WWE held their Fourth Quarter 2015 conference call earlier today. Vince McMahon opened the call and stated that the WWE had achieved the highest revenue in its history in 2015 and put over growing the international revenue and the 8 billion views on YouTube which made them the top sports network. Vince then put over the WWE Network subscribers being at almost 1.3 million and how much they had grown from this time last year before putting over the new shows and the high consumption of product by its subscribers, stating that WWE Network subscribers watch more content than any cable company does. Vince said that he was excited about the numbers and then talked about stock being down for the day. Vince then passed it over to George Barrios who ran down the earnings and stated that the next WWE Network subscriber update will be revealed on April 4th, 2016, the day after WrestleMania 32 before opening up the floor for questions.

The first caller asked about losing 50,000 subscribers in the quarter despite adding new content and asked about the potential of bundling the WWE Network with other properties. George Barrios said that to them, it is about WWE Network consumption and they see people doing 188 hours and said that overall, they are very happy with their overall programming and said that they are open to all ideas for bundling as they should be, but right now, there is nothing to announce. The next caller asked about minutiae and the timing of WrestleMania being in the second quarter compared to the first quarter as well as WWE Network subscriber retention. Barrios said that they came out last year at 1.217 and now they are giving guidance to 1.280, so they expect it to be higher.

The next caller asked how they will make WrestleMania 32 a draw given all of the injuries, to which Vince McMahon responded that they will do it by being creative and said that this year’s WrestleMania will be as good as last year’s event. Vince was then asked about the shows that will create hours of content, however George Barrios answered and listed the shows and events that they do to make up the lineup. The next caller asked about the actual number of WWE Network subscribers in India to which Barrios also took the question for, but did not give the number and said that India was a long-term project due to the price and the fact that pay-per-views are sold over the air. Barrios was then asked about WWE using Snapchat and other social media platforms and said that they are open to any social media platform as they have shown how dominant they are in social media. George was then asked about how WrestleMania drives growth on the Network and did not go into much detail other than he expects that weekend to boost the growth again this year.

George was then asked about whether they noticed any correlation between the TV ratings and subscriber churn and said that he doesn’t get into the weekly churn, but they look at overall churn. They were then asked about the declining ratings, to which Vince McMahon said that their numbers are down, but not as much as the Network’s that they are on and said that as George mentioned, there is an ecosystem now where people can watch in different ways when they want and said that TV ratings these days are in essence, old school, but of course, are still important. George was then asked about giving more guidance and said that he did not want to get into that. He was then asked about how WWE does in recessions and said that it depends in essence on how many people lose jobs in the economy as well as how bad the recession is. They were then asked what the NXT revenues were for the year, to which George said that he did not want to get into that, but is thrilled with the engagement that they have seen to date with NXT. They were then asked about NXT going on the road, to which it was noted that those events on the road will continue and that NXT will be expanded and they are excited about the brand and its future.

They were then asked what the top five countries worldwide were for subscribers. George said that the United Kingdom is great as is Canada and that in the top 10, they have a nice mix of countries. Vince was then asked about the tension that comes from NBC Universal when people decide to watch the TV product online as opposed to television and said that he brings value to NBC Universal because of the live nature of their product and that as they continue on that will make them more valuable to NBC Universal and everyone. The caller said that it should be interesting, to which Vince said that it certainly will be. They were then asked about their archives, to which Vince noted that they have a vast collection of content. They were then asked about whether they would do a buyback of company shares with their cash reserves to which Vince stated that the Board considers everything.

They were then asked about the WWE App and the official website as opposed to social media to which George noted that they will continue investing in what they own. They were then asked about marketing WWE NXT outside of the WWE Network. George said that they will be deciding that about all of their products as they go forward and that while you can only see WWE NXT on the WWE Network in the United States, in some countries they have licensing deals. George said that the next three markets to enter are China, Thailand and The Philippines with the WWE Network and expects to be in all of them in the next year or so. George was then asked to break down the viewing patterns of the different shows and talked about it being about 20% for pay-per-views and 80% for everything else and said that obviously, the pay-per-view events are the top draw. They were then asked when the television rights deal with India will allow pay-per-view events to go to the WWE Network, however George said that he did not want to comment on that at this time. They were asked about Japan and its potential and if that is a target market giving the recent signings from Japan. George said that Japan is a great market for them. The final caller talked about WWE stock and came up with a few reasons why it is down on the day. George stated that since WrestleMania is so unique, it makes forecasting difficult. George then thanked those on the call before passing it over to Vince McMahon who also offered his thanks and ended the call.