KeyBlanc analyst Evan Wingren gave financial insight to U.S. News & World Report into WWE’s business moves during their blockbuster WrestleMania week.
Wingren noted that Mania is a huge driver for WWE Network subscribers, but the main focus of investors will soon be what happens with the company’s future TV rights deals for their weekly shows ‘ RAW’ and ‘Smackdown’ which are soon going to expire with NBC Universal’s USA Network.
“A rights renewal in line or above our bullish expectations should drive the shares higher and give the company material incremental capital to invest globally in the brand, new content opportunities, or return to shareholders,” Wingren says.
“After the TV rights renewal cycle, other growth at WWE will likely be driven by creation of incremental content for new platforms, advertising revenue from ad-supported viewing across multiple platforms, and modest OTT subscriber growth,” Wingren says.
