Superstar absences tamp down WWE returns
STAMFORD — WWE, which announced late last month that it would relocate its headquarters within the city, reported Thursday slightly declining revenues, as it grappled with lower TV ratings and declining arena attendances prompted by the absence of some of its top stars.
Quarterly returns decreased about 3 percent, to about $182 million. It incurred an $8.4 million loss, compared with a $14.8 million profit in the same period in 2018, a change that reflected the impact of “strategic investments.”
In recent months, WWE has dealt with sidelined spells for Superstars such as Roman Reigns, who has battled the return of his leukemia and is now in remission. The company face hiatuses for other top figures including Ronda Rousey, who has stepped away from WWE as she and her husband plan to have a baby.
“We had a very unusual situation in terms of top talents, as well as mid-card talents being out, some 15 (people) for the course of that period,” WWE CEO and Chairman Vince McMahon said on a call Thursday with investment analysts. “When you don’t have talent, you don’t have story lines. And when you don’t have story lines, you’re not going to do that in well in terms of live events and television ratings. It’s like a cascade of things that happen.”
In the first quarter, U.S. TV ratings for WWE’s Monday night “Raw” show and Tuesday night “SmackDown Live” program decreased, respectively, by 13 percent and 14 percent. Average attendance for North American events went down by 11 percent.
McMahon said that he was confident in WWE’s ability to bounce back, citing the return of Superstars, development of new talent and recruitment of new writers.
WWE officials also said they were optimistic about the move this fall of SmackDown from USA Network to Fox Sports’ broadcast channel.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but the deal has been estimated to be worth more than $1 billion.
Amid the dips in TV viewership, WWE’s online viewership continues to grow. In the first quarter, its digital video views grew 15 percent year over year, to 7.7 billion.
Major events remain crucial to WWE’s programming.
WrestleMania 35, which was held April 7 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., became the venue’s highest-grossing entertainment event.
It grossed $16.9 million, surpassing the venue’s previous record of $12.3 million set by WrestleMania 29 in 2013, according to data released Monday by WWE.
A sold-out crowd of 82,265, representing 50 states and 68 countries, attended the event.
Late last month, WWE announced it would move its headquarters, by early 2021, from the east side of the city, at 1241 E. Main St., to an 415,000-square-foot hub at 677 Washington Blvd.
WWE would become the anchor tenant in a property that languished for two years as the city’s largest office vacancy following the 2016 relocation of banking giant UBS’ local offices across the street, to 600 Washington Blvd.