5 Surprising Revelations From The WWE Earnings Report

2. TV Ratings Are Down, Revenue Is Up

WWE earned $142.1 million off the back of their programming in the last three months; a significant increase over last year’s figure of $130 million.

The primary driver of that revenue is the plethora of shows it produces, as well as the associated advertising income that comes with it. Distribution deals are of course negotiated years in advance and are therefore insulated from ratings fluctuations.

This means that shows like Raw, SmackDown, Miz and Mrs and Total Divas, while all struggling in the ratings, continue to make WWE a lot of money (around $27 million a month).

Overlaid with these earnings is the steady surge of subscribers to the WWE Network. Despite the regular rage-fueled pledges by long-time fans to cancel their subscriptions, the numbers in fact indicate that the opposite is happening.

The subscriber base grew by 9% in the last quarter alone, meaning that on average 1.66 million people are currently paying to see Lana throw a shoe at Aiden English.

God, that segment was awful.

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