WWE News: New Television Deal Announced For Australia

Today, WWE has announced the following as they enter a new agreement with FoxTel to keep providing WWE programming live in Australia:

WWE® and Foxtel Extend Long-Standing Partnership to Air WWE Programming Live in Australia

SYDNEY & STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WWE (NYSE:WWE) and Foxtel will extend their partnership into its 19th year with a new agreement to broadcast WWE programming live in Australia, including flagship shows Raw® and SmackDown®, as well as WWE’s live pay-per-views events.

Foxtel’s FOX8 will continue to air Raw live at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays and SmackDown live at 10 a.m. on Wednesdays. For the first time, FOX8 will re-air Raw on Tuesday nights in primetime and SmackDown on Wednesday nights in primetime, and FOX Sports will air one-hour versions of Raw and SmackDown in primetime each week. Foxtel Now will make both shows available On Demand following their airings.

“We are delighted to extend our long-standing partnership with one of the biggest brands in entertainment, and increase our WWE offering across both our linear channels and On Demand,” said Stephen Baldwin, Director of Foxtel Networks and On Demand. “WWE has such a passionate fan base in Australia, and Foxtel is pleased to be able to continue bringing this popular content to our customers.”

“Foxtel is a long-time, valued partner who shares our vision and passion for engaging and entertaining our fans,” said Michelle Wilson, WWE Co-President. “This agreement allows us to continue showcasing our unique blend of action-packed, family friendly entertainment across Australia.”

Fans can also order all of WWE’s live special events on Foxtel pay-per-view channel Main Event, including WrestleMania®, SummerSlam®, Survivor Series® and Royal Rumble®. Additionally, new this year are WWE weekly highlight shows Afterburn® and Bottom Line®, which will be available On Demand on Foxtel Now.

About WWE

WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE’s TV-PG, family-friendly programming can be seen in more than 800 million homes worldwide in 24 languages. WWE Network, the first-ever 24/7 over-the-top premium network that includes all live pay-per-views, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library, is currently available in more than 180 countries. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai,Singapore, Dubai, Munich and Tokyo.

Additional information on WWE (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.

About Foxtel

Foxtel is one of Australia’s most innovative and dynamic media companies and home to award winning local drama plus the widest choice in live sport, hit international TV and movies and a host of complete TV seasons. Foxtel believes in the importance of telling Australian stories, and its ongoing commitment to creating the best in Australian programming has garnered numerous industry awards for its Foxtel Original productions. Foxtel has helped put Australian talent on the world stage with highly acclaimed international exports and it proudly invests in the people who help tell those stories by employing thousands of Australians directly and indirectly across Australia’s creative industry. It has also pioneered advancements in entertainment technology with the iQ3 set top box; the Foxtel app for mobile devices; streaming service, Foxtel Now and Foxtel broadband, home phone and entertainment bundles. Foxtel is owned by News Corporation (65%) and Telstra Corporation Limited ACN 051 775 556 (35%).

Trademarks: All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to WWE (the “Company”) pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks relating to: WWE Network; major distribution agreements; our need to continue to develop creative and entertaining programs and events; a decline in the popularity of our brand of sports entertainment; the continued importance of key performers and the services of Vincent K. McMahon; possible adverse changes in the regulatory atmosphere and related private sector initiatives; the highly competitive, rapidly changing and increasingly fragmented nature of the markets in which we operate and greater financial resources or marketplace presence of many of our competitors; uncertainties associated with international markets; our difficulty or inability to promote and conduct our live events and/or other businesses if we do not comply with applicable regulations; our dependence on our intellectual property rights, our need to protect those rights, and the risks of our infringement of others’ intellectual property rights; the complexity of our rights agreements across distribution mechanisms and geographical areas; potential substantial liability in the event of accidents or injuries occurring during our physically demanding events including, without limitation, claims relating to CTE; large public events as well as travel to and from such events; our feature film business; our expansion into new or complementary businesses and/or strategic investments; our computer systems and online operations; a possible decline in general economic conditions and disruption in financial markets; our accounts receivable; our revolving credit facility; litigation; our potential failure to meet market expectations for our financial performance, which could adversely affect our stock; Vincent K. McMahon exercising control over our affairs, and his interests may conflict with the holders of our Class A common stock; a substantial number of shares which are eligible for sale by the McMahons and the sale, or the perception of possible sales, of those shares could lower our stock price; and the relatively small public “float” of our Class A common stock. In addition, our dividend is dependent on a number of factors, including, among other things, our liquidity and cash flow, strategic plan (including alternative uses of capital), our financial results and condition, contractual and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends (including under our revolving credit facility), general economic and competitive conditions and such other factors as our Board of Directors may consider relevant. Forward-looking statements made by the Company speak only as of the date made, are subject to change without any obligation on the part of the Company to update or revise them, and undue reliance should not be placed on these statements.

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