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March 4, 2014
March 3, 2014
Forbes Recognizes Vince McMahon as a Billionaire
Forbes has listed Vince McMahon on their 2014 list of billionaires, listing his personal wealth at $1.2 billion. Vince received a mention in the "notable newcomers" part of the list.
Vince's personal wealth has been over $1 billion before but this is the first time Forbes has recognized him. Here's what they wrote:
"A third generation wrestling promoter, McMahon grew up in a trailer park in North Carolina and joined his father's small wrestling company in 1972. Purchased the business 10 years later, then transformed the World Wrestling Federation from a regional operation into an international phenomenon. WWE went public in 1999 and today its programs are broadcast in nearly 150 countries and more than 30 languages."
March 2, 2014
Hulk Hogan Comments on Triple H & Stephanie McMahon
WWE.com has an interview with Hulk Hogan at this link. Here are his comments on Hunter & Stephanie:
WWE.COM: What has it been like for you to watch Stephanie McMahon go from being a young kid to the most powerful woman in WWE?
HOGAN: She gets it, you know? She gets the art form. It’s more than just robotics — she gets the storytelling, she gets the business from A to Z. When I was here before, I was pretty stubborn. Still in my mindset with the barbaric thinking of, “Oh, these are wrestlers, and you got big bellies and big arms.” So, when Stephanie was trying to tell me how to be Hulk Hogan, back then, I was like, “Oh wow. I got this girl in my face.” I didn’t get it back then. I used the stuff she gave me and it helped a lot, but I didn’t really get that she had it locked in. But I get it now, because she’s getting so darned good at it. It’s amazing to see her and Hunter. They are totally dedicated. It’s in their blood. And that was cool to see, because you don’t see that a lot.
Stephanie McMahon: Behind The WWE Brand
McMahon stopped by General Mills yesterday to talk about the WWE, as part of the partnership the company has with Totino’s (which was featured inside the Target Center in Minneapolis at the WWE’s “Elimination Chamber” event Sunday, where fans in the arena saw Totino’s and General Mills signage, and Totino’s promotional messages in-between matches).
Today the daughter of Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman and CEO, is one of the principal executives of WWE and the chief brand officer, responsible for leading WWE’s efforts to further enhance its brand reputation among advertisers, media, business partners and investors.
In an event over lunch at our headquarters yesterday, McMahon talked to the Totino’s team – as well employees with some of our other brands – about the WWE’s approach to marketing, growing its audience and community outreach.
She began her remarks by talking about the impressive popularity of the WWE’s events and its superstars. More than half of all U.S. television households “have an affinity for the WWE,” she said, with 15 million television viewers each week.
McMahon said WWE holds more than 300 live events around the world each year, most in the U.S., with two million people watching them live and millions more watching on TV, mobile or the web.
“When we do something, we can make it successful because we have the audience to serve,” said McMahon. ”But WWE is not just all about wrestling, it’s not all about action in the ring. It’s about storylines. Because in order to get that casual fan, in order to bring in those who are not just there to see the action you have to make them care to want to see who wins or loses. And the way that you do that is through storylines … We’re entertaining, we’re pop culture, we’re unpredictable, big personalities, passionate, action-packed, intense, and most of all fun. Because when you walk away from WWE we want you to have a memory that when you’re telling your friend, you smile.”
In terms of social media, she said WWE has an astounding 260 million combined fans and followers across their main channels, and the social accounts of its characters.
“WWE is all about our fans,” she said. “Without our fans, we don’t have a product. Our strategy is content first. It’s gotta be great compelling content. It’s gotta be something they want to see. But then, if you ever come to a WWE live event or you watch it on television you’ll see everyone in the audience with a sign, you’ll hear them cheer, you’ll hear them boo and you’ll hear them having a great time because they’re engaging with our product. Social media allows them the opportunity to engage with our product without even being in the arena.”
As part of her responsibilities with WWE, McMahon serves as the company’s brand ambassador and is the primary spokesperson for its CSR initiatives, including “Be a STAR,” WWE’s anti-bullying program.
And as wrestling fans know, she’s also an integral part of the current WWE storyline at its events. Last year, she began appearing on WWE programming with her husband – Paul “Triple H” Levesque - as “The Authority.”
You’ll have to tune in to the next WWE event – including WrestleMania 30 on April 6, in New Orleans – to see what she does next.
source: blog.generalmills.com
TNA Rating Slip Thanks To NXT
Thursday's episode of TNA Impact Wrestling, which went up against the WWE NXT Arrival show on the WWE Network, did not rank in the top 100 cable TV shows for adults 25-54 for the entire day.
source: wrestlinginc.com
March 1, 2014
TNA Budget Cutting Continues
Some TNA wrestlers are being asked to take less money once their existing contracts expire. In other cases, there are wrestlers with have time left on their deals who have been approached about restructuring their contracts for less pay.
One wrestler noted that former TNA head of talent relations Bruce Prichard approached several wrestlers about restructuring for less pay (roughly half as much in some cases) before their contracts were up, and the same thing is happening now. "Before you know it, they'll be charging wrestlers to perform," a veteran performer cracked.
February 28, 2014
With new online network, WWE hopes to pile-drive its doubters
Forbes has a new article on the WWE Network at this link. They point out that WWE spent $75 million over the past two years to make the Network happen. WWE estimates it will eventually reach 2 to 4 million subscribers but Robert Routh, director of equity research at National Alliance Capital Markets, believes that number is low. He said, "I think the company is smartly being conservative. It has large global fan base, and it's continuing to grow. In the long term I think the network could attract millions more, perhaps up to 6 to 8 million subscribers."
