WWE Conference Call report: Vince McMahon and other company executives discuss PG programming, new advertisers, pay-per-view numbers, the movie division, and take questions from the callers


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WWE News


WWE Conference Call report: Vince McMahon and other company executives discuss PG programming, new advertisers, pay-per-view numbers, the movie division, and take questions from the callers
May 7, 2009 - 10:45 AM


The following are the highlights of the conference call WWE held regarding their first quarter financial information.

-Vince McMahon said the company has a variety of plans for expansion. He also said one of the company's goals is to educate the media "as to what we are." He said they intend to remain a PG product because they hope it will lead to more advertising.

-Regarding the deal with Pepsi, Vince said it's a "small deal" to start, but he believes it will become a bigger deal.

Powell's POV: Vince stated during the shareholders meeting on Friday that the Pepsi deal is related to the WWE website. One can only assume that WWE hopes Pepsi will purchase advertising time during WWE programming and perhaps sponsor pay-per-views.

-Vince raved about the live events success. He said they had over 70,000 fans at WrestleMania 25, and again used the word "approximately one million buys" regarding the WM25 pay-per-view.

-Vince said he doesn't believe there's another company in the world that is in as many lines of business as WWE is. He brought up the movie division, music, and publishing as examples.

-The calls are usually hosted by Linda McMahon and other company executives. However, Vince said he intends to take part in the calls going forward.

-George Barrios ran through the financial report that was released earlier today. He noted that the overall revenues dropped compared to the same quarter last year, while citing the tough economy and the fact that WrestleMania 24 was part of the first quarter last year, whereas WM25 fell in the second quarter this year.

-The Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 video game has sold 4.1 million units thus far, which is down 21 percent from the previous year's sales in the first quarter of 2008.

-WWE Studios earned $3.7 million in revenue. "12 Rounds" has made $11.8 million at the domestic box office thus far. Barrios stressed that they expect it to be a profitable venture.

Powell's POV: It's worth noting that while they acknowledged the release of Mr. Kennedy's "Behind Enemy Lines Coumbia," they did not provide sales information.

-A caller asked about the transition from Jakks Pacific to Mattel. Vince raved about Mattel and said they would take it to another level. Donna Goldsmith chimed in and said Mattel will target kids more than Jakks did. She said there will be role playing games and action figures that make audio sounds.

-A caller asked about pay-per-views outside the United States. Vince said the technology isn't there in some countries, but he said they did get WrestleMania 25 on pay-per-view in Mexico at the last minute.

-Vince was asked about the live events changes. Vince said they reduced prices and that has led to more people attending. He explained that this gives people a chance to "reach out and touch" the WWE product.

-Vince was asked about the television production facility. The caller noted that it was cramped. Vince said they will go forward with expansion at sometime in the future. "We have put that on the back burner," Vince said. He laughed when he talked about the new ways and the "nooks and crannies" they are using. He said the employee cuts also helped create more room.

-Regarding the split dividend, Vince put over the McMahon family "generosity." He said there is no end game to the approach.

-A caller asked Barrios how they could get to the break even point with "12 Rounds" given the budget the movie had. Barrios cited DVD sales. He said they use an outside firm to determine those numbers. "We see '12 Rounds' as well as the entire portfolio as being profitable," Barrios said.

-Vince jumped in and said that while the $6 million they've made in movies isn't big money, but he put over the concept. He said they won't do many theatrical releases going forward. He said they have the advantage of not having to pay Brad Pitt "a ridiculous amount of money." He said they are set up differently than the Hollywood studios, which he believes gives them an advantage. He said they can promote their films at no cost.

-Vince said the $20 million budget for a movie like "12 Rounds" is a tough number. "I don't think there's a need to do $20 million budgets," he said. Vince added that the competition is so great in the action-adventure genre is too great. He said it's a logical venture for them and said it will be a big part of their revenue growth in the future.

-A caller mentioned the fact that WWE has "younger, fresher faces" (wrestlers) that have emerged over the last few years. Vince mentioned the throwback wrestlers who took part in WrestleMania this year. He said they aren't part of the plans going forward. "New is important," Vince said. "It always has been." He said that if you have new stars, there are fans who want to buy new things. "It's a different program, it's a different company, it's a different business almost than in the '90s."

-They had no other questions from the callers, so they wrapped up the conference call.

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