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A Market Analysis for

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)

Justin Parrent

Full Sail University

Project & Portfolio II: Business and Marketing

June 24, 2019

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

World Wrestling Entertainment has been very profitable in 2018 and moving into

2019. Moving Smackdown Live to Fox for a $1 billion-dollar deal over the next 5 years

beginning in October 2019 (Guthrie, 2018). Reaching a 10-year deal with the Saudi

Arabian government has also been very profitable with income reaching nearly $100

million from the 2 shows produced in 2018 (Datson, 2018). This is all very good news,

but WWE has been reaching record low attendance numbers for events and record low

television ratings. Recent numbers show only 6,000 people in attendance for the

Stomping Grounds pay-per-view and only 3,000 in attendance for the Monday Night

Raw the day after (Ravens, 2019). Television ratings have constantly been below a 3.0

for 2019 and has been steadily declining over the last 3 years (Dixon, 2019). As

compared to peak ratings often above 5.0 from 1999 to 2000 (2xZone.com, NA). Even

with the steady decline all televised shows this is very worrying numbers as All Elite

Wrestling has been formed. They have secured a television deal with TNT and have sold

out both of their pay-per-views. Double or Nothing Sold out in 4 minutes and the

upcoming All Out pay-per-view in August which sold out in 15 minutes (McCarthy,

2019). Both venues hold over 11,000 people. In order to remain profitable, it is time to

look at what is causing the decline and what made WWE so successful from 1999-2000.

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OBJECTIVE

World Wrestling Entertainment has been suffering from low television ratings and dwindling ticket sales. Continued decline in event attendance and ratings will loss in profit over time. This analysis will look back at what has caused the decline and what was successful in the past. After looking at several reviews of many televised events and pay-per-views. The common. Complaint among fans and even former wrestlers is the lack of creative stale feeling product. What made the company successful in 1998-2000 was the unpredictability that kept viewers and fans coming back for more. The previous product felt as though there were more stars then current product. Another common complaint is that all the performers feel the same that there is nothing to make them feel different from one another. Many lapsed fans have stopped watching based on the current bland and predictable product. Moving the production away from the formula that has become common with in the company can reintroduce fans to the product. With the new arrival of All Elite wrestling it has been proven that there is still an audience for the product. AEW has been very successful selling tickets to the first pay-per-view and the next one in August. Both shows have sold out in well under 30 minutes in arenas that hold over 11,000 people. As well as very successful pay-per-views buys at 98,000 to 110,000.

To increase numbers WWE will need to improve booking to enhance the talent currently featured, build consistent storylines and reintroduce the unpredictability kept the audience wanting more.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Ratings was pulled from the latest TV ratings from 2019 with comparative ratings from around the same time from 2018 and 2017. Ratings were also found from 1998-2000. I then took the average rating from each year as a comparison. I then went through several reviews Page 4

from wrestling journalism sites. Made comparisons from 1998-2000 and the 3 latest years.

Made the comparison of what was working during the earlier years when ratings were much higher. I did account for the decline in ratings over all for most televised shows and events in recent years. This has been caused by the popularity of streaming services which allow viewers to watch at their convivence. Also made comparisons to the new promotion All Elite Wrestling and what they have done correctly.

RESEARCH AND KEY FINDINGS

World Wrestling Entertainment is a professional wrestling promotion. This is an entertainment product that produces live event, televised events and pay-per-view events. This is a family friendly product that children will enjoy and can enjoy watching as well. It is a sports-based entertainment that also has storytelling components as well. WWE did have ratings trouble from

1995-1997 when they were competing with World Championship Wrestling (2xZone.com, NA).

WWE then WWF had lost some of their many of their tops stars to WCW. During this time

WWE built up new stars and focus on suspenseful storylines and allowed performers to improvise rather than stick to a script. This led to WWE increasing rating dramatically to reach record highs as indicated in the charts below (2xZone.com, NA). Once WWE acquired WCW, they have become the largest wrestling promotion. Ratings remained strong but slowly dwindle over the years. By 2019 they have reach lows near the levels of 1995-1997. On Q1 report this year WWE has reported a loss for the first time in several years (Market Guide Significant

Developments, 2019). This was caused by the weak ticket sales and low ratings and can get worse over time. WWE currently has the largest roster of wrestlers and many have a fan base they established on independent wrestling promotions and in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Page 5

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C Page 6

CONCLUSIONS

WWE has grown to be the largest wrestling promotion since acquiring WCW in 2001.

Over the last three years WWE has had the most successful years financial but has also seen record lows in attendance and TV ratings. There currently is a disconnect between finances and ratings. Currently WWE can maintain profitability but in time with ratings and attendance numbers being low WWE will have to report more loses like what was reported on Q1 report this year. Even with the Fox deal and Saudi Arabian deal production and travel costs will over come profits. Over time advertisers will stop advertising with them and WWE will have to move to smaller arenas or risk losing more money on cost to rent arenas that are only half full.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The current issues with the WWE product can be traced back to creative. This is entertainment-based company and currently the issue the audience has with the company is a stale product. Common complaints are based creative issues. What made WWE strong from

1998-2000 was strong storytelling and leaving the audience in suspense. During this time talent had more control over the characters they portray and had less writers back stage. The current product is heavily scripted, and matches have become formulaic. This has led to less interest in the product. WWE could increase ratings by allowing the talent to showcase their skills and talent. Create more consistent stories and allow for more surprises that leave the audience wanting more. The other is allow more time for the other talent on the roster to not over expose the top talent on the shows. These changes will bring audience members back. Comparing what

AEW has done without having TV deal in place is build storylines through YouTube and social media. They have allowed the wrestlers to show case their skills and sense of humor without being heavily scripted and left a lot of creative control to the wrestlers. This makes stories more Page 7

consistent and the characters more relatable. AEW has also teased surprises that have kept the audience engaged as well. This is one thing WWE has done well in the past but has done done well in recent years. Making these changes will help bring viewers and audience members back to the product. This will take a few months of consistency and will bring ratings back up which can be tracked weekly. This will help determine what storylines are working and help build up new stars to keep fans invested.

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REFERENCES

2xZone.com (NA). Home / Ratings / Monday Night Raw. Retrieved June 26, 2019 from

http://www.2xzone.com/ratings/rawhistory.shtml#.XRZ3SS2ZPyU

Datson, A. (2018). Amount Made By WWE From Saudi Arabia Deal Revealed. Retrieved June

26, 2019 from https://wrestletalk.com/news/amount-wwe-saudi-arabia-deal-revealed/.

Dixon, J. (2019). WWE Television Ratings 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2019 from

https://wrestletalk.com/stats/wwe-television-ratings-2019-tracker/.

Guthrie, M. (2018). Fox and WWE Close to Massive Five-Year, $1 Billion Deal for

'SmackDown'. Retrieved June 26, 2019 from

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-wwe-close-massive-five-year-1-billion-

deal-smackdown-1113701.

Market Guide Significant Developments. (2019). World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.. Retrieved

from https://advance-lexis-com.oclc.fullsail.edu/api/document?collection=company-

financial&id=urn:contentItem:57XY-RV71-DYFY-T07M-00000-00&context=1516831.

McCarthy, A. (2019) MAN WITH A PLAN

AEW: Tony Khan reveals five-year plan for All Elite Wrestling and what they’ll do

differently to WWE. Retrieved June 9, 2019 from https://talksport.com/sport/us-

sports/533181/aew-tony-khan-five-year-plan-all-elite-wrestling-wwe/

Ravens, A. (2019). WWE RAW Draws One Of Lowest Crowds In History. Retrieved June 26,

from https://www.sescoops.com/wwe-raw-draws-one-of-lowest-crowds-in-history-

photos/.

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APPENDICES

Appendix A Average ratings from 1995-1997.

Appendix B Average ratings from 1998-2000.

Appendix C Average ratings from 2017-Current.