It's Official - WWE staying with NBCU

[Jmare007]

Still no details on how much money the deal is for but some people are speculating on it being double than before

- WWE issued the following this evening:
NBCUNIVERSAL CABLE ENTERTAINMENT REACHES MULTI-YEAR DEAL WITH WWE® FOR MONDAY NIGHT RAW® ON USA NETWORK AND SMACKDOWN® ON SYFY

NEW YORK AND STAMFORD– May 15, 2014 – NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment and WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced a multi-year strategic partnership for WWE's flagship programming and ratings juggernauts MONDAY NIGHT RAW® for a three-hour block on USA Network and the top-rated FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN® on Syfy. The two programs are the longest-running weekly episodic entertainment programs on cable TV with a combined reach of 10.8M viewers each week. The announcement was made today by Paul "Triple H®" Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President Talent, Live Events & Creative, from the stage at the NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment upfront presentation at the Javitz Center in New York.

"USA Network President Chris McCumber, Syfy President Dave Howe and I are incredibly pleased to renew this strategic partnership with WWE," said NBCUniversal Cable Chairman Bonnie Hammer. "In today's TV landscape, live event programming is an extraordinarily valuable asset, and WWE remains the only entertainment franchise that consistently delivers this on a 52-week a year basis. We look forward to bringing WWE's action-packed and unique brand of drama to the wide audiences across our cable networks for many years to come."

"We are proud to continue our long-standing partnership with NBCUniversal given their premiere position in the marketplace and vast promotional platforms," said WWE Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon. "We are excited about our future as we further the reach and popularity of our live, family-friendly entertainment programming 52 weeks a year."

WWE weekly programming averages more viewers than the NBA, NASCAR, MLB, NHL and UFC. Both MONDAY NIGHT RAW and FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN feature a star-studded cast of WWE Superstars and Divas, and deliver a shot of adrenaline to viewers with over-the-top action, feats of athleticism and high octane drama.

MONDAY NIGHT RAW on USA is the most-watched, regularly scheduled, year-round program on cable, airing a live three-hour block every Monday night, 52 weeks a year. RAW has been a cable mainstay for more than 20 years and is consistently a top ten show on television. The three-hour block on USA averages 2.2M P18-49, 2.3M P25-54 and 5M total viewers P2+. The 2-hour FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN on Syfy averages 1.2M P18-49, 1.3M P25-54 and 3.2M total viewers P2+. The two programs have reached 37.5M people 2014 to-date.

In addition, E! -- in partnership with WWE and Bunim-Murray Productions -- will continue to broadcast the reality series TOTAL DIVAS, an unprecedented look inside the professional and personal lives of the WWE's leading ladies.

 

[Silkk]

Dope

 

[R=G]

Nice

 

[September]

YES! I can still catch reruns on Universal HD on Saturdays.

 

[The Great One]

First thing I take from this is...

TNA Staying on TV with Spike

 

[Ed MOTHEREFFING G]

good to hear because comcast was going to push their wig back by cutting PPVs and brutally throttling WWEN if they couldn'tve reached an agreement.

 

[I-Hate-You]

First thing I take from this is...

TNA Staying on TV with Spike

Officially gonna beat WCW's run and I'm partying

 

[Bob-omb]

If they're gonna keep SD on Fridays on Syfy, they should at least air it live on the WWE Network on Tuesdays.

 

[jadillac]

If they're gonna keep SD on Fridays on Syfy, they should at least air it live on the WWE Network on Tuesdays.

that'd be kinda dope. I dont se SyFy being too thrilled tho

 

[StarClout]

Hopefully this mean WWEN live simulcast at least

 

[FreshAIG]

Looks like the deal wasn't that good or at least not as good as they were expecting. Stock is going down a lot.


More on WWE television deal; Immediate stock market reaction and estimated figures (updated)
Thursday, 15 May 2014 14:14



WWE put out some cryptic notes a few minutes ago regarding the new contact, but it does not look good to Wall Street.

The stock at this moment has plunged in the 75 minutes to $16 per share, losing about 20 percent of its value since the close of the market on the news of the new television deal with NBCU.

WWE did not announce a new contract number, but estimated its television agreements in the U.S., U.K. and Thailand combined will be "approximately" $200 million.

That news would indicate the U.S. TV revenue of $106 million per year in 2013 would increase to roughly $160 million in 2015, far below the $280 million hoped for, let alone analysts who were throwing around figures of more than $400 million when seeing NASCAR ratings comparisons.

The release sent out after hours instead pushed the network, noting that they will break even on the network at 1.3 million to 1.4 million steady subscribers worldwide.

They also estimated that this year, the company would end the year with losses between $45 million and $52 million, but if they average 2 million to 2.5 million subscirbers in 2015, that company profit next year wouild be between $57 million and $105 million.

WWE at this point has not confirmed Smackdown remaining on Friday night, but the wording of the press release would indicate that.

 

[Beautiful Bobby Eatin]

Officially gonna beat WCW's run and I'm partying

We square dancing with dem fiddles when that day comes

 

[FreshAIG]

First thing I take from this is...

TNA Staying on TV with Spike

Well not necessarily. Just because they didn't get WWE doesn't mean they want to keep TNA

 

[FreshAIG]

WWE told people they'd get triple the money, instead they got 1.5 of their previous deal.

Stock holders

 

[Capo Dei Capi]

Looks like the deal wasn't that good or at least not as good as they were expecting. Stock is going down a lot.


More on WWE television deal; Immediate stock market reaction and estimated figures (updated)
Thursday, 15 May 2014 14:14



WWE put out some cryptic notes a few minutes ago regarding the new contact, but it does not look good to Wall Street.

The stock at this moment has plunged in the 75 minutes to $16 per share, losing about 20 percent of its value since the close of the market on the news of the new television deal with NBCU.

WWE did not announce a new contract number, but estimated its television agreements in the U.S., U.K. and Thailand combined will be "approximately" $200 million.

That news would indicate the U.S. TV revenue of $106 million per year in 2013 would increase to roughly $160 million in 2015, far below the $280 million hoped for, let alone analysts who were throwing around figures of more than $400 million when seeing NASCAR ratings comparisons.

The release sent out after hours instead pushed the network, noting that they will break even on the network at 1.3 million to 1.4 million steady subscribers worldwide.

They also estimated that this year, the company would end the year with losses between $45 million and $52 million, but if they average 2 million to 2.5 million subscirbers in 2015, that company profit next year wouild be between $57 million and $105 million.

WWE at this point has not confirmed Smackdown remaining on Friday night, but the wording of the press release would indicate that.

Steph gonna feast