WWE 3rd Quarter Conference Call Report - Lots Of News

– The call started at 11:02AM.

– VP Michael White kicks off the call. Vince is in attendance as well. He mentions the info released this morning, which I have linked above. They will discuss the quarter, and discuss forward-looking statements.

– Vince joins us, and says they had a good quarter. He discusses attendance, and says that the whole package of going to a live event can be expensive. Average attendance is up 9%. He claims that ratings are up 23% in the quarter as compared to last year.

– Vince says film is a natural extension of the business, and that they have changed their philosophy to smaller budgets and direct to DVD releases.

– He jokes about voting for Linda, and says that he has resumed her responsibilities. Also, he mentions Shane leaving the company, but puts over that their management team is stronger than ever.

– George Barios joins the call, and discusses the revenue growing, but that PPV struggled in the quarter.

– Live events and merchandise were strong in the quarter, both domestically and internationally. Ticket prices dropped both internationally and domestically.

– Domestic PPV buys are down, but international PV buys have grown, partly due to a smaller price. The Hell in a Cell PPV looks to have done 11% higher than the same PPV slot last year. Pay-Per-View revenues were $14.5 million as compared to $16.4 million in the prior year quarter reflecting a 10% decline in total pay-per-view buys and a higher percentage of international buys, which are generally lower in price. For the comparable pay-per-view events which occurred in both the current and prior year periods, pay-per-view buys declined 22% in the quarter and 9% on a year-to-date basis.

– Toys and video game sales are down, especially internationally.

– Right now they are repeating the same numbers, which I have already posted here.

– They have continued to work on cutting the costs by $20 million, and should realize that by the end of quarter #4. They are running with good cash in hand still, with virtually no debt.

– They are targeting a growth of 15-20% over the next two years. Global TV rights and increased licensing will be a big part of this.

– The film distribution will be more effective with lower budgets and a straight to DVD model, which should create more profit from WWE Films.

– They are still looking into a "WWE network", which would be a venue for their tape library and films.

– Questions begin. The first question is about increased attendance. They say that the lowered ticket prices have helped, especially in the current economic climate. When asked about PPV prices internationally as opposed to the US is that they go by a country-by-country basis to create the most effective pricing. They say that Mexico has been very good to them as far as TV and PPV goes.

– The partnership with the Army National Guard has been beneficial for both sides.

– The next question is about the old footage, and why it is not being utilized in more DVD releases and classics on demand. Donna Goldsmith says that they do use a lot of it. She again mentions the WWE network, and that if and when it gets rolling, they would utilize more of that footage.

– They are asked about removing PPVs from the schedule, and it is stated that they will look into adding and subtracting shows in a show by show basis.

– Questions abruptly end.

– The call ended at 11:27AM.