WWE Second Quarter Earnings Call Highlights: Vince Explains Why the Brand Split Was Necessary, Talks WWE Network, Social Growth, More

July 28, 2016

Following the publishing of the 2016 second quarter earnings results, WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, Chief Strategy and Financial Officer George Barrios and SVP Financial Planning & Investor Relations Michael Weitz hosted a conference call today from WWE headquarters in Stamford, and below are some call highlights.

Vince plugged the early success of the WWE brand split and pointed at the competition now existing between Raw and Smackdown. Vince also touted the 7.7 billion video views on WWE’s social and digital platforms for the first half of the year.

With regards to the brand extension, Vince said due to Triple H’s work in NXT, WWE now has a “plethora” of talent which is why the brand extension makes sense. Vince added you can’t exploit all that intellectual property when you have it, so the company decided to go with two brands. Vince noted the brand extension allows for more PPV, live event and income opportunities, as well as the opportunity to create new personalities for merchandising and licensing purposes.

With regards to the WWE Network, the service launched in 6 new countries in the past year and revenue was up $7.7 million from this time in 2015.

Vince confirmed WWE has purchased the building which houses the WWE TV studios in Stamford, and the purchase will be completed next quarter.

Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.

Nick attended New York University and graduated in 2001 with a degree in Drama.

Nick first entered the internet wrestling community back in 2004 when he became the co-host of The Voice of Wrestling Radio Show. From there, Nick made the transition from radio personality to editor when he began working with WrestleZone in 2008.

Nick is a member of two Off-Broadway theatre companies, Another Urban Riff, and the Drama Desk Award winning Godlight Theatre Company. Nick has appeared in over a dozen Off-Broadway plays since he moved to New York City, and has shot several short and feature length films. In 2010, he completed principle photography on a film titled "How to Score Your Life," which also features TNA Knockout ODB.

Inspiration in his life has come from many people including his family, Woody Allen, Steven Spielberg, Jack Nicholson, The Beatles, and of course, Lassie.