WWE reported strong earnings and record revenue for the fourth quarter of 2015. The company also announced that the WWE Network subscriber count increased by 49% when compared to the fourth quarter of 2014.
The WWE Network had 1,217,000 paid subscribers at the end of the quarter according to the press release. You can read an excerpt about the WWE Network subscriber count along with an excerpt from the press release below.
“Driving the growth in revenue, WWE Network had 1,217,000 paid subscribers at quarter end, up 49% and averaged approximately 1,237,000 paid subscribers during the quarter, representing a 72% increase from the prior year quarter.”
WWE® Reports Strong Fourth-Quarter 2015 Results Achieving Record Revenue for the Full Year
Fourth-Quarter 2015 Highlights
- Revenue increased 18% to $166.2 million driving a $6.0 million increase in Adjusted OIBDA1 to $11.1 million
- WWE Network had 1.22 million ending paid subscribers, representing a 49% increase from the fourth quarter 2014; WWE Network hit an all-time high of 1.24 million average paid subscribers for the quarter
- WWE Network was recognized as the fifth largest direct-to-consumer (“OTT”) subscription service in the U.S. according to Parks Associates, ranking alongside Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu and MLB.TV
- WWE was added to the S&P SmallCap 600 Index (effective January 20, 2016)
Full Year 2015 Highlights
- Revenue increased 21% to $658.8 million, the highest in the Company’s history, including record levels of revenue from WWE’s Network, Television, Live event, Venue Merchandise, and WWE Shop businesses
- Total international revenue increased by 46% to a record $169.8 million
- Adjusted OIBDA1 reached $68.7 million, representing an $80.3 million increase from 2014
- Network segment generated revenue of $159.4 million and OIBDA1 of $48.4 million that nearly doubled the average annual revenue of the Company’s pay-per-view business before network launch
- WWE Network subscribers watched an estimated total of 256 million hours of content, representing an average of 188 hours per household placing it among the top cable and broadcast networks
- WWE content garnered more than 8 billion views on YouTube; WWE was the most followed sports channel on YouTube and the second most followed sports brand on Facebook
- WWE generated 790 million social media fan engagements in 20152; Sprinklr’s Social Business Index ranked WWE as the 6th most social brand worldwide, alongside Disney, Time Warner and Google
(1) Reconciliation of Operating Income to Adjusted OIBDA can be found in the Supplemental Information in this release.
(2) Social media fan engagements are defined as the cumulative fan response to WWE content measured by the number of “likes”, “follows”, “shares”, “mentions”, and “retweets” across social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Tumblr.
STAMFORD, Conn., February 11, 2016 – WWE (NYSE:WWE) today announced financial results for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2015. For the quarter, the Company reported a Net loss of $1.2 million, or $0.02 loss per share, as compared to a Net loss of $1.6 million, or $0.02 loss per share, in the prior year quarter. Excluding items affecting comparability, Adjusted OIBDA increased to $11.1 million from $5.1 million. Adjusted net income was $3.4 million, or $0.04 per share as compared to Adjusted net loss of $0.6 million, or $0.01 loss per share, in the fourth quarter last year.
“Our record revenue in 2015 reflected innovation across all of our businesses, which was highlighted by the successful execution of our network strategy,” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “Over the next year, we will continue to focus on producing engaging content across all platforms, investing in emerging markets, and deploying technology across the enterprise to drive our long-term growth.”
George Barrios, Chief Strategy & Financial Officer, added, “Our strong performance in 2015 reflected the effective execution of our strategy and our investments in content, technology and global markets. As an example, these initiatives led to WWE Network subscribers watching an estimated average of 188 hours of content per household, and WWE garnering more than 8 billion views on YouTube and achieving record international revenues of $170 million. These metrics demonstrate the unique power of our brands and our potential to capitalize on a multi-platform content strategy to drive long-term growth.”
WWE Network Update
- Performance: Network segment revenue increased 50% from the prior year quarter. Driving the growth in revenue, WWE Network had 1,217,000 paid subscribers at quarter end, up 49% and averaged approximately 1,237,000 paid subscribers during the quarter, representing a 72% increase from the prior year quarter.
- Distribution: WWE continued to broaden the global distribution of WWE Network, which was made available across the Indian subcontinent in November 2015. In January 2016, the Company made the network available in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan and has continued to develop plans for geographic expansion to China, Thailand and the Philippines. At quarter-end, WWE Network had approximately 277,000 international subscribers. From inception through December 31, 2015, WWE Network attracted more than 2.5 million unique subscribers with approximately 51% of these subscribers active as of year-end.
- Content: During the quarter, the Company premiered more than 85 hours of original content onWWE Network, and increased the network’s comprehensive on-demand library to more than 4,300 hours. Among the content that debuted during the quarter were the original series Breaking Groundand two live specials, Live from Madison Square Garden (produced in New York) and NXT Takeover: London (produced from Wembley Arena in the U.K.). WWE Network’s compelling live and original content, including the Company’s pay-per-views, original series, NXT Live, and other specials continued to drive viewer engagement. Over the year, WWE Network subscribers watched an estimated average of 188 hours of content per household placing it among the top cable and broadcast networks.3 The Company expects to add more than 300 hours of original content to the network’s featured programming in 2016, including its premier event, WrestleMania (April 3) and more than 1,000 hours of archival content to the network’s on-demand library. Other exciting original programming coming to the network includes Camp WWE, an animated series (premiering in May), Edge & Christian’s Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness, a comedic variety show featuring its titled Superstars and a live special, March to WrestleMania (March 12), as well as a new season ofSwerved and new episodes of WWE 24 and Stone Cold Podcast.
(3) For additional information, see the Company’s Fourth-Quarter 2015 Earnings Presentation, which can be found on the Company’s web site at ir.corporate.wwe.com.
