The WWE announced a couple records related to Wrestlemania 32 Sunday. On Monday, it announced that the WWE Network reached 1.82 million total network subscribers according to a telephone conference held by the company.
WWE Network reached 1.39 million total domestic subscribers and 434,000 international subscribers. The gains over last year at this time (the day after Wrestlemania) improved by 39% and a gain of 1.3 million subscribers at the end of the fourth quarter of 2015.
In addition, the WWE announced that Wrestlemania 32 set a new attendance record of 101,763 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. The previous Wrestlemania record was at the famous Wrestlemania 3 in 1987 which drew 93,173 for Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan. Obviously, there is some skepticism about these numbers.
While stock shares were up slightly on Monday, there was a sharp decrease in shares with the stock down 7.3% at one time after the WWE telephone conference announcing the subscription number Monday afternoon.
During the telephone conference, a question was asked about subscriber “churn” with the network. The response was that more content would help with retention of subscribers. Although questioned, the WWE did not comment on the conversion rate of its free trial promotions. The company had released retention rates for its first two trials but have not provided information since.
Payout Take:
It’s important to note that the 1.82 million subscribers announced includes paid and those on a free trial. The actual total paid is 1.454 million. The company has embraced the free month models for a variety of reasons although it has its obvious risks. The paid subscription numbers must have disappointed investors (or people selling off the stock) as WWE shares were down after the telephone conference. It did rebound in after-hours training. We will see how the stock does in the next couple days.
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