WWE held a conference call today regarding their new television deals with USA Network for RAW and FOX Sports for SmackDown Live. Michael Weiss opened the call, noting that George Barrios and Michelle Wilson were on the line. Wilson noted that they are very happy and proud about the new television deals, while George Barrios read a prepared statement. Barrios said that they will release a revised guidance on how the new deals impact their strategical plans going forward and that the new RAW deal increases their annual average value over 3.6 times. Barrios also noted that they expect their United Kingdom TV deal to be announced this year, while their Indian TV deal should be announced in the first quarter of 2019 before turning it over for the question and answer session.

The first question asked if the digital rights are still open. Barrios said not in the case of RAW and SmackDown Live and that they balanced all aspects of the deal and it will continue on with RAW and SmackDown Live airing 30 days after they broadcast on the WWE Network. Barrios said that there are possibilities of other digital programming, similar to Mixed Match Challenge on Facebook going forward and that could happen. The next question asked about FOX doing their own digital programming and the potential FOX Sports 1 studio. Michelle Wilson said that those opportunities have been discussed for both FOX and FS1 and that they are very happy to be part of the FOX family.

The next question asked about whether the potential change in ownership with Sky in the United Kingdom could impact their new television deal. Barrios said that they do not believe so and have spent a lot of time traveling and meeting with different potential partners. The next question asked how much of the new money coming in will be used to reinvest in the company or make new investments and how it will change the dividend. Barrios said that they want to get through the remaining television deal renewals before they start to talk about that. The next question asked whether they intend to split RAW and SmackDown Live on different outlets in international markets the same way that they are doing with RAW and SmackDown Live. Barrios said that it all depends on the market and that the market will be the one to determine the economics, noting that in the years to come, RAW and SmackDown Live will be worth more, but that it boils down to the market and the money involved, stating that they have 60 different television agreement in different markets beyond the top seven television deals.

The next question asked about the differences in television negotiations several years ago to now and specifically in India. Barrios said that the new deal was much higher, but did not give further details and said that the United Kingdom deal now is similar to the United States in that its transforming and that Amazon is very active in that landscape now, noting that there is a migration from traditional television to over-the-top, not the same as the United States, but similar and that in regards to India, it’s very different and that over the past 18 months or so, the mobile players are becoming far more active in securing content for their platforms as the mobile availability grows. Michelle Wilson stepped in and said that as they log more and more miles, they are finding more and more players involved as the broadcast ecosystem and potential partners involved continues to grow and that they are having discussions and each market is unique. Wilson said that where they have opportunities matches up where players like Amazon and Facebook match up and they will see.

The next question asked what changed the perception of the brand this time to see such a huge step up from in the past. Barrios said that a lot of things have changed and continue to evolve and that the brand is in the best place it has ever been and a lot of that has to do with their partner, NBC Universal as the brand grew from a consumer perspective. Barrios said that platforms and outlets such as ESPN covering the company, which never happened before and the success of their social media has helped them from being seen as a live event business to a social/digital business and that they have live, passionate branded content in the United States. Barrios said that they pride themselves of being the best value in entertainment for their fans and that they want to be the same value for their business partners, noting that the deals are a big step up in terms of money, but that they are still a bargain in a lot of ways. Barrios said that they have 5 years before they have those conversations again and they believe that they can drive content for their partners.

The next question asked about the potential content that they already develop like Total Bellas or new content that they can develop in terms of higher rates. Michelle Wilson said that with all of the content that the company creates, they always look at the potential revenue it can create and that they always look for new content to create, whether its a reality show or a documentary like Andre The Giant and that they will always look for new content beyond in-ring and they will always be there to have conversations with partners like Hulu, Amazon, Facebook and such as it is a brand builder for them and everything strengthens the foundation of the brand. Wilson said that they are going to be chasing that going forward and that they have numerous possibilities among different genres. George Barrios said that they have the ability to create local content with local talent as well and that they are looking at that as a way to help the content over the next 5 years, while they are looking at scripted content as well.