5. WWE Announces Huge First Quarter Success
WWE announced an income of $13.9 million in the first quarter. Below is what WWE’s Corporate website posted:
WWE® REPORTS STRONG FIRST-QUARTER 2016 RESULTS
First Quarter 2016 Highlights
– Revenue increased 13% on a pro-forma basis to $171.1 from $151.3 million in the prior year quarter, excluding the timing impact of WrestleMania (which occurred in Q2 2016 vs. Q1 2015)
– OIBDA increased 31% to $27.6 million from the prior year quarter (29% on a pro-forma basis)
– WWE Network averaged 1.29 million paid subscribers over the first quarter 2016, which represented a 39% increase from the first quarter 2015, and reached 1.47 million total subscribers at quarter-end
– WWE’s YouTube channel reached 11 million subscribers and achieved Diamond Play Button status joining Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber; WWE content garnered 10 billion YouTube views over the last 12 months
– Announced new series spin-off, Total Bellas, to debut on E! in Fall 2016 along with the sixth season of Total Divas. Continued to develop exciting new content for WWE Network, including Camp WWE (May), Swerved Season 2 (June) and Holy Foley! (August)Selected WrestleMania Highlights
– WrestleMania (April 3, 2016) achieved record breaking attendance, ticket sales, viewership, and social media activity
– WrestleMania broke WWE’s attendance record, attracting 101,763 fans at AT&T Stadium
-WWE Network reached a record 1.82 million total subscribers following WrestleMania (as of April 4)
– During WrestleMania Week, WWE Network featured 19 hours of prime-time, premier programming and subscribers watched nearly 22 million hours of content, averaging 12 hours per subscriber
– WrestleMania generated more than 2.5 million mentions on Twitter in one day and over 250 million video views across WWE digital and social platforms during WrestleMania WeekSTAMFORD, Conn., May 10, 2016 – WWE (NYSE:WWE) today announced financial results for its first quarter 2016. For the quarter, the Company reported Net income of $13.9 million, or $0.18 per share, as compared to Net income of $9.8 million, or $0.13 per share, in the prior year quarter.
“Our strong performance in the first quarter reflected the successful execution of our content strategy,” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “The sustained year-over-year growth of WWE Network, the global consumption of our video content across all platforms, and the recent record breaking attraction of WrestleMania demonstrate the increasing strength of our brands. We believe we can continue to leverage these strengths to drive long-term growth.”
George Barrios, Chief Strategy & Financial Officer, added “Our earnings growth was driven primarily by the increased monetization of our network and television content as well as higher licensing revenue from our franchise video game. 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.”
4. “I thought I was going to be just another girl doing bra and panties matches in WWE” – Sasha Banks
During a recent interview with WhatCulture, former NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks talked about her WrestleMania 32 attire in which she paid tribute to Eddie Guerrero, Chyna’s death & more.
[showhide more_text=”Read More” less_text=”Read Less”]Below are the highlights:
Her Goals In WWE:
“In NXT, I thought I achieved all I wanted. Changing women’s wrestling, having people respect me, yadda yadda. I want to win the Women’s title. I want to wrestle in Japan, I want to be the GM of Raw. One day at a time.”
Her WrestleMania 32 Attire:
“I just knew Eddie was such an inspiration to me. He’s the reason I wanted to be a wrestler. He was the first match I ever saw, I got instantly hooked. Everything just felt right. I just wanted that girl.”
Chyna’s Passing:
“It’s huge, she really changed the game for women and how we’re looked at differently. Never did you see a woman like that in WWE until she stepped in there. She was something special, so that news was so sad to hear. She was special.”
Her Quick Ascension:
“I’ve only been in wrestling six years total. I legit came into WWE thinking I was going to be just another girl who did bra and panties matches, and I was okay with that because I wanted to be in WWE. When we finally got the opportunity to be like ‘no, I want to be more than this,’ I never wanted to go back to bra and panties matches because I saw that when I was growing up and it hurt me.”
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