WWE shares "plunged Thursday as sales disappointed in the latest quarter and the company's struggle to secure a television-rights deal in the Middle East pushed its guidance lower," according to Patrick Thomas of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Q3 revenue fell 1% from a year earlier to $186.3M, below the $191.5M that Wall Street analysts were "expecting." Revenue from WWE's media business grew 3% year-over-year, but was "hampered by a decline in subscription revenue from its online streaming channel WWE Network." Paid subscribers for the channel decreased 9% to approximately 1.51 million during the period. The "growth of the media business was tempered by a 13% decline in revenue from live events." WWE signed new five-year deals last year with USA Network and Fox that "more than tripled its fees" to $468M annually. The company's Q4 results are "expected to reflect substantial revenue growth as a result of the deals, which began this month." Overall, WWE reported Q3 profit of $5.8M compared with $33.6M a year ago (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/1). At presstime, shares of WWE were trading at $56.50, up 0.83% from the close of business on Thursday (THE DAILY).
MAKING SOME POSITIVE STEPS: WWE on Thursday held the "first ever women's wrestling match in Saudi Arabia" as the country "attempts to shrug off an ultra-conservative image." Natalya defeated Lacey Evans in a match as part of the Crown Jewel event that saw both women "dressed demurely in black leggings and unflattering baggy t-shirts." They both were "suitably dressed down for the occasion, their usual costumes left behind in the United States." The match comes after a promotional video last year "featuring scantily-clad female wrestlers sparked a scandal in the country, forcing the authorities concerned to apologize for the 'indecent' images" (AFP, 11/1).
