WWE Chairman Vince McMahon noted in the press release issued today by the company that the current WWE Network subscriber numbers are 731,000.
“During the quarter, we delivered stronger financial performance than anticipated and surpassed our guidance while making significant progress on the execution of our WWE Network strategy. To capitalize on the substantial opportunity created by WWE Network, it’s time to remove all the barriers to those that want WWE. We are excited to introduce a new simplified price plan at $9.99 per month, and like Netflix with no commitment/cancel anytime. This reflects our belief in the broad appeal of WWE Network content. Additionally, we continue to develop the international platform for WWE Network and plan to make the network available in the U.K. on an OTT basis in November. WWE Network continues to be the single greatest opportunity to transform WWE’s business model and we remain optimistic about our potential to drive long-term growth. As we expanded WWE Network to 731,000 subscribers, our Adjusted OIBDA of $5.1 million surpassed our guidance, which indicated an Adjusted OIBDA loss ranging from $10 million to $15 million with an average of 723,000 subscribers. Given our performance in the quarter, we have improved our 2014 Adjusted OIBDA outlook ranges by approximately $15 million to $20 million,” added George Barrios, Chief Strategy & Financial Officer. “Key metrics continued to show strength. Raw and SmackDown TV ratings increased 2% and 3%, respectively. WWE’s social media presence has increased 71% to over 420 million followers. In addition, revenue from the Company’s seven new key television agreements is expected to increase from approximately $130 million in 2014 to approximately $235 million in 2018, providing over $100 million of revenue growth subject to counterparty risks.”
We’ll have more details later today following the third quarter conference call.