WWE News: Detailed report on Vince McMahon's shareholders meeting covering WWE business in-depth
Apr 30, 2010 - 7:15:06 PM
By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor
WWE CEO Vince McMahon hosted WWE's annual shareholders meeting today in Stamford, Conn. discussing numerous WWE business topics, including several noteworthy items on future business plans. The items McMahon covered are contained below in the following order.
1 - WWE TV Network
2 - PPV business
3 - TV content (McMahon comments on whether he'll wrestle again & NXT)
4 - International expansion
5 - Films division
6 - Marketing (including a big promotional opportunity with Burger King)
7 - WWE Audience
WWE TV Network
McMahon said WWE is "somewhat ready" to begin putting their own WWE TV Network in the marketplace and they will be offering a variety of different programming beyond "in-ring wrestling."
"We're somewhat ready to go out to the marketplace and secure our distribution for our own network. It will give us opportunities to produce more programming than just in-ring programming. The proposed network would be complementary to what we do now. It's not going to take the place of anything we do now," McMahon said.
"The opportunities that we have that are not in-ring with other networks is extraordinary. It's not just an in-ring concept that (we) have here, so why not expand that into other television shows," McMahon said. "There are obvious extensions of what we do as a core product into other television shows."
PPV business
McMahon's explanation for PPV business being down 10 percent in 2009 compared to 2008 was too many people gathering together for PPV watch parties.
McMahon acknowledged there is dilution in the PPV market, which is why they dropped a PPV from the 2010 schedule, but he didn't provide any details on probably the biggest issue with PPVs - what WWE creatively can do to adjust to make the PPVs seem like must-watch events.
"There is dilution in the marketplace, there's no question about that. We find that what happens is - WrestleMania as an example - every year there are WrestleMania parties and with the economy being where it is, it's more likely that instead of two households in the neighborhood carrying the event, one does, which reduces the total overall buy," McMahon said before adding tongue-in-cheek to laughter: "we need to find a way in which we say, 'forget your neighbors and watch by yourself.'"
McMahon also suggested they're working on a futuristic PPV distribution model to "get their fair share" of PPV dollars even if people continue to share the PPV watching price tag. When asked about raising the PPV price by $5 despite buys declining, McMahon said it's because they believe too many people are watching in groups.
"Raising your price is contrary to what you would normally think, but we think it's because of the communal aspect of our brand that we need to do this," McMahon said.
TV Content
Regarding TV content, McMahon said WWE is confident they'll find a home for NXT if Syfy drops the show and he doesn't plan on wrestling again.
-- On wrestling again: "No, I don't intend to be back in the ring. Then again, I never intend to be in the ring, then somehow, it happens. There are absolutely no plans whatsoever for me to get back in the ring. We are hopeful that does not happen. ... Kevin Dunn swears on his life that does not happen."
-- NXT's future: "We're talking to the distributors of the possibility of staying on Syfy and/or moving. I don't have that answer at the moment," McMahon said. We believe we'll have significant ratings going forward. It's not going to disappear, but it might move to another network."
-- NXT as a concept show: "It gives us an opportunity to see who's going to make it or not. They're hungry, they're fresh, they have no injuries...yet. We're really excited about all these new opportunities. There's other programming that's being contemplated that appeals to a similar audience."
-- McMahon called Smackdown's move to Syfy "a really big step up" and he cited the pre-emptions as the main concern with Smackdown on MyNetworkTV.
International Expansion
McMahon was asked the annual question on the idea of creating separate, standalone WWE brands overseas. McMahon said they want to continue importing the "Americana" WWE experience overseas, but he foresees a time when they might need to create separate brands overseas because the current roster can only handle so many international tours.
"What we find, no matter where we go, people all over the world want Western culture; they want our stars. A local star means nothing. The idea is to make it once, then take that product and make it adaptable to the entire world, as opposed to establishing a whole separate set of talent and production while still maintaining the quality of the production. It would be very difficult and costly," McMahon said.
He added: "In ten years, we might have to do something like that. There are only so many dates a talent can perform in, but hopefully it will be a while before we have to do that."
Films Division
McMahon said WWE is attempting to really be a film company and not just produce theatrical or DVD releases on an irregular basis. He said they have to be in the film business if they're really going to have a film business.
"Only one film that's been a failure. All the rest have been a success. When you enter any new business, you can expect a business learning curve. Then again, we really haven't been in the film business. You can't be in the film business if you do one film every year-and-a-half. You have to be in it. You have to have a slate of films. They don't have to be home runs, but good doubles and singles. The suggestion is you have a slate of films to be actually in the business. We have a slate of about nine of them right now," McMahon said.
"The other aspect of it is our strategy. Under normal circumstances, a film is released theatrically, then on DVD, which means you have to promote and market the film twice. Our concept is going to the DVD market first. We're going to be in the theatrical business, but the windows will be collapsed considerably going forward, more so than anyone else in the history of the film business, therefore we can promote these movies once and get the benefit from all that promotion."
Marketing
-- They have a new promotional deal with Burger King to offer WWE-themed kid's meal toys for boys. The promotion is expected to run in August centered around Summerslam. The toys will feature Undertaker, John Cena, and Triple H.
-- Mattel said they consider the new WWE toy launch to start 2010 their "best toy launch ever."
-- THQ is currently planning three new WWE video games.
WWE's audience
McMahon was asked to define the typical WWE fan. McMahon interestingly hinted at future programming elements that will appeal to the older audience WWE has perhaps not catered to with the focus on kids.
"The audience is broad based. We find that as of late, we have more female viewers than we have had in the past. Many times, they are the gatekeepers of the future on whether they encourage kids to watch our program," McMahon said. "We haven't appealed in terms of our product to our older audience as our younger audience. There are other ways in the future to garner advantages with the older audience as well."
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