WWE Releases 2nd Quarter Fiscal Report, Comments on Ratings and Events Status

WWE held an investor’s meeting this past Thursday to discuss details from their second quarter fiscal report for 2020. This past fiscal quarter was also the first full fiscal quarter to be impacted by the on-going coronavirus pandemic.

WWE’s operating income for the fiscal quarter was $55.7 million, up compared to last year’s fiscal second quarter of $17.1 million. The company stated that this increase was primarily due to the lower costs of running shows at their Performance Center.

WWE’s revenues for the fiscal quarter was $223.4 million, down compared to last year’s fiscal quarter of $268.9 million. The company stated that this decrease was due to the “unfavorable timing” of their Super ShowDown 2020 event in Saudi Arabia, which took place this past February. Despite the decrease for the quarter, the company posted a record high yearly revenue of $514.4 million, up 14% compared to the previous year.

WWE Network’s paid subscription base was stated to be at 1.69 million for the end of the quarter, up 6% compared to last year’s fiscal quarter, and 1.66 million for the average of the entire quarter.

In regards to other fiscal areas, consumer products revenues were down by roughly $1 million, eCommerce revenue rose to $12.6 million, and live events revenues were down by around $48 million compared to last year’s fiscal quarter.

In regards to television viewership for the fiscal quarter, RAW was down by around 24%, USA Network’s average viewership was down by around 26%, SmackDown was up by around 4%, and FOX’s average viewership was down by 4% compared to last year’s fiscal second quarter.

During the Q&A portion of the investor’s meeting, Vince McMahon blamed the “softness” of WWE’s ratings on the lack of audience interaction and claimed NXT and AEW’s ability to bounce back in ratings during the COVID-19 pandemic was due to their newness as wrestling shows. McMahon also stated that he doubts the company will be able to run a second event in Saudi Arabia later this year. McMahon also stated that company is currently working on plans to hold events with live crowds outside of the Performance Center.

Following WWE’s release of their fiscal report, WWE saw an increase in their stock value to $45.43 at the close of the day’s regular trading hours.

Sources: WWE, F4WOnline.com