WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon appeared on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” this morning and talked about how the company is focused on content as live event attendance begins to ramp up in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic now that the summer tour has been announced.
McMahon noted that WWE is experiencing “really significant trends” towards increased attendance at live events right now.
When asked about WWE’s recent deal with Peacock, McMahon said WWE will focus on content production in the future.
“We don’t want to be competitive in the technology business,” McMahon said, adding that WWE’s original streaming service would have had difficulty facing off against giants like Disney or Amazon. Instead, she described WWE’s current strategy as staying “competitive in terms of content.”
McMahon also commented that WWE’s distribution deals and merchandise allowed them to weather the COVID-19 storm while they waited for the return to touring.
McMahon noted that a majority of WWE’s revenue is contractual, coming from deals with broadcasters and other similar arrangements. With that said, she noted that an increase in e-commerce revenue offset a fall in live event revenue during the coronavirus pandemic.
It was also noted that WWE traditionally draws more than $100 million in revenue each year from live events, when not impacted by the pandemic.
(H/T to SeekingAlpha)
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