WWE agm if interested.

davrho

Rather than gossip here is the annual shareholders meetings with the facts and not guesswork. 2009 review.

http://wwevideowm.fplive.net/wwevideo/wmv/adhoc/corporate/201004/shareholders_2010.wmv

Interesting...........

waltersobchak

To be perfectly honest WWE's yearly finances are about as interesting to me as a Lance Storm promo..

Butch Cassidy

I'd kinda find this interesting. I've read their corporate website a few times. It's great seeing all these people that hate wrestling talk about it in such an abstract way.

Wow, Stephanie is fat these days. Must've been nomming on the pizza.

D2D

Butch Cassidy wrote: »

I'd kinda find this interesting. I've read their corporate website a few times. It's great seeing all these people that hate wrestling talk about it in such an abstract way.

Wow, Stephanie is fat these days. Must've been nomming on the pizza.

Steph is pregnant again with her 3rd child

geeky

Dare_2_defy wrote: »

Steph is pregnant again with her 3rd child

So nomming for two!

barura

So she's spurting out creatine fuelled kids? awesome.

D2D

barura wrote: »

So she's spurting out creatine fuelled kids? awesome.

These guys seem to be creative though. In 1 of their big storylines, Swagger's feuding with HHH and they've set up Stephanie with Jack Swagger:eek::cool:

*bang bang*

barura

That is brilliant!

seandotcomm

normally find this kinda thing boring. but watchin now and it's pretty interesting...

D2D

I think this is the place to put this (seeing as it's about business and what-not)

WWE held an investor conference call today to discuss the first quarter numbers which were released this morning. Participating in the call were Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon, Chief Financial Officer George Barrios and Chief Operating Officer Donna Goldsmith.

Vince McMahon started the call with a statement, putting over their profit margin for the quarter as one of the highest in company history. Regarding the drop in Wrestlemania buys, Vince said it was felt this was due in part to "communal viewing" and people watching Wrestlemania in a group, like the Superbowl. He also stated that perhaps the show "wasn't exactly what everyone wanted to see" but that the brand remains strong. Vince praised the upcoming move of Smackdown to SyFy, and put over their international business growth. Vince said they were "very happy" about the kickoff of their new toy line with Mattel. Vince actually said "Michelle" instead of Mattel, then joked "This is too early for me."

George Barrios then reviewed the financial numbers. He stressed that live attendance was up, and the continued good returns from their international business. Barrios noted that Mexico is now WWE's second biggest international PPV market, trailing only the UK. He remarked that the move of Smackdown to SyFy will be "a very positive development" for WWE.

A Q&A was then held. Some highlights:

- When asked about Wrestlemania losing buys versus last year, Vince said he felt that last year being promoted as the "25th anniversary" of Wrestlemania helped that buyrate, since it created a nostalgia factor. He noted that Wrestlemania contributed greatly to their profit for the quarter, but it wasn't what they had hoped for.

Vince said that "the content business is one in which we are successful most of the time. I'm not saying this was a failure, but it didn't measure up to what we had hoped in terms of budget" and noted it was down 12 percent versus last year. He stated "it was a good attraction, not a great attraction and sometimes you just don't give them great attractions all the time. It's the creative process, and that's the process we're in."

- Vince felt that Phoenix "out performed" what they expected as host of Wrestlemania, and that those involved in that end of the situation should be applauded.

- Vince said he would not use the "economy" as an excuse for everything negative, stating too many blame the economy. Vince said "we're strong, we're not superlative at the moment" and talked about how when he used to just promote live events and they didn't draw, wrestlers would come up with excuses for it, except Bobo Brazil who did not believe in excuses. Brazil who would simply point out that they didn't draw well that night and it couldn't be blamed on "the all night gas station" or anything else people might have gone to instead of the show that night.

- Barrios and Goldsmith commented on the number of live events and PPV events, saying they were constantly reviewing how often they visit certain areas and how many PPV events they put on. They noted they have decreased the number of PPV events this year compared to last year.

- There was a discussion of upcoming WWE Studios releases, and it was noted that unlike past films that cost in the $20 million range, then budgets for the current projects are in the $5 million range.

- The decrease in video game sales this quarter was attributed to the changeover in game platforms, with many companies introducing new systems and WWE's titles being for the now "old" systems.

- It was pointed out that two our of seven WWE PPVevents have seen a buyrate decrease, and in both of those cases, there was another major PPV event that weekend. Vince was asked if having that competition hurt the events, and whether WWE was going to avoid those situations going forward. Vince said that "We're not sure if it has or not, you're talking about two relatively different audiences, completely. The UFC audience, which I guess is what you are referring to, is more of a boxing audience than an entertainment thing, like we are. Nonetheless, there has been some of that (where there has been a UFC the night before a WWE event), but from a scheduling standpoint, we can't control that. Going forward, I don't see any on the schedule at the moment."

- The model for the WWE cable channel is set, and they are now "knocking on doors" and seeing if cable providers are receptive to carrying it.

chordtype

- It was pointed out that two our of seven WWE PPVevents have seen a buyrate decrease, and in both of those cases, there was another major PPV event that weekend. Vince was asked if having that competition hurt the events, and whether WWE was going to avoid those situations going forward. Vince said that "We're not sure if it has or not, you're talking about two relatively different audiences, completely. The UFC audience, which I guess is what you are referring to, is more of a boxing audience than an entertainment thing, like we are. Nonetheless, there has been some of that (where there has been a UFC the night before a WWE event), but from a scheduling standpoint, we can't control that. Going forward, I don't see any on the schedule at the moment."

I think the Wrestlemania buyrate indicates that it has.

Vince135792003

chordtype wrote: »

I think the Wrestlemania buyrate indicates that it has.

UFC hurt the buy rate for sure.

The car crash angle with Bret Hart didn't help either.

Butch Cassidy

Vince seriously thinks the UFC is "more of a boxing audience than an entertainment thing" ? Seriously?! :eek:

That man is mad.