WWE held their post-WrestleMania conference call earlier today to discuss the WWE Network subscriber numbers following last night’s pay-per-view, as well as other topics. WWE’s Senior Vice President of Financial Planning and Investor Relations Michael Weitz welcomed everyone to the call and mentioned that the press release is available on the corporate website and went over everything minor before introducing WWE Co-Presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson.

George Barrios started the call and put over the success of WrestleMania and its attendance and noted that the event broke the record as the highest-grossing event at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Barrios said that WrestleMania continues to be a driver of subscriber growth on the WWE Network and announced that a record 2.1 million subscribers are now on the WWE Network, stating that WrestleMania was watched in more homes than ever this year. Barrios then went over the numbers from the press release and said that the WWE expects another year of record growth for 2018 and said that as excited as everyone is about last night, it is important to remember that the WWE Network is the hub of their direct-to-consumer strategy and will soon be where their biggest fans gather for video, product and tickets, stating that the WWE Network will be a multi-generational platform. Barrios then noted that he would opening the floor for questions.

The first caller asked about the WWE’s localization efforts. Barrios said that WWE feels strong about their localization efforts and that is something that they will continue to focus on, noting that it is not just about new markets, but it is about going deeper into those markets that they are already in and said that they are in it for the long-haul with the WWE Network. The same caller asked about the WWE RAW and SmackDown Live television deals as they approach the bidding period and whether Mixed Match Challenge on Facebook Watch has changed how the company looks at Facebook when it comes to those shows and if the company is cautious of working with Facebook regarding the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Barrios said that the WWE have been happy with the engagements that they have seen as the first live sports provider on Facebook and noted in regards to the Cambridge Analytica scandal that it really does not affect the WWE and that Facebook has said that they are focused on privacy. Barrios said that they will continue to watch that as Facebook evolves, but that Mixed Match Challenge was not involved in any of the Facebook data issues. Michelle Wilson stepped in and said that it is also important for Facebook to get the engagement for WWE’s other mediums.

The next caller asked about the impact of the ten-year deal in Saudi Arabia and asked about the engagement length of users on the WWE Network growing. George Barrios said that since the Saudi event will happen in Quarter Two, they will talk about it later and not now and mentioned that certain places are bigger on watching things online and Saudi Arabia has become one of those places. Barrios said that the Saudi Arabia deal is an example of the seeds that they have planted for years starting to blossom and talked about how much of their viewer usage happened outside of the United States and that Saudi Arabia is cognizant of that. Michelle Wilson stepped in and said that the length of engagement on the WWE Network growing is due in part by new subscribers coming in before WrestleMania.

The next caller asked if getting more data has helped the WWE Network in lowering churn. George Barrios said that would be correct and that the smarter they get in engaging folks, the better customer retention will be. Michelle Wilson added that they know what the people are watching, so that is affecting what new product they roll out. The same caller asked what drove the numbers up in the quarter. Barrios said that they came into this year with a lot of momentum, but that it has intensified, noting that live events are up, digital advertising is up and that a little was timing that will be given back later in the year. Wilson said that they are always tweaking their marketing and said that they had a great WrestleMania, with attractions like Ronda Rousey and the in-ring return of Daniel Bryan and that allows them to customize their message, especially to sports fans who want to know about Ronda Rousey appearing. Wilson said that they were also a little more aggressive in marketing that you could watch WrestleMania for free and did it in many different ways. Wilson continued by noting that they listened when people said that they wanted both brands on pay-per-view events and that is why they made the change, stating that they continue to refine strategy to improve customer retention.

The next caller asked if there were any plans to tier the WWE Network. Barrios said that he thinks that there is an opportunity for them to do that and they have ideas, but said that there is not a launch date, only that it is coming sooner rather than later. The same caller asked if there were any other plans to go into other markets. Barrios said that wherever WWE is popular, they plan to take advantage of and will continue to go to places where they can get good results like Saudi Arabia. They were then asked about how much of the increase in subscribers was new compared to those returning but did not disclose those numbers, only stating that they got both for the WrestleMania event.

The next caller asked if WWE has a problem finding air time for the women, considering some complaints online. Barrios said that as a father of three girls, he loved it last night when Ronda Rousey picked up Triple H, as he got chills and said that the sky is the limit for the women. Michelle Wilson said that they talk about how to better present the women all of the time. The next caller asked about UFC star Conor McGregor’s meltdown earlier in the week and if that is a negative for the UFC in their television rights, while a positive for the WWE. Barrios said that the company focuses on what they do, so he doesn’t have a comment on that matter as all they worry about is the WWE.

The next caller asked if the WWE has any plans for Ronda Rousey outside of being a wrestler. Barrios said that it is a wait and see approach, but that fans can sprinkle it with their intuition and said that social media data agrees that Ronda Rousey’s match was great and that she is focused on being one of the best in the WWE. The final caller asked if WWE are more optimistic that the numbers going into WrestleMania for the ratings were strong and whether that will lead to more customer contention in the second quarter. Barrios said that they are modelling similarly to last year and that they have invested in talent development which is paying off and that they are recruiting pretty much everywhere. Barrios said that the WWE believes that the more diverse and deep their talent pool is, the better and that they have a lot of great talent. Barrios said that years ago, they were limited by television, where as now, they can engage as long as the normal fan has a broadband connection.

Barrios wrapped up the call and Michael Weitz thanked everyone for their time.