First Quarter 2017 Highlights

• Revenue increased 10% to $188.4 from $171.1 million in the prior year quarter
• Operating income was $4.0 millionand Adjusted OIBDA¹ was $18.6 million
• WWE Network averaged 1.49 million paid subscribers over the first quarter 2017 which represented a 16% increase from the first quarter 2016
• WWE Network continued to super-serve its global fans with live in-ring content by producing new episodes of its cruiserweight series 205 Live and holding a U.K. Championship Tournament featuring local talent
• Announced partnership with HBO Sports and the Bill Simmons Media Group to produce Andre the Giant a documentary film examining the life of the WWE Legend
• Completed multi-year agreement naming StubHub as the Company's exclusive ticket resale marketplace for fans in the United States and Canada

Selected WrestleMania Highlights

• WrestleMania (April 2 2017) broke the attendance record for the Orlando Citrus Bowl attracting 75 245 fans
• Over WrestleMania Week WWE had an unprecedented five consecutive nights of sellouts at the Citrus Bowl and Amway Center
• WrestleMania reached a record 1.95 million global households on WWE Network alone making it the most-watched WrestleMania in history
• During WrestleMania Week WWE Network subscribers watched 22.5 million hours of content (or an average of approximately 13 hours per subscriber) representing a 4% year-over-year increase
• WrestleMania was the most social event in WWE history with 5.19 million interactions on Facebook and Twitter during the broadcast alone and 2.8 million tweets about WrestleMania throughout the day
• WrestleMania accounted for nearly 30% of all social TV interactions on April 2^nd surpassing the Country Music Awards (13%) The Walking Dead Season Finale (10%) and MLB Opening Day on ESPN (10%)
• WrestleMania was made available live in China for the first time on PPTV Sports via pay-per-view with a choice of Mandarin or English commentary
• Launched WWE e-commerce site in India (WWEShop.in) for the first time ever beginning Monday April 3 concurrent with the broadcast of WrestleMania in that country

STAMFORD Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- WWE (NYSE:WWE) today announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31 2017. For the quarter the Company reported Net income of $0.9 million or $0.01 per share as compared to $13.9 million or $0.18 per share in the prior year quarter. Operating income was $4.0 million as compared to $22.0 million in the prior year quarter. Excluding items affecting comparability Adjusted OIBDA¹ was $18.6 million as compared to $27.6 million in the prior year quarter.

“We are pleased with the continued growth of WWE Network which is a critical building block of our content strategy ” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “The recent production of WrestleMania set records for network viewership as well as digital and social engagement. As we leverage continuing innovation to extend our reach in India China and around the world we are confident that the enduring and increasing global power of our brands will provide a solid foundation for long-term growth.”

George Barrios Chief Strategy & Financial Officer added “During the first quarter increases in key operating metrics including event attendance network subscribers and global content consumption supported strong 10% growth in revenue. As anticipated our earnings reflected the timing of certain expenses a significant portion of which are expected to reverse over the coming months. As we continue to focus on producing engaging content across all platforms we remain on track to achieve our 2017 financial objectives with record revenue record Adjusted OIBDA results and record subscriber levels.”

Q2 2017 Business Outlook

Based on the performance of subscribers following WrestleMania the Company is raising the low end of its projected range of subscribers for the second quarter. For the second quarter 2017 the Company projects average paid subscribers of at least 1.63 million. The Company also estimates second quarter 2017 Adjusted OIBDA of approximately $13 million to $17 million.²

WWE is unable to provide a reconciliation of second quarter guidance to GAAP measures as at this time WWE cannot accurately determine all of the adjustments that would be required.

2017 Perspective

The range of financial performance projected for the second quarter would result in Adjusted OIBDA for the first half of 2017 that is essentially flat to the prior year period. The Company anticipates significant year-over-year growth in Adjusted OIBDA over the second half of 2017.

WWE management continues to expect the Company to achieve another year of record revenue and has targeted Adjusted OIBDA of $100 million which would be an all-time record (up approximately 25% from 2016 Adjusted OIBDA of $80.1 million).²

Comparability of Results

Our reported Operating income reflects several non-recurring items that impact comparability on a year-over-year basis. These included $5.6 million in expenses primarily related to certain legal matters and other contractual obligations and $2.1 million in film impairment charges. These items have been excluded from the Company’s Adjusted 2017 results. For the first quarter 2016 there were no such items that impacted year-over-year comparability.

A reconciliation of Q1 2017 Adjusted OIBDA to Operating income (GAAP) can be found in the supplemental schedules on pages 14-15 of this release.

Performance of Segments

The schedules below reflect WWE’s performance by line of business (in millions):¹

The following table reflects net revenues by region (in millions):

Three Months Ended March 31 2017 - Results by Region & Business Segment

Revenues increased 10% to $188.4 million from the prior year quarter with growth driven by the Company’s Live Events Network and Television segments. North American revenues increased 12% ($16.2 million) primarily due to the performance of Live Events particularly the staging of 19 additional events during the current quarter growth of WWE Network subscribers and increased sales of branded merchandise. Higher rights fees in key content distribution agreements were offset by the impact of airing fewer episodes of the licensed reality series Total Divas. Revenues from outside North America increased 3% ($1.1 million) primarily due to increased rights fees from television distribution agreements particularly in the APAC region and the growth of WWE Network subscribers. Revenues from the EMEA region declined on a year-over-year basis primarily due to lower sales of the Company’s franchise video game and the staging of fewer live events in the region. Changes in foreign exchange rates did not materially impact revenue or profit in the quarter.

Three Months Ended March 31 2017 – Segment Performance Commentary

The year-over-year changes in the Company’s financial performance were driven by its Network Television Live Events Licensing and Corporate & Other business segments. A further discussion of key business segments is provided in the narrative below. Refer to our first quarter 2017 Form 10-Q for management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations pertaining to all of our segments.

Media Division

Revenues from the Company's Media division increased 8% to $118.6 million primarily due to the growth of WWE Network and the contractual escalation of television rights fees which were partially offset by the impact of airing fewer episodes of the licensed reality series Total Divas (as described below).

• Network revenues which include revenue generated by WWE Network and pay-per-view increased 15% to $46.5 million. WWE Network subscription revenue increased 14% to $43.7 million from $38.2 million in the prior year quarter based on a 16% year-over-year increase in average paid subscribers to 1.49 million.³
  
  Network segment Operating income decreased to $12.7 million from $15.8 million in the prior year quarter reflecting a decline in segment OIBDA and an increase in depreciation and amortization. Network segment OIBDA decreased to $14.3 million from $15.8 million as growth in WWE Network subscription revenue was offset by the timing of higher expenses within the quarter to produce the Company’s live in-ring and reality content namely The U.K. Championship Tournament and Holy Foley! respectively.
  
  The Company continued to increase the global subscriber base of WWE Network which had 1.57 million total paid subscribers (1.16 million U.S. paid subscribers and 0.41 million international paid subscribers) at the end of the first quarter which represented a 16% increase from March 31 2016.

The following table provides WWE Network subscriber performance^{3 4}