2000 News
Smackdown Your Vote!'' Registers 10,000 voters in a week
Registrations have occurred during WWE arena events, at WWE New York, a site-based entertainment complex in New York City's Time Square, and through the company's web site, WWEvote.com, as well as MTV's chooseorlose.com. The Web site has received more than 90,000 page views in the first week since its launch on August 2, 2000. The web site links to an on-line voter registration site and the web sites of the other "Smackdown Your Vote!" partners. The registrations also were precipitated by the premiere of MTV's Choose or Lose's and Rock the Vote's latest public service announcements (PSAs). The PSAs, featuring well-known figures in politics and entertainment, are running on MTV. Youth Vote 2000 is managing the registrations at the arena events.
"This is a tremendous response to the first week of our program," said Linda McMahon, Chief Executive Officer of WWE. "It demonstrates that we are meeting a real need and reaching a target audience that has yet to exercise their right to vote."
Ms. McMahon will be in Los Angeles during next week's Democratic National Convention to continue promoting voter registrations through "Smackdown Your Vote!" The non-partisan initiative launched in early August, aims to register WWE viewers eligible to vote in this year's elections. It is estimated that about a third or more of the 14 million WWE viewers eligible to vote are not currently registered to vote. Other WWE Superstars may also attend the convention.
In addition, Ms. McMahon will work with the National Foundation for Women Legislators, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to ensuring that women continue the gains they have made in assuming legislative office in America.
The WWE's appearance at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles follows the highly successful kickoff of the voter registration program at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia.
Contacts:
Gary Davis, WWE, (203) 353-5066
Kristina Saleh, Project Vote Smart, (406) 859-8683
John Dervin, Youth Vote 2000, (202) 423-3378
Jeanie Kedas, MTV's Choose or Lose, (212) 846-4629
Information on "Smackdown Your Vote!" Partners
MTV has renewed its commitment to informing young people about the political process, the presidential election and registering them to vote with Choose or Lose 2000. In 1992, 1996 and 2000, Choose or Lose has strategically partnered with a diverse group of non-profit, government, corporate and online organizations, including Rock the Vote and the over 50 members of the Youth Vote 2000 Coalition (which includes such organizations as the League of Women Voters, and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights). By teaming up with the WWE, Choose or Lose will have an effective new partner to reach out and register the largest new generation of voters since the baby boom.
Project Vote Smart provides factual information on more than 13,000 candidates running for president, Congress, governor, and state legislatures. Project Vote Smart was founded by former presidents Ford and Carter and other national leaders as a non-partisan research library. Access to the Project's data is available through the Vote Smart web site (www.vote-smart.org) and the toll-free Voter's Research Hotline (888-VOTE SMART), staffed by student interns and volunteers.
Youth Vote 2000 (www.youthvote2000.org) is the largest, most diverse, non-partisan coalition in history to engage young people, ages 18-30, in politics. Youth Vote 2000 coalition consists of over 60 national organizations representing hundreds of groups and millions of young people. The Youth Vote 2000 coalition is calling for youth debates at the presidential, state and local levels. It is devoting an unprecedented amount of resources to building state and local youth vote 2000 coalitions.
WWE Entertainment, Inc. is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, with sales offices in New York City, Chicago, and Toronto. We are an integrated media and entertainment company, principally engaged in the development, production and marketing of television programming, pay-per-view programming and live events, and the licensing and sale of branded consumer products featuring our highly successful WWE (WWE) brand. The Company is an equal partner with NBC for the XFL, a new professional football league scheduled to kickoff in February 2001. WWE currently has 300 full-time employees and has exclusive contracts with approximately 125 performers. The Company can be found on NASDAQ under the symbol WWE and online at WWE.com.
WWE Event Voter Registration Schedule
8/7/00 RAW - Madison Square Garden, NY
8/8/00 SMACKDOWN - Continental Airlines Arena, NJ
8/14/00 RAW - Providence, RI
8/15/00 SMACKDOWN - Worcester, MA
8/21/00 RAW - Lafayette, LA
8/22/00 SMACKDOWN - New Orleans, LA
8/26/00 SUMMERSLAM - Durham, NC
8/27/00 SUMMERSLAM - Raleigh, NC
8/28/00 RAW - Greensboro, NC
8/29/00 SMACKDOWN - Fayetteville, NC
9/4/00 RAW - Lexington, KY
9/5/00 SMACKDOWN - Louisville, KY
9/11/00 RAW - Phoenix, AZ
9/12/00 SMACKDOWN - Phoenix, AZ
9/18/00 RAW - Chicago, IL
9/19/00 SMACKDOWN - Milwaukee, WI
9/24/00 UNFORGIVEN - Philadelphia, PA
9/25/00 RAW - Penn State University, PA
9/26/00 SMACKDOWN - Pittsburgh, PA
10/2/00 RAW - Washington , DC