WWE released its financial reports for both the fourth quarter and the full fiscal year of 2020 on Thursday afternoon. The biggest highlight from the report was the company posting a revenue of $974.2 million, a 1% increase ($13.8 million) from the previous year. The report explained that the television rights fees for WWE‘s product was able to offset the loss of ticket sales and lucrative international events (namely the two annual Saudi Arabia shows).
“During the fourth quarter, we continued to produce live content in new ways, which successfully increased audience interaction and engagement,” Vince McMahon stated in the report’s press release “As we continued to adapt our business to the changing media environment, we completed an important agreement to license WWE Network content to Peacock, which we expect will expand the reach of our brands and enhance the value of our content.”
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“For the year, we achieved record revenue and Adjusted OIBDA, which was at the high end of our rescinded guidance,” WWE Chief Financial officer Kristina Salen added. “Adjusted OIBDA increased nearly 60% reflecting the full year impact of our new content distribution agreements in the U.S. and comprehensive efforts to contain costs in challenging times. In 2021, we anticipate Adjusted OIBDA of $270 million to $305 million, reflecting the increasing monetization of our content tempered by the ongoing impact of COVID-19.”
WWE today records its highest annual net income in history, adjusted for inflation. pic.twitter.com/Z8WQeVYKEG
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) February 4, 2021
WWE records its highest annual revenue ever, adjusted for inflation, just short of $1 billion. pic.twitter.com/mSvoxoYPaW
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) February 4, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic forced WWE to shut down its touring operation beginning in mid-March and started hosting all of its television and pay-per-view events inside the WWE Performance Center. Episodes of Raw, SmackDown and the pay-per-views were then moved to the WWE ThunderDome inside Orlando’s Amway Center in August, then moved again to St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field in December.
On April 15 WWE announced that, as a means of cost-cutting, more than 30 wrestlers were fired and dozens of backstage producers, writers, trainers, referees and office employees were either fired or furloughed.
McMahon will take part in an investor’s conference call on Thursday afternoon. Stay tuned for updates and noteworthy comments from the WWE Chairman.
