WWE sent out the following:
WWE APPOINTS ERIC PANKOWSKI SVP CREATIVE AND DEVELOPMENT
STAMFORD, CT, February 01, 2012 – WWE® (NYSE: WWE) today announced the appointment of Eric Pankowski as Senior Vice President, Creative and Development. Pankowski, previously a senior executive at Reveille and Warner Bros., will report to WWE Executive Vice President of Creative, Stephanie McMahon. In this role, he will be responsible for the creative development of all television content including concepts that go beyond in-ring such as reality and kids programming; the management of WWE’s creative writing teams; and selling programming to major cable and broadcast networks, studios and other content distributors.
“Eric is a creative veteran whose knowledge and experience will be a tremendous asset in both the creation of new WWE content as well as enhancing our core product,” said Stephanie McMahon.
Prior to joining WWE, Pankowski was the Senior Vice President, Creative Affairs for Reveille charged with launching a department that focused on daytime, access and late night programming in syndication and cable. Pankowski spent more than 12 years of his career working for Warner Bros., most recently serving as the Senior Vice President of paraMedia inc., Jim Paratore’s production company. Pankowski oversaw paraMedia’s development slate which included the development, launch and production of Lopez Tonight where he worked closely with the creative, promotion and product integration teams; managed pilots and sales presentations for all projects including TMZ; and produced and pitched original show ideas to broadcast and cable networks. Prior to paraMedia, Pankowski served as Director of Programming for Telepictures where he oversaw The Ellen DeGeneres Show and several other shows. Pankowski started his career at Warner Bros. Corporate Media Research Department as a Junior Analyst, quickly becoming Manager.
Pankowski holds a Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University Bloomington.
About WWE
WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE programming is broadcast in more than 145 countries and 30 languages and reaches more than 500 million homes worldwide. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Istanbul and Tokyo.
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This news release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include the conditions of the markets for live events, broadcast television, cable television, pay-per-view, Internet, feature films, entertainment, professional sports, and licensed merchandise; acceptance of the Company’s brands, media and merchandise within those markets; uncertainties relating to litigation; risks associated with producing live events both domestically and internationally; uncertainties associated with international markets; risks relating to maintaining and renewing key agreements, including television distribution agreements; and other risks and factors set forth from time to time in Company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results could differ materially from those currently expected or anticipated. In addition to these risks and uncertainties, our dividend is based on a number of factors, including our liquidity and historical and projected cash flow, strategic plan, our financial results and condition, contractual and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends and such other factors as our board of directors may consider relevant.
