Jeff Kinnebrew Page !1

1. Provide the entertainment sector the company/division is in.

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is in the Sports Entertainment sector and the primary NAICS code is Motion Picture and Video Production. The business is divided into three primary sectors: Media, Live Events, and Consumer Products. I will be focusing on the Media division of the WWE.

2. Does the company/division make a product or do they provide a service?

Without starting a debate on the philosophical idea of what it means to provide a service, I will simply state that WWE creates a product to be consumed. Their flagship product is the longest running weekly episodic television series, Monday Night RAW. They also produce reality TV series like Total Divas, Total Bellas, and Mix and Misses. Aside from programs on cable television they also produce monthly Pay-Per-View specials and Documentaries on their subscription based streaming service, The WWE Network.

3. Where do they sell their products and/or services?

The WWE launched their online subscription based video streaming service, The WWE Network, in 2014. For $9.99 per month subscribers get full access to all of WWE’s weekly series, Pay-Per-Views, an achieve of past events, and other original content. They currently air both of their weekly live programs, attracting on average 3.5 million views per week, on the USA Network under a deal with NBC/Universal worth $150 million per year. But recently, a $1billion 3 year deal with FOX was signed for the rights to air the show Smackdown beginning October of 2019. Through these media WWE has been able to make deals with around 50 “Blue Chip” sponsors.

4. Describe their target market.

Their target market is families. They market to children and women, with 40% of their viewers being female. There has been a recent shift towards featuring female wrestlers more predominantly to connect with this audience. Ticket prices range from $20-$70, which is on par with other live sporting events. They market to the casual wrestling fan; someone that has watched wrestling previously but don’t follow very closely. As a result they make the storylines of their programs easy to follow; a viewer could watch one episode a month and still be able to follow the story. They have also begun marketing heavily to audiences outside of the United States. According to Paul “Triple H” Levesque, VP of Talent Development/Creative, “If you take all our platforms, all of the viewership, 70% of our viewership comes from outside the U.S., but only 30% of the revenue comes from outside the U.S. It’s a huge opportunity.” In the past year they have produced live events in Saudi Arabia, Australia, Japan, China, and Europe in an attempt to capitalize on this market. Jeff Kinnebrew Page !2

5. How does your company advertise?

Aside from traditional advertisements during their shows on cable television, the WWE uses a creative tactic of using “news” as advertisement. The most relevant instance of this is their signing of Ronda Rousey last year and her wrestling debut at their largest event, Wrestlemania. WWE is adept at using social media to market their product. YouTube ranks WWE as the #1 sports channel on the platform with over 12 billion views per year. They have over 800 million followers across social media.

Jeff Kinnebrew Page !3

6. Describe the costs you think your company incurs on a daily basis.

First and foremost, WWE does not own a home venue, they must rent out each venue, and pay for the broadcast rights. They must also pay for the transportation of all of the production gear. They have to pay for the production staff. They have to pay for the talent. They must pay for transportation and lodging for the production staff and talent. They provide an on site medical staff that travels with the performers. They pay the staff that monitors and produces content on social media. There are writers, athletic trainers, behind the scenes “road agents”. Jeff Kinnebrew Page !4

References

WSJ - WWE Looks to Pin Down Advertisers https://www.wsj.com/articles/wwe-looks-to-pin-down-advertisers-1499092643

CBS Sports - WWE makes it official: SmackDown Live will move to Fox, air on Fridays beginning in 2019 https://www.cbssports.com/wwe/news/wwe-makes-it-official-smackdown-live-will-move- to-fox-air-on-fridays-beginning-in-2019/

WWE.com - Company Overview http://corporate.wwe.com/who-we-are/company-overview

Super Show-Down Advertisement https://www.triplem.com.au/sport/other-sports/news/wwe-super-show-down-announced- for-october-right-here-in-australia

ESPN - Ronda Rousey joining WWE to perform as full-time pro wrestler http://www.espn.com/wwe/story/_/id/22244988/ronda-rousey-signs-wwe