Media properties and revenue generation

My assignment for week one of my Sports Media class.

I chose intellectual property of the WWE. This specific photo is a Wrestlemania 30 VIP chair. World Wrestling Entertainment is the leader in sports entertainment running two shows weekly on Monday and Thursday night. The WWE holds a pay-per-view event each month with Wrestlemania being their Super Bowl event. The newest edition to WWE has been their start of the WWE Network which is a digital on demand service offering a broad library of recent, past, and original programs.

This chair is part of a VIP ticket package that includes premium seating, meet and greet with superstars, private merchandise store and the chair as a keepsake. The ticketing packages for WWE events are a prime source of revenue for the company. Their programs Raw and Smackdown are ran every week, as well as house shows during smaller, non-televised events. Standard tickets fluctuate in price if the event is televised, a house show (non-televised) or a pay-per-view event.
The chair is also a property that can be bought on the WWE Auction site as a memorabilia item. This keeps the item at a novelty and not an item that can be purchased along with regular merchandise. This will keep the pricing at a higher premium. Along with the WWE Auction is the WWE Store which provides the option of buying merchandise. Apparel, toys, replica championship belts and signed memorabilia are generating revenue for the WWE via their online market place.

The properties of the WWE which generate revenue has a direct impact on the WWE stock. The company had gone public before it had released the debut of its new WWE Network. The WWE Networks success, the sales of merchandise and television ratings have an effect on stocks. The stocks could dictate money the company gains or loses. Upon launch of the WWE Network, the stock was high in anticipation but soon dropped costing the WWE millions in money due to the service not meeting the expectations as quickly as what was anticipated.

The WWE has all the means of generating revenue aside from a regular radio program. I feel they could utilize a satellite radio channel to earn a revenue aside from their many existing ways. Ticket sales for events are their main stay in generating revenue. Merchandise brings online traffic as well as generating money through their online store and auction. The website holds advertisements and sponsorships as does any website you'd likely find. Across all media platforms for the WWE, they promote themselves, almost too insistently. But the fact remains that they can remain a positive generation of revenue by promoting within their own applications and making their audience aware of all upcoming events, whether its live events or new content on their WWE Network.