WWE sent out the following:
Raw® 1000 Breaks Viewership and Social Media Records
STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WWE® (NYSE:WWE) today announced that Monday Night Raw’s historic 1,000th episode broke records for television viewership and online engagement, making it the most watched three-hour Raw in history by reaching more than six million viewers, amassing a 3.9 rating and accumulating 52 worldwide Twitter trends. Monday Night Raw’s historic episode was the most watched program on cable television and beat every program on CBS, NBC, ABC and CW. Last night’s episode began a new era of Monday Night Raw when the longest-running weekly television show in U.S. history permanently moved to a three-hour format with a new start time of 8/7C on USA Network.
Ratings highlights from Monday Night Raw include:
– Most watched three-hour Raw ever with over six million viewers.
– Two-hour regularly scheduled portion (9-11 p.m.) of last night’s episode was the most watched Raw since the show returned to USA Network in 2005 and the best in 10 years with over 6.3 million total viewers.
– Monday night’s most watched program on cable.
– Most watched program on all television (broadcast and cable) among all male viewers.
– Most watched program on cable for adults 18-49 and adults 25-54.
According to Trendrr, Monday Night Raw was the No. 1 program on cable and broadcast last night.
Additional social media and digital highlights include:
– Social activity for Monday Night Raw was higher than the Top 10 broadcast shows combined.
– BlueFin Labs named Monday Night Raw’s 1000th episode the No. 4 most social series programming episode of all time behind only American Idol and Pretty Little Liars.
– Activity spiked to more than 11,000 comments-per-minute during the appearance of The Undertaker®, the biggest social media moment of #Raw1000.
– WWE’s hashtag poll “Should AJ say “I Do or I Don’t” was the No. 1 moment in Raw history with 9,000 tweets-per-minute.
– WWE.com’s 17 million page views and 1.2 million daily unique visitors were up 92 percent and 47 percent year-over-year, respectively.
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 600 million homes worldwide. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Istanbul and Tokyo. Additional information on WWE (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.
Trademarks
All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press 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, without limitation, risks relating to maintaining and renewing key agreements, including television and pay-per-view programming distribution agreements; the need for continually developing creative and entertaining programming; the continued importance of key performers and the services of Vincent McMahon; the conditions of the markets in which we compete and acceptance of the Company’s brands, media and merchandise within those markets; our exposure to bad debt risk; uncertainties relating to regulatory and litigation matters; risks resulting from the highly competitive nature of our markets; uncertainties associated with international markets; the importance of protecting our intellectual property and complying with the intellectual property rights of others; risks associated with producing and travelling to and from our large live events, both domestically and internationally; the risk of accidents or injuries during our physically demanding events; risks relating to our film business; risks relating to increasing content production for distribution on various platforms, including the potential creation of a WWE Network; risks relating to our computer systems and online operations; risks relating to the large number of shares of common stock controlled by members of the McMahon family and the possibility of the sale of their stock by the McMahons or the perception of the possibility of such sales; the relatively small public float of our stock; 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, our dividend is dependent on a number of factors, including, among other things, our liquidity and historical and projected cash flow, strategic plan (including alternative uses of capital), our financial results and condition, contractual and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends, general economic and competitive conditions and such other factors as our Board of Directors may consider relevant.
