WWE Announces New Record For Network Subscribers

With WrestleMania 34 now in the books, WWE has announced today that the WWE Network has hit a new record of 2.1 million subscribers. Below is the company’s official release:

WWE® Network Hits Record 2.1 Million Subscribers

04/09/2018

WWE® Raises Q1 and Full Year 2018 Guidance

STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WWE® (NYSE:WWE) today announced that its digital streaming service, WWE Network, reached a record 2.12 million total subscribers following last night’s WrestleMania®.1 This is a 9% increase from April 3, 2017, the day after WrestleMania last year.

“We expect to deliver record subscriber levels, revenue and Adjusted OIBDA in 2018,” said George Barrios, WWE Co-President. “WWE Network’s continued growth along with our massive reach across traditional television as well as digital and social platforms, reaffirms the effectiveness of our global, multi-platform content strategy.”

WWE Network Subscriber Highlights

WWE Network achieved record levels of total and total paid subscribers as of April 9, 2018. Total paid subscribers reached 1.81 million, representing a 9% increase from April 3, 2017 – the day after WrestleMania last year.

WrestleMania Milestones

* WrestleMania broke the record for the Mercedes-Benz Superdome’s highest grossing entertainment event at $14.1 million, as a sold-out crowd of 78,133 fans from all 50 states and 67 countries attended the event. As part of the week-long WrestleMania celebration, WWE hosts five consecutive nights of events at the Superdome and the Smoothie King Center

* WWE Network subscribers viewed 25.2 million hours during WrestleMania Week or 14 hours per subscriber during the week. This compares to 22.5 million hours last year, a 12% year-over-year increase

WWE 2018 Perspective

Q1 2018: Based upon preliminary data, WWE Network attracted an average of approximately 1.56 million paid subscribers over the first quarter 2018, representing a 5% increase from the first-quarter 2017 average. The first quarter 2018 average was in-line with guidance of approximately 1.53 million.3

During the first quarter 2018, the Company realized stronger than anticipated performance. As a result, the Company expects Q1 Adjusted OIBDA of at least $30 million (subject to the completion of its quarterly close process), exceeding its previous guidance of $23 million to $27 million.4

Q2 2018: If the acquisition and retention of subscribers driven by WrestleMania is comparable to the subscriber activity associated with the prior year event, average paid subscribers for the second quarter 2018 would be approximately 1.77 million, representing an increase of approximately 8% from the second quarter 2017.5 As future subscriber performance may differ from prior activity, this range is provided for perspective rather than as guidance.

2018: WWE management continues to expect the Company to achieve another year of record revenue and has raised its target for 2018 Adjusted OIBDA to at least $145 million (excluding stock-based compensation expense), which would be an all-time record, exceeding its previous guidance of at least $140 million.4

Notes

(1) Total subscribers following WrestleMania exclude pay-per-view buys with cable and satellite providers.
(2) Metrics reflect subscribers who are direct customers of WWE Network and subscribers reported under licensed partner agreements, which have different economic terms for the network. The impact of these subscribers on WWE Network results is reflected in the network’s average revenue per subscriber (ARPU).
(3) Additional information regarding WWE Network subscriber levels can be found in the Company’s website presentation at corporate.wwe.com/investors.
(4) WWE is unable to provide a reconciliation of forward looking guidance to GAAP measures as, at this time, WWE cannot accurately determine the adjustments that would be required. Further information regarding such reconciliations can be found on page 5 of this release.
(5) Additional information regarding estimated WWE Network subscriber levels can be found in the Company’s website presentation at corporate.wwe.com/investors.

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