WWE Conference Call Notes: Tiered Plans ‘Coming Soon,’ Ronda Rousey Plans, More

– WWE held their post-WrestleMania conference call on Monday with co-presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson. Highlights are below, via PWInsider:

* Michael Weitz recapped that a press released today and introduced George Barrios and Michelle Wilson.

* George started by recapping the press release. He said that WrestleMania broke the record for the SuperDome’s highest grossing event. He said that Mania is a driver of subscriber growth. He said that they have reached a new high of over 2.1M. He said that based on preliminary data that the Network is up 5% in the first quarter this year vs. last. They also are advising guidance upward.

* They expect to increase subscribers 8% in quarter two over last year. He said the Network is the hub for the company’s hub.

* With that he took questions.

* The first questioner asked about what they attribute the growth in subs to and also asked about US vs. Global growth. George said they will do the US vs. Global on the First Quarter call in a few weeks. George said that they will continue localization worldwide. He said that the Network is multi-generational. They look long term not quarter to quarter.

* He was asked about the status of Raw and Smackdown. He said that the engagement metric on Facebook got better and better. Are they in the rights picture and will the recent Facebook scandal with Cambridge Analytica affect that. George said that they monitor the numbers and they were the first to do live sports on Facebook and they are happy with their numbers. He said that people are getting more used to watching via that medium. The scandal doesn’t really affect them and he said that they are watching how Facebook will handle the privacy. Michelle said that it’s also important for Facebook to get engagement for WWE’s other mediums.

* They were asked about the impact of the ten year Saudi Arabia deal. She also asked about the engagement length of users on the Network growing. George said that since the Saudi event will happen in Q2, they will talk about it later, not now. George mentioned that certain places are bigger on watching online, Saudi Arabia is one of those places. The Saudi deal is an example of the seeds they have planted for years starting to blossom. He talked about how much of their viewer usage happened outside of the US and they are cognizant of that. Michelle said that the length of engagement is due in part by new subscribers coming in before Mania.

* They were asked if getting more data has helped them in lowering churn. George says yes. The smarter they get in engaging folks the better customer retention will be. Michelle added that they know what people are watching so that is affecting what new product they roll out.

* They were asked what drove the numbers in the quarter to advise guidance upward. George said that they came into the year with a lot of momentum but it has intensified. Live Events are up. Digital Advertising. A little was timing that will be given back later in the year. Michelle said that they are always tweaking their marketing. She said that they had a great Mania, with attractions like Ronda Rousey and the return of Daniel Bryan. That allows them to customize their message, like to sports fans who want to know about Ronda appearing. They were also a little more aggressive in marketing you could watch Mania for free and did it different ways. She said that they listened when people said they wanted both brands on PPVs, that’s why they made the change. They continue to refine strategy to improve customer retention.

* Are their any plans to tier the Network? George thinks there is an opportunity to do that. He said they have ideas. There isn’t a launch date but it’s coming sooner rather than later.

* He was asked if there was any other plans to go into other markets. He said wherever WWE is popular, they plan to take advantage of them. They will continue to go to places where they can get results like Saudi Arabia.

* They were asked about how much of the increase in subs was brand new vs. comebacks. George doesn’t disclose that but they get both.

* In looking at online commentaries the matches with women in them got good responses and maybe too short. Do you have a problem finding air time for the women? George said as a father of three girls he loved when Ronda picked up H he got chills. The sky is the limit. Michelle said they talk about how to better present the women all the time.

* They were asked about Conor McGregor’s meltdown last week and if that is a negative for UFC in their TV rights (and a plus for WWE). George says that the companies focus on what they do so he doesn’t have a comment. They worry about WWE.

* Do they have any plans for Ronda outside of being a wrestler? His daughter said it was the best match she has ever seen. George said let’s wait and see the data, but sprinkle it with your intuition. They added that social media data agrees that Ronda’s match was great and she is focused on being the best in WWE.

* They were asked about going into Mania ratings were strong. Are they more optimistic that will lead to more customer contention in Q2. George said they are modeling similarly to last year. They have invested in talent development and it’s paying off. They are recruiting pretty much everywhere. They believe the more diverse and deep the talent pool is, the better. They have a lot of great talent. Years ago they were limited by TV. Now they can engage as long as the fan has broadband.

That was it for the questions. Michael thanked us and that was the call.