WWE Reports Strong Second-Quarter 2015 Earnings Growth, Vince McMahon Comments

– WWE issued the following today:

WWE Reports Strong Second-Quarter 2015 Earnings Growth

Second-Quarter 2015 Highlights

* OIBDA of $13.2 million increased $27.8 million from the prior year quarter
* WWE Network total subscribers increased 75% to more than 1.2 million from the second quarter 2014; average paid subscribers increased 31% to approximately 1.2 million from the first quarter 2015
* Tough Enough premiered June 23 on USA Network. The Company’s reality franchises, Tough Enough and Total Divas, have expanded WWE’s weekly television audience by nearly 5 million unique viewers
* WWE is one of the brands that will participate in an ad-supported video test on Facebook that shares revenue with content creators. WWE served more than 440 million video views on Facebook during the quarter

Year-To-Date 2015 Highlights

* Network segment revenue reached a record of $131.0 million on a trailing 12-month basis
* International revenue increased by 38% to $78.6 million through the first six months of 2015
* WWE surpassed 500 million social media followers across all its global platforms, and now ranks 6th on Sprinklr’s Social Business Index, ahead of the NBA, NFL and other media properties

STAMFORD, Conn., July 30, 2015 – WWE (NYSE:WWE) today announced financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2015. For the quarter, the Company reported net income of $5.1 million, or $0.07 per share, compared to a net loss of $14.5 million, or $0.19 loss per share, in the second quarter last year.

“The performance of WWE Network demonstrates our ability to transform our legacy pay-per-view business into a global subscription business with high growth potential,” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “We have made meaningful progress executing our key strategic initiatives, including the achievement of significant international growth and increased engagement across our digital and social media platforms.”

“Our strong earnings growth was driven primarily by the expansion of WWE Network subscribers, the escalation of our television rights fees as well as strong sales of our franchise video game. For the quarter, our OIBDA surpassed our expectations,” added George Barrios, Chief Strategy & Financial Officer. “The ramp-up of WWE Network subscribers, while exhibiting a seasonal pattern, continued to show strong year-over-year growth. Our success in developing WWE Network, maximizing our television rights fees and driving revenue growth from our global markets reinforces our long-term potential.”

Read the full earnings press release at this link.

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