MĀORI TELEVISION TO BROADCAST WWE® PROGRAMMING ON FREE-TO-AIR TV FOR THE FIRST TIME IN NEW ZEALAND
AUCKLAND New Zealand and STAMFORD Conn. February 15 2018 – WWE (NYSE: WWE) and Māori Television New Zealand’s indigenous broadcaster today announced a new agreement to broadcast WWE’s flagship programs Raw® and SmackDown® on free-to-air TV in English and te reo Māori for the first time in New Zealand.
Beginning February 24 2018 Māori Television channel (English and te reo Māori) will televise a one-hour version of Raw at 7:30 p.m. on Saturdays and a one-hour version of SmackDown at 7:30 p.m. on Sundays. The Te Reo channel will broadcast a te reo Māori version of Raw on Mondays at 9 p.m.
“We are excited to partner with Māori Television to deliver localized WWE content in New Zealand ” said Michelle Wilson WWE Co-President. “This new agreement to televise Raw and SmackDown on free-to-air TV in both English and te reo Māori for the first time allows us to deliver our unique blend of action-packed family friendly entertainment to our passionate fans in the region.”
“Māori Television is thrilled to embark on this new relationship with WWE a leading global entertainment company as we set to further engage new audiences with te reo Māori ” said Māori Television. “All Māori Television WWE content will feature New Zealand’s indigenous language as a component and we have engaged with some of the finest te reo Māori experts in the land to weave reo and tikanga into all platforms of broadcasts.”
Māori Television will also broadcast WWE highlight shows WWE Experience® at 7.30 p.m. and This Week® at 11:10 p.m. on Fridays. Fans can watch all programs on 14-day authenticated VOD catch up through Māori Television’s website www.maoritelevision.com.
About WWE
WWE a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE) is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family friendly entertainment on its television programming pay-per-view digital media and publishing platforms. WWE programming reaches more than 800 million homes worldwide in 20 languages. WWE Network the first-ever 24/7 over-the-top premium network that includes all live pay-per-views scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library is currently available in more than 180 countries. The company is headquartered in Stamford Conn. with offices in New York Los Angeles London Mexico City Mumbai Shanghai Singapore Dubai Munich and Tokyo.
Additional information on WWE (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.
About Māori Television
Māori Television is New Zealand’s indigenous broadcaster providing a wide range of local and international programmes for audiences across the country. Our vision is for te reo Māori to be valued embraced and spoken by all New Zealanders. Our mission is to contribute to Māori success through te reo me ngā tikanga Māori.
Media Contact:
Brad Klein
WWE
203-352-1106
Brad.Klein@wwecorp.com
Investor Contact:
Michael Weitz
203-352-8642
Michael.Weitz@wwecorp.com
Māori Television Contact:
Leanda Borrett
0064 9 539 7108
Leanda.Borrett@maoritelevision.com
Trademarks: All WWE programming talent names images likenesses slogans wrestling moves trademarks logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.
Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include without limitation risks relating to: WWE Network; major distribution agreements; our need to continue to develop creative and entertaining programs and events; a decline in the popularity of our brand of sports entertainment; the continued importance of key performers and the services of Vincent K. McMahon; possible adverse changes in the regulatory atmosphere and related private sector initiatives; the highly competitive rapidly changing and increasingly fragmented nature of the markets in which we operate and greater financial resources or marketplace presence of many of our competitors; uncertainties associated with international markets; our difficulty or inability to promote and conduct our live events and/or other businesses if we do not comply with applicable regulations; our dependence on our intellectual property rights our need to protect those rights and the risks of our infringement of others’ intellectual property rights; the complexity of our rights agreements across distribution mechanisms and geographical areas; potential substantial liability in the event of accidents or injuries occurring during our physically demanding events including without limitation claims relating to CTE; large public events as well as travel to and from such events; our feature film business; our expansion into new or complementary businesses and/or strategic investments; our computer systems and online operations; a possible decline in general economic conditions and disruption in financial markets; our accounts receivable; our revolving credit facility; litigation; our potential failure to meet market expectations for our financial performance which could adversely affect our stock; Vincent K. McMahon exercising control over our affairs and his interests may conflict with the holders of our Class A common stock; a substantial number of shares which are eligible for sale by the McMahons and the sale or the perception of possible sales of those shares could lower our stock price; and the relatively small public “float” of our Class A common stock. In addition our dividend is dependent on a number of factors including among other things our liquidity and cash flow strategic plan (including alternative uses of capital) our financial results and condition contractual and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends (including under our revolving credit facility) general economic and competitive conditions and such other factors as our Board of Directors may consider relevant. Forward-looking statements made by the Company speak only as of the date made are subject to change without any obligation on the part of the Company to update or revise them and undue reliance should not be placed on these statements.