WWE held their second quarter earnings conference call earlier today. The call opened with Michael Weitz thanking everyone and said that Vince McMahon and George Barrios are on the call, before passing it over to Vince who said that he always looks at the key drivers each quarter including the attendance, TV ratings and the WWE Network. Vince noted that attendance is up, TV ratings are up and the WWE Network is currently at 700,000 subscribers and tha thtey have a solid base and a number of directives to grow on that. Vince then talked abot the worldwide rollout of the WWE Network and notes that the United Kingdom will get it in October and also put over the company’s deal with Rogers in Canada, stating that it’s a bit different, as it’s a deal for both the TV shows as well as the WWE Network and that beyond those issues, the WWE have developed plans to increase their outlook for 2015, including a 7% drop in staff and thinks the outlook is good for the company.

George Barrios then took over the call and said that for the second quarter their results beat their guidance and talked about how they increased the WWE Network subscribers, noting that the average user has the WWE Network on 2.5 devices and most subscribers access the WWE Network at least once a week and said that the company have a five point program to expand the WWE Network and part of that strategy is their new deal with Rogers in Canada, noting that the WWE Network will be a pay-TV channel on their system and will be available to other systems in Canada, noting that Canada will get the same content on the WWE Network that the United States does. Barrios said that they have been promoting the WWE Network on WWE RAW and WWE SmackDown, but they plan to ramp up third-party advertising and said that there will be new shows coming to the WWE Network and that they will launch on some Smart TV and Blu-Ray devices later this year and add features such as Resume Play. Barrios noted that the company did 424,000 buys for WrestleMania 30 in the United States and feel that they can convert many of those people into WWE Network subscribers. Barrios then talked the numbers from the earnings before opening the floor to the question and answer session.

The first person said that they loved the numbers and was interested in the new pricing directives and if they think the ability to grow month to month will help. Vince took this question and said that they are learning as they go and that there are many aspects to growing the WWE Network. The next question was why they ramped up to go global and what are the economics of it. Vince took this question again and said that they are rolling out the English version worldwide because it allows them to get worldwde faster and they may add a language specific version down the road, but for now, it will be the US version and they feel that it will largely just lead to more revenue since getting the word out there won’t be that expensive. The next question asked about the drop in subscriptions to the WWE Network, a question that George Barrios took and noted that any subscription business will lose people and that is part of managing the business and said that renewal churn hasn’t started yet and the churn was due to cards not having funds on them when the company tried to charge them and didn’t get into the specifics of people that didn’t pay.

The next question asked how the company will save $30 million. George said that they brought in so many people to get the WWE Network up to standards that there was inefficiency, so now, they are more streamlined and refused to state if the lion share would come from releases. George note that overall expenses will be reduced going forward and said that the WWE Network will be $9.99 a month for a 6 month commitment, but if people want the WWE Network for one month, then it will be $19.99. George said that they will try to drive awareness to get people to renew their subscription when their six-month commitment expires next month. The next question was about DVD sales and prcing and if that is being driven by an increased price for WrestleMania, to which George noted that it was the content itself is what drove the revenue. The next question aske when they see people subscribe to the WWE Network, to which George noted is usually before a pay-per-view event.

The next question asked why the WWE decided to make the WWE Network a pay Network in Canada, to which Vince joked and said that Canadians look at things differently and doesn’t know if they will do it anywhere else in the world, however if they could, they will see. They were then asked about the terms of the deal, however George refused to get into details, but said that they are happy with it, while Vince said that Rogers made them an offer that they couldn’t turn down. The next question asked about the PPV business and is the guidance for 2015 still seeing them assume that there will be no pay-per-view revenue. George took the question and said that is the case and that anywhere the WWE Network is available, they expect to make no pay-per-view revenue, so whatever else they make is a bonus and they have talked about raising the one-month only price for WrestleMania. The next question asked what percentage of subscribers are set for autmatic renewal, however they refused to get into it and were then asked if those people on the 6-month commitment will have to pay all of it up front, to which they noted that they won’t but it will be an option. The next caller asked if they are concerned that some subscribers will cancel their six-month commitment and do the $19.99 deal on occasions, which will cost them money. George noted that the company will learn as they go, while Vince stated that there may be new pricing options. The next caller asked if they are still targeting 1 million domestic subs, to which George noted that they would be really happy if that were the case. The next question asked about attendances being up, to which Vince said that people are excited about the WWE product. The next caller asked if Rogers have the ability to embed advertising into the WWE Network stream, which they noted that Rogers are still working on it, as they are too and that eventually it will be built in.

The next question asked about the status of the TV rights deal in India, which George noted they are finalizing and have agreed to terms and are hammering it out. The next question stayed on the same topic and asked how many TV rights deals overseas are coming due, however they noted that they don’t comment on that. They were then asked if the Rogers subscriptions will be added to the WWE Network numbers, to which they noted that will be the case as they are WWE Network subscribers. They were then asked how many of the new countries getting the WWE Network didn’t have pay-per-view access before, to which it was noted that a lot of them didn’t and this will be a bonus for them. They were then asked about their top audiences outside the United States and noted that it’s the places that they talk about all the time including Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico and others. The final caller asked how long it will take to get into the markets that won’t be rolled out this year, to which it was noted that it would be sometime in 2015 or early 2016. Michael Weitz took over the call and thanked Vince McMahon and George Barrios for their time, as well as everyone for their questions.