Highlights from WWE's 2019 2nd-Quarter Results Report, Vince McMahon Comments

WWE reported a five percent dip in revenue during the second quarter of 2019 compared to the second quarter of 2018 in its earnings report Tuesday.

According to the report, WWE brought in $268.9 million in revenue during 2019's Q2 after making $281.6 million in revenue for 2018's second quarter.

It was noted that a drop in media, live-event and consumer product earnings led directly to the fall in revenue. Specifically, the house-show revenue went from $52.3 million to $48.8 million and merchandise revenue went from $26.7 million to $23.1 million.

WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon said the following regarding the results:

"During the quarter, we made progress on key strategic initiatives. We completed content distribution agreements in key international markets, prepared for the next phase of our WWE Network service, and achieved steady improvement in engagement metrics. As indicated previously, we remain excited about the future, particularly with our debut on Fox in October."

Although revenue is down, WWE reported a 17 percent increase in digital video views (9.0 billion), 22 percent increase in hours consumed across digital platforms (324 million hours) and 10 percent increase in social media followers (1.02 billion).

WWE also reported 1.69 million paid subscribers to WWE Network, which was "consistent with the company's guidance" but down slightly from the 1.80 million paid subscribers in Q2 of 2018.

With WWE Network's transition to a new platform beginning this week, WWE announced that it will allow for the addition of free and premium tiers, which is something that has long been speculated.

WWE Co-President George Barrios provided a positive outlook for the company moving forward:

"In the quarter, our earnings exceeded guidance, however we anticipate a portion of this to reverse and we continue to target full-year Adjusted OIBDA of at least $200 million. The guidance presupposes the staging of a second large scale international event and the completion of a media rights deal in the MENA region. As we optimize near-term results, we will continue to focus on content creation, localization and digitization, including the evolution of our direct-to-consumer network, to drive long-term growth."

Presumably, the "second large scale international event" Barrios referred to is a show in Saudi Arabia, which is expected to occur later this year after WWE Super ShowDown took place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in June.

WWE heralded improvement in television ratings from the first quarter to the second quarter in 2019. Raw went from a 14 percent decline in viewership during the first quarter to an 11 percent decline in Q2, while SmackDown improved from a 13 percent decline to a seven percent decline.

Also, house-show attendance went from a 12 percent decline in the first quarter to only a four percent decline in Q2.

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