to-head on 8/3 on Twitch. Impact will have a show in Southern California.
Jim Ross and Conrad Thompson are doing live shows on Friday night in Jacksonville, Sunday in Philadelphia and 8/17 in Charlotte.
Aaron Haddad, better known as Damien Sandow and Aron Stevens, is returning to pro wrestling shortly.
Tickets go on sale Monday for the MLW PPV debut on 11/2 at Cicero Stadium at www.MLWtickets.com Announced for the show are Jacob Fatu, Tom Lawlor, Teddy Hart, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Brian Pillman Jr., Salina de la Renta, Simon Gotch, Josef Samael, Marshall & Ross Von Erich, Alexander Hammertone, MJF, Richard Holliday, Mance Warner, Low Ki, L.A. Park, Konnan, El Hijo de L.A. Park, Gringo Loco, Myron Reed and Jordan Oliver.
MCW presents the Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup on 7/13 in Joppa, MD featuring Nick Aldis vs. Dirty Money for the NWA title and Dante Caballero vs. Drolix.
Wrestling Revolver on 7/26 in West Des Moines IA at the Val Air Ballroom with Rhino & Tommy Dreamer & Jimmy Jacobs & Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan & Jake & Dave Crist & Mad Man Fulton in an extreme rule tornado match, Larry D vs. Ace Romero for the Revolver title, Besties in the World vs. Rich Swann & Jason Cade vs. Ethan Page & Josh Alexander for the tag titles, Caleb Konley vs. Andy Dalton 2/3 tables match, Killer Kross vs. JT Dunn, Ace Austin vs. Chuck Mambo and Jessicka Havok vs Dan Barry.
Rise on 9/1 at 5 p.m. in Berwyn, IL as part of All Out Weekend in the Chicago area has an eight-woman single elimination one night tournament.
Best of the West has a TV taping for Saturday at 6 p.m. in Fresno, CA at their studio. They have another taping on 7/21 with Best in the West vs Easy Bay Pro Wrestling. If you go to the 7/13 show you can get tickets for 7/21 for just $5.
Roberto Soldic defends his welterweight title at KSW 50 on 9/14 at SSE Wembley in London.
Rocky Mountain Pro will have a live show on Twitch, Right now Tv and Fite TV on 7/14, 8/8 and 8/11 all at the Elitsh Gardens in Denver.
Murphys Boxing has reached a deal with Fight Pass with the debut event tomorrow at 9 p.m. Eastern from Boston with Greg Vendetti (21-3-1, 12 knockouts) vs. Michael Anderson(17-2-1, 12 knockouts) for the vacant IBA junior middleweight world championship.
Bar Wrestling results from last night in Los Angeles at the Bootleg Theater: Reno Scum b Luke Hawx & PJ Hawx, Heather Monroe & Jake Atlas b Jessicka Havok & Nevaeh, Daga won four-way over Eli Everfly, Teddy Hart and Dave Crist, Peter Avalon & Ray Rosas b Willie Mack & Rich Swann, Joey Ryan & Scorpio Sky & Luchasaurus b Eli Drake & Chris Dickinson & Mike Verna, Sami Callihan b Killer Kross, Tessa Blanchard & Keira Hogan & Su Yung & Scarlett Bordeaux b Brian Cage in a lap dance match (thanks to Jamie Hudson and Shannon Walsh)
Bar Wrestling tomorrow night in Baldwin Park, CA at the American Legion with a dollar dance with Melissa Santos plus Tessa Blanchard vs. Daga, Brian Cage vs. Rich Swann vs. Teddy Hart vs. Chris Dickinson, Joey Ryan vs. Keira Hogan and more.
I Believe in Wrestling on 8/2 at Team Vision Dojo in Orlando.
Pro Wrestling Eve on 7/13 in London at the Resistance Gallery with a tournament to determine the No. 1 contender to champion Rhia O’Reilly. On the show is Yuu, Kasey, Charlie Evans, Kanji, Laura Di Matteo, Millie McKenzie, Mercedes Blaze, Roxxy and Raven Creed.
Alpha-1 Wrestling on 7/21 in Hamilton, ONT at 222 Queenston, Rd.
FAN on 9/13 in Hamburg, Germany has Tenille Dashwood, Faye Jackson, Holidead, Chris Brooks and Aussie Open (thanks to Markus Gronemann)
AAW tomorrow night in Milwaukee at the Turner Hall Ballroom has Sami Callihan vs. Jacob Fatu for the AAW title, Jessicka Havok vs. Taya Valkyrie for the women’s title, John Morrison vs. Juventud Guerrera, Penta 0M & Rey Fenix vs. Myron Reed & AR Fox, Josh Briggs vs. Josh Alexander, Curt Stallion vs. Air Wolf, Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett vs Ace Austin & Clayton Gainz and more.
The first six names announced in the Jim Lyman Memorial tournament that AAW is putting on 8/29 and 8/30 at the Logan Square Auditorium in Chicago is Eddie Kingston, Josh Briggs, Laredo Kid, Jake Atlas, Colt Cabana and Curt Stallion.
Kyle Niblett is selling four ticket to Fight for the Fallen at below face value in Section 106 at [email protected]
Combate Americas has announced an 8/2 show in Fresno, CA at the Save Mart Center airing on Univision and DAZN.
Great North Wrestling on 8/10 in Petawawa, ONT at the Petawawa Civic Centre headline by Hannibal vs. Teddy Hart. Rene Dupree and Brian Pillman Jr. are also on the show.
There is a Comic Con/Pop Culture event this weekend in Knoxville, TN called the Fanboy Expo with Harley Race, Mick Foley, Sgt. Slaughter, Iron Sheik, Jim Cornette, Bobby Eaton, Dennis Condrey, Stan Lane, Brutus Beefcake, Jimmy Valiant, Jordynne Grace, Angelina Love and Velvet Sky all appearing. There will be a wrestling show as part of the weekend tomorrow night. For more info go to www.fanboyexpo.com
PWA on 7/27 in Guelph, ONT at the Red Chevron Club.
A huge kickboxing heavyweight battle with Rico Verhoeven vs. Badr Hari takes place on 12/21 in Arnhem, Holland at the GeireDome. The first bout between the two, in 2016, was gigantic with Hari losing in the second round due to an arm injury.
AXS will be re-airing the Affliction: Banned show with Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia on the 11th anniversary of the show, on 7/10. Donald Trump was there doing publicity for the show and that was a trip. Trump, in promoting the show, which actually had a very low number of tickets sold (it was papered heavily at the end) talked about how it was all sold out at the press conference, and seconds later, Jimmy Lennon Jr. was pushing all the different ticket outlets where you could get tickets.
Legacy Fighting Alliance tomorrow night from Coca-Cola Roxy in Atlanta on AXS TV has Jason Jackson (9-3) vs. Hemerson Souza (7-4) for the welterweight title. Former WWE Tough Enough contestant Tanner Saraceno (7-3) will be fighting on the show. He was the guy who won almost all the athletic drills but still got cut because they thought he was too small and didn’t like his facial expressions.
Andrea Hangst of Fansided wrote an article on the Thomas Santell persona covering his career, character change, and resurgence.
