WWE held its 2023 Q1 earnings call on May 3, 2023. Despite his return to the company and role in the transaction that sees Endeavor take on a majority stake of WWE ownership, Vince McMahon was not a part of today's call.
Instead, Frank Riddick III, Paul "Triple H" Levesque, and WWE CEO, Nick Khan led the call.
Below are some highlights from the call, including notes on media rights negotiations, the Endeavor merger, and more.
WWE Q1 2023 Earnings Call Highlights:
- Nick Khan says WrestleMania 39 merchandise sales were $7 million, breaking last year's record of $5.2 million.
- WWE's ticket sales revenue increased by 41% to $32.6 million; average event attendance was up to approximately 7,850. Last year at this time, ticket sale Revenue was $23.1 million, and average attendance was approximately 5,710.
- Frank Riddick notes that there will be cost increases in Q2 because of the upcoming event in Saudi Arabia (WWE Night of Champions), which occurred in the first quarter of the year last year (WWE Elimination Chamber 2022).
- Nick Khan comments on the productive conversations WWE has had with Fox and NBC Universal regarding media rights negotiations. Nick notes that exclusive media rights negotiation windows with their current media partners in the United States last around a month.
- Internationally, Nick says they'll work on renewal with Sony in India after Sony's merger with Zee, repeating comments from past media calls.
- WWE is not expected to be impacted by the WGA writers' strike.
- Nick Khan notes they are not jumping the gun to work with UFC sponsors until the Endeavor merger is complete.
- Levesque says Endeavor will help them grow internationally. There is no interest from anyone at UFC or Endeavor and getting involved in WWE creatively.
Fans can learn more about the nearly $300 million in revenue WWE is touting for the first quarter of this year at this link.
