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COMPLETE COVERAGE OF WWE TV DEAL CONFERENCE CALL

By Mike Johnson on 2018-06-27 08:09:00

Welcome to PWInsider.com's coverage of WWE's conference call regarding their new TV deals.  George Barrios, Michelle Wilson and Michael Weiss are on the call.  No Vince McMahon.

They are very happy and proud about the new deals and Barrios reads a prepared statement.  They will release a revised guidance on how the new deals impact their strategical plans going forward.  The new Raw deal increases their annual average value over 3.6 times.

They expect their UK TV deal to be done this year and India TV deal to be done first quarter of 2019.

The Q&A portion began.

Are digital rights still open?  Not for Raw and Smackdown.  They balanced all aspects of the deal and it will continue on with Raw and Smackdown airing 30 days after they broadcast on WWE Network.  There are possibilities of other digital programming, similar to Mixed Match Challenge on Facebook going forward and that could happen.

They were asked about FOX doing their own digital programming and the potential FOX Sports 1 studio.  Michelle Wilson said those opportunities have been discussed for both FOX and FS1.  They are very happy to be part of the FOX family. 

They were asked whether the potential change in ownership with Sky in the UK could impact their new TV deal.  They don't believe so.   They have spent a lot of time traveling and meeting with different potential partners.

They were asked how much of the new money coming in will be used to reinvest in the company or make new investments and how it will change the dividend.  They want to get through the remaining TV deal renewals before they start to talk about that.

Whether they intend to split Smackdown and Raw on different outlets in international markets the way they are doing with Raw and Smackdown, Barrios said it all depends on the market and the market will be the one to determine the economics.  In the years to come, Raw and Smackdown will be worth more, but it boils down to the market and the money involved.

They have 60 different TV agreements in different markets beyond the top seven TV deals.

They were asked about the differences in TV negotiations years ago vs. now and specifically about India.  The new deal was much higher but they didn't break into detais.  They said the UK deal now is similar to the US in that its transforming.  Amazon is very active in that landscape now.  There is a migration from traditional TV to over the top, not the same as the U.S. but similar.  India  is very different and that over the last 18 months or so, the mobile players are becoming far more active in securing content for their platforms as the mobile availability grows.  Michelle Wilson said that as log more and more miles, they are finding more and more players involved as the broadcast ecosystem and the potental partners involved continues to grow.  They are having discussions and each market is unique.  Where they have opportunities matches up where players like Amazon and Facebook match up and they will see.

They were asked what changed the perception of the brand this time to see such a huge step up from the past.  Barrios said a lot of things have changed and continue to evolve.  The brand is in the best place it's ever been and a lot of that has to do with their partner, NBC Universal.  The brand grew from a consumer perspective.  He pointed out platforms and outlets like ESPN covering the company, which never happened before and also pointed out the success of their social media.  They were from being seen as a live event business to a social/digital business.  They have live, passionate branded content in the United States.  They pride themselves of being the best value in entertainment for their fans and they want to be the same value for their business partners.  The deals are a big step up in terms of money but they are still a bargain in a lot of ways.  They have five years before they have those conversations again and they believe they can drive content for their partners.

They were asked about the potential content they already develop like Total Bellas or new content that they can develop in terms of higher rates.  Michelle Wilson said that with all of the content they create, they always look at the potential revenue it can create.   They always look for new content to create, whether its reality or a documentary like Andre the Giant.  They will always look for new content beyond in-ring content and they will always be there to have conversations with partners like Hulul, Amazon, Facebook, etc. It's a brand builder for them and everything strengthens the foundation of the brand.  They are going to be chasing that going forward and they have numerous possibilities among different genres.  Barrios said that they have the ability to create local content with local talent as well and they are looking at that as a way to help the content over the next five years.  They are looking at scripted content as well.

They were asked if the cross-promotion of the company is part of the contract with FOX.  They declined to go into specifcs but said there are requirements regarding cross-promotion.  They noted NBC has already been a great partner at that and they have a great sense that FOX will over-deliver on those promises for Smackdown and both properties in cross-promoting.

That was it for questions!

 

 

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