WWE has declared full First Quarter 2020 financial results, last night hosted by Vince McMahon. The focus was on how they have been taking actions to get through the negative impact brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
It seems despite the major hit of the virus that put the world onto a halt, the company witnessed a tremendous profit, mostly due to their TV deals with NBC Universal and FOX.
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Airing Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown on these two networks increased revenues, 60% to $291.0 million as compared to the prior-year quarter.
Net Income was $26.2 million as compared to a loss of $8.4 million from the first quarter. WWE Network drew 1.46 million paid subscribers on an average. Here are more details on revenue generation as declared officially by the company,
First Quarter 2020 Highlights
* Revenues increased 60% to $291.0 million as compared to the prior year quarter
* Operating income was $53.3 million as compared to a loss of $6.8 million in the prior year quarter
* Adj. OIBDA1 increased to $77.3 million from $12.4 million in the prior year quarter
* Announced multi-year distribution agreements with Sony Pictures Networks in India and DAZN in Germany to extend the reach of WWE content across television and digital platforms
* WWE Network average paid subscribers were 1.46 million, consistent with the Company’s guidance
* Digital video views increased 25% to 9.6 billion and hours consumed increased 15% to 344 million across digital and social media platforms
WWE was also happy to inform how successful WrestleMania 36 was during the first week of April. It set a viewership record with more than 967 million video views across digital and social platforms which showed a 20% increase from 2019. A record 46 million hours of content was witnessed during that week, which also had an increase of 28% from last year.
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As earlier noted by the company, WrestleMania 36 (April 4 & 5, 2020) was the most social event in WWE history with more than 13.8 million total social media interactions through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The interactions were 57% up from last year’s WrestleMania in New York.
The addition of subscribers for WWE Network also reached highest during the WrestleMania weekend (Friday-Sunday) were in its history. Total subscribers reached 2.10 million on April 6, 2020, up 5% from the day after WrestleMania, last year.
The Boss seemed pretty happy about the successful outcome that WWE reported during the first-quarter call in 2020. They already trimmed down 50 plus employees to ensure that revenue remains in an upward direction despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our first-quarter financial performance was strong and largely unimpacted by the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman & CEO. “Now we are in the midst of unprecedented times, which require us to be especially nimble, creative, and efficient in order to ensure the long-term value of WWE.
We are taking precautions to protect the health and safety of our performers and staff as we produce content in new ways, engage fans with a much-needed diversion, and operate effectively in this evolving environment.”
