World Wrestling Extends Partnership Deal With Groupe AB

The strong relationship between World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:WWE) and Groupe AB is set to continue in to the 18th year with both companies extending the partnership. Per the deal, both the companies have signed multi-year agreement for airing WWE programming, which comprises of WWE’s leading shows, which includes the likes of Raw as well as SmackDown, in Switzerland, Luxembourg, France, Belgium, Monaco and Andorra.

Groupe AB’s Deputy Director General, Richard Maroko said “Each week, WWE programs are major events and great successes for audience reach on our channels. We are proud to be a privileged partner of one of the biggest brands in entertainment.”

Groupe AB channels will not only broadcast Raw on Thursdays and SmackDown on Fridays but will also air all WWE specials live like WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble and Survivor Series. WWE lovers can also enjoy all these programs in French and on demand.

We believe extension of the agreement between both the companies will enable WWE to increase subscriber base. In first-quarter fiscal 2017, the company reported record revenues primarily driven by a substantial increase in revenues in North America, Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) and gain in WWE Network’s total subscriber base.

Earlier, WWE stated that it expects contractual rise in television right fees from important distribution agreements and also believes that it will continue to add more WWE Network subscribers, albeit at a lower rate on a year-over-year basis. The number of average paid subscribers increased 16% in first-quarter 2017 to 1.49 million. For second-quarter 2017, WWE anticipates average paid subscribers of 1.63 million.

Following, the news not much movement was witnessed in the company’s share price. However, the stock has gained 7.5% in the past six months, outperforming the Zacks categorized Movie/TV Production/Distribution industry’s decline of 3.6%. In the same period, other stocks from the same space such as Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. LGF.A and Eros International Plc (NYSE:EROS) have fallen 1.7% and 0.4%, respectively, while MSG Networks Inc. (NYSE:MSGN) has increased 2.9%.

WWE currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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