10 Things We Learned From WWE's Q2 2016 Earnings

Network subscribers, live event success, and the small matter of that WrestleMania 32 attendance...

Vince mcmahon
WWE.com

It’s a changeful time in the WWE.

With SmackDown going live in a new Tuesday night timeslot, the subsequent Draft and the splitting of the brands, as well as the general logistic upheaval that process tends to entail, it’s been a rather busy few weeks for the company.

But in amongst that mad rush, this week we were given the chance to pause for reflection, as the WWE released its earnings report for the second quarter of 2016. The announcement was then followed by a conference call, featuring all of the head honchos from the Stamford, CT headquarters, as the company elaborated on some of the more notable developments of the past three months.

Naturally, there was a lot to get through. But what do all these numbers mean? Is it plain sailing weather as the company moves into a second brand split era? Or do these numbers suggest that it’s going to get worse before it gets any better?

This article looks to provide some answers in layman’s terms, as we run through ten things that we learned from the WWE’s Q2 2016 earnings release.

10. Record Revenues

Vince mcmahon
WWE.com

Perhaps the biggest headline—or at least the one the WWE were, unsurprisingly, keen to draw the most attention to—was the news that the company posted record revenues for the period.

Total revenues were up to a staggering $199 million, which represents a 32% annual increase and 16% rise versus the previous quarter. That’s enough to make this the largest quarterly increase in more than a year, since Q1 2015.

That being said, we should note that this year’s Q2 number included the small matter of WrestleMania, which naturally generated a shedload of income with its live event revenue, a smattering of PPV buys and of course the venue merchandise sales.

Last year, with WrestleMania 31 taking place in March, that put the event and its earning in the first quarter of the year. So with that year-on-year Q2 number we’re not exactly comparing apples with apples.

Still, the $199 million figure remains an all-time record, so there’s definitely positive news there.

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Elliott Binks hasn't written a bio just yet, but if they had... it would appear here.