WWE leaning in to social media ahead of possible sale

WWE, a company that’s already king of the ring on social media, will try and increase its on-line presence this yr with the $6.5 billion sports activities leisure firm hinting that it might put itself up on the market.

WWE surpassed 20 million followers on its flagship TikTok account throughout its most up-to-date quarter, the primary sports activities league to take action, and it’s launching three worldwide TikTok accounts after the WWE Español TikTok deal with reached almost 2 million followers in its first yr, in line with the corporate.

WWE’s presence on-line is already broad and it doesn’t seem like slowing down.

The corporate’s YouTube channel topped 92 million subscribers within the fourth quarter, making it considered one of solely 10 channels on the platform to surpass the 90 million subscriber mark, in line with Paul Levesque, the corporate’s chief content material officer and director who wrestled underneath the title Triple H.

To place these numbers in perspective, the Nationwide Basketball Affiliation has 19.8 million subscribers, the Nationwide Soccer League has 10.6 million, and Main League Baseball has 4.05 million.

A part of the reason being that, in contrast to the NFL, NBA and MLB, the WWE has no off season. It churns out new content material from tv reveals and premium stay occasions all yr lengthy and its followers eat it up.

The net presence of the corporate is so pervasive that it seeps into the social media posts from a number of the world’s greatest athletes.

After defeating the Philadelphia Eagles in Tremendous Bowl LVII, Kansas Metropolis Chiefs quarterback and MVP Patrick Mahomes posted a photograph of himself on Twitter holding the Vince Lombardi trophy in a single hand, and a WWE belt in the other.

That picture has been seen greater than 23 million instances and that quantity retains rising.

Fixed improvements which can be blended with leisure units WWE aside on social media platforms, stated Christopher Zook, chairman and chief funding officer of CAZ Investments.

“It has constantly discovered methods to generate curiosity and keep forward of the rising adjustments in client conduct,” Zook stated. “The viral, fan-service nature of their content material is how they’ve constructed a lot endurance.”

Elevated sports activities viewership has put a premium on the worth of organizations with a big following and that strikes WWE to the entrance of the road for firms seeking to increase into new areas, stated Zook, notably when searching for to achieve key demographics prepared to spend.

And the platforms on which the WWE is concentrated more and more entice a crowd with discretionary earnings to spend.

Amongst these between the ages of 18 and 29, 95% say they use YouTube, in line with a Pew Analysis Heart survey on social media use by U.S. adults in 2021.

TikTok is anticipated to overhaul Fb subsequent yr because the most-consumed social community amongst U.S. adults over the age of 18, in line with Insider Intelligence. The analysis agency expects 18-to-24-year-old TikTok customers within the U.S. to spend a mean of 1 hour on the platform each day this yr.

And WWE has been fast to companion with people who have an enormous following on social media platforms, most not too long ago the social media character Logan Paul.

Three months after signing a contract with WWE final yr, Paul took out a cellular phone and filmed himself leaping from the ropes and onto Roman Reigns. That video garnered greater than 40 million views throughout Paul’s and WWE’s social platforms in lower than 24 hours, in line with Levesque, topping all social media posts for the Stamford, Connecticut, firm final yr.

A midair collision within the ring final month between Paul and the wrestler Ricochet racked up one other 26.5 million views throughout all platforms.

The corporate can be pushing digital programming like a weekly present known as “The Bump,” which will be seen stay each Wednesday on all of WWE’s digital and social media platforms.

“Search for us to launch extra digital unique programming in 2023, because it has confirmed to be an efficient platform to pilot new reveals and check inventive, all whereas creating new programming for our gross sales workforce to promote in opposition to,” Levesque stated in a post-earnings convention name this month.

The check shall be how potential patrons worth WWE’s social media presence and that potential going ahead.

Nonetheless, Wall Avenue already seems to be very optimistic concerning the leisure firm.

Within the final 12 months shares of World Wrestling Leisure Inc. have jumped 50%, a interval when all main U.S. inventory markets have fallen right into a critical funk.

Rumors of a sale ramped up late final yr when WWE founder Vince McMahon returned to the corporate and took a seat on the board after a brief retirement.

In a letter dated Dec. 20, however printed in January, McMahon wrote, “Given the quickly evolving media panorama through which increasingly firms are searching for to personal the mental property provided on their streaming platforms – I firmly consider that one of the best factor to do for all of WWE’s shareholders and different stakeholders is to undertake a complete overview of strategic alternate options.”

Zook, of CAZ Investments, believes potential patrons are conscious that social media has modified the equation.

“Whenever you mix the endurance of stay sporting occasions, with the fast development in subscription-based content material, and an expansive social media presence, you possibly can start to see why sports activities franchises just like the WWE have gotten a extra engaging asset to personal,” Zook stated.