WWE Q1 2016 – PPV Revenue nearing extinction (updated w/PPV Buys)

WWE’s traditional Pay-Per-View business is nearly extinct, as WWE reported only $2.1 million in revenue for the First Quarter 2016.

However, PPV revenue should uptick in the Second Quarter when WrestleMania PPV revenue is reported.

The only two traditional PPV events in the first quarter were Royal Rumble and Fast Lane, which combined to generate $2.1 million in PPV revenue.

This compares to $9.0 million in Q1-2015, which included revenue from WrestleMania 31.

On a linear basis, WWE generated $3.6 million in PPV revenue during the previous period, Fourth Quarter 2015.

The PPV trendline from last year’s First Quarter to this year’s looks like:

• Q1-2015: $9.0 million (WM31 quarter)
• Q2-2015: $3.5 million
• Q3-2015: $4.5 million (SSlam quarter)
• Q4-2015: $3.6 million
• Q5-2016: $2.1 million

Overall, WWE noted that “an anticipated decline in pay-per-view revenue partially offset WWE Network growth,” which points to the effects of WrestleMania in a different quarter and WWE still trying to transition traditional PPV customers over to the Network.

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Update: WWE released more PPV data in their 10-K SEC filing.

WWE generated a total of 153,000 PPV buys in the First Quarter, translating to average revenue per buy of only $14.92.

This points to the majority of buys from international sources where WWE typically gets less money than a traditional domestic PPV purchase.