PWTorch.com - WWE NEWS: WWE Network subscriber count released post-WM31

WWE News
WWE NEWS: WWE Network subscriber count released post-WM31

Mar 30, 2015 - 11:00:42 AM

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By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

WWE announced that WWE Network "surpassed 1.3 million subscribers" following WrestleMania 31.

WWE reported a 31 percent increase (about 300,000 subscribers) since January 27, which is when WWE announced the 1.0 million subscriber benchmark following the Royal Rumble.

In Monday's report, WWE did not break down international vs. domestic additions. WWE management said during a conference call that official numbers will be released in the First Quarter 2015 financial report.

- WWE attributed the increase to the strength of WrestleMania as well as their free February promotion. WWE says the free month attracted 201,000 trial subscribers, which turned into 154,000 paid subscribers in March (about half of the 300,000 increase).

“We believe that exceeding 1.3 million subscribers reflects the successful execution of our strategy and puts us on the path to transformative growth through WWE Network,” said WWE CEO Vince McMahon.

WWE also reported an average paid subscriber count of 918,000, which is in the range of the true break-even point for 2015 earnings. Reaching 1.0 million average paid is critical for Network growth.

WWE believes they will continue to grow past the 918,000 weighted average over the long haul, following either a steady climb quarter-over-quarter or somewhat of a yo-yo reflecting seasonal interest in WWE.

“We are pleased with our short-term results and, for the first quarter, we currently project to exceed our most recent public guidance associated with an estimated average of approximately 918,000 paid subscribers,” said financial executive George Barrios.

“We are also confident in the long-term potential and understand subscriber growth could take many different paths. For example, Network subscribers might show consistent sequential quarterly gains or the quarterly adoption curve could exhibit seasonality with year-over-year growth. Regardless, over the long-term, we believe WWE Network has the potential to drive significant economic returns.”

The 918,000 average subscriber figure represents a 27 percent increase from the Fourth Quarter 2014 average, which was reported as 721,000.