New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
WWE’s WrestleMania to air at Dave & Buster’s, movie theaters
STAMFORD — This weekend, fans will pack AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, for WWE’s marquee annual event, while legions will watch from their homes around the world.
And this year, there is also the opportunity to catch the action on the big screen or while going out for dinner.
Ahead of WrestleMania 38, which is set for 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, WWE has announced several new ways for fans to watch one of the biggest events in sports entertainment — including the options of watching at movie theaters or Dave & Buster’s restaurant-and-games establishments. The new initiatives attest to Stamford-based WWE’s adaptation amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as it has managed to keep growing its audience and revenues.
“WWE is tireless in their pursuit of fan engagement — this much is clear,” said Josh Shuart, director of sports management at Sacred Heart University’s Jack Welch College of Business & Technology. “The company has done an admirable job of finding new business partners to aid in their growth and survival.”
Starting with WrestleMania 38, all of WWE’s “premium” live events will be shown at Dave & Buster’s locations nationwide. There are more than 140 Dave & Buster’s establishments, including sites at Connecticut Post Mall in Milford and The Shoppes at Buckland Hills in Manchester.
A partnership with Joe Hand Promotions, a provider of live content to bars, restaurants and other public viewing venues, is facilitating the initiative with Dave & Buster’s.
“Dave & Buster’s is a staple of fun and entertainment in the United States and that matches the energy of WWE premium live events such as WrestleMania,” WWE Vice President Emilio Revelo said in a statement. “We are excited about this year-round partnership and meeting new and existing fans at a place they truly enjoy.”
Dave & Buster’s officials said their properties were well-suited for broadcasting
Ahead of WrestleMania 38, which is set for 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, WWE has announced several new ways for fans to watch one of the biggest events in sports entertainment.
WWE events.
“With dozens of huge TVs, projectors, and many locations featuring our 40-foot LED Wow Walls for showing premium entertainment, there’s no better experience for watch parties than Dave & Buster’s,” Kevin Bachus, senior vice president of entertainment and games strategy at Dave & Busters, said in a statement. “With this partnership, we’re incredibly excited to tune those screens to WrestleMania 38, as well as all the other great WWE shows and events.”
Several sports media experts also see potential in the new partnership.
“This is great for Dave & Buster’s as they get moreor-less exclusive sports content for their in-house TV system,” said Daniel Durbin, director of the Annenberg Institute of Sports, Media and Society at the University of Southern California. “It’s also a great match for the WWE as they get to target their typical audience plus a casual audience that may not currently watch their product, but would be more likely than opera-going intellectuals to enjoy WWE entertainment. So, it seems a good move all around.”
Last week, WWE announced a plan to bring WrestleMania to movie theaters nationwide. It will do so through a partnership with Fathom Events, a major distributor of content to cinemas in North America that is owned by AMC Entertainment, Cinemark Holdings and Regal, a subsidiary of the Cineworld Group. Movie tickets are being sold online.
“Any fan knows that WrestleMania is WWE’s most pivotal event, and Fathom Events is excited to bring these blockbuster match-ups to movie theaters nationwide,” Fathom CEO Ray Nutt said in a statement. “We’re also very proud to be working with WWE on this event and many more in the future.”
“I am much more optimistic about the Dave & Buster’s partnership. I remain skeptical regarding live WrestleMania in movie theaters,” Shuart said.
“Both initiatives are intriguing engagement strategies, but I’m not completely sold that audiences will pursue these out-of-home experiences when they can already enjoy them at home.”
Durbin was also skeptical about the theater screenings.
“Movie theaters have been struggling for years. So, this is a potentially helpful agreement for them, perhaps bringing in new audiences,” Durbin said. “However, going to a theater and paying to see a wrestling event presupposes that you are already a fan. So, this does precious little for spreading, building and developing WWE across new or casual audiences. We will find out how effective this strategy is when we see how many people are willing to pay to see WWE in a theater.”
The new initiatives will expand the reach of an event that already commands a global audience. Last year’s WrestleMania generated a record 1.1 billion video views across WWE’s video and social media channels, up 14 percent year over year, Variety reported last year.
Headlined by a “winnertake-all” championshipunification match between WWE Champion Brock Lesnar and Universal Champion Roman Reigns, WrestleMania will stream exclusively on NBCUniversal’s Peacock platform in the U.S., and on WWE Network outside the U.S. Last year, WWE announced a multi-year agreement giving Peacock the exclusive streaming rights to the WWE Network in the U.S.
While WWE is expanding viewing options, fans’ in-person attendance at events remains crucial. This weekend’s gathering at AT&T Stadium will mark the second time WrestleMania has been held at the north Texas stadium, which also serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys. In
2016, nearly 102,000 fans attended WrestleMania 32, a record turnout for the event.
The company’s returns from live events plummeted from about $126 million to around $20 million in 2020, a year in which WrestleMania was held behind closed doors at WWE’s training center in Orlando, Fla. Last year, WrestleMania took place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., contributing to about $58 million in live-event revenues in 2021.
WWE produced about $1.1 billion in total revenues in 2021 — up 12 percent from 2020 and up 14 percent from 2019.
Among other key initiatives, the company is planning to open later this year its new headquarters at 677 Washington Blvd., in downtown Stamford. The main offices are now based about two miles east at 1241 E. Main St.