WWE on Bloomberg Enterprise

[Dirty Eddie]

Seeing as where this thread has gone, this seems a good place to ask/discuss...

 

How come WWE often still take advertising money from adult rated games and movies? Over the last few years they have had plenty of PPVs and TV "brought to you by..." various R Rated, violent games. How come that's all fine and dandy with the likes of Mattel wanting everything PG?

 

Also, don't the UFC make a killing getting loads of sponsorship from Beer companies and the like. Surely someone like Bud would love to get in with WWE, considering most of the people who watch RAW (regardless of who it's aimed at) are adult men? I imagine Budweiser and Coors have Ad budgets that rival Skittles and Paper Jamz, right?

 

And while we have been talking about Mattel, sure, WWE loves a bit fat, long-term money-making deal with them, but at the same time WWE toys have been a shit-hot commodity for over 20 years. Surely if Mattel, said "sorry, we are walking away" there would be a dozen other toy/collectables companies who'd jump at the chance to license WWE stuff.

 

I don't want this to turn into an "Attitude Vrs PG" deal, I'm just genuinely interested in why they feel the PG sponsors are the only way to go. Didn't they make shit loads of money during the Attitude Era?

 

I imagine some of it has to do with their international expansion, and how certain countries would never touch them if it was all tits and swearing!

[PowerButchi]

Apparently big companies don't want to spend money on wrestling as it's a joke. So even during Attitude when they were getting bigger ratings I don't think they made as much on advertising as they do now. That's why Wrestling needs to get high ratings on TV, as even with high ratings they don't make as much on ads as programming that gets less viewership because wrestling is seen as a tacky redneck joke.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Surely someone like Bud would love to get in with WWE, considering most of the people who watch RAW (regardless of who it's aimed at) are adult men? I imagine Budweiser and Coors have Ad budgets that rival Skittles and Paper Jamz, right?

I'm sure if they could have, they would have. A lot of advertising companies want nothing to do with wrestling. Its notoriously hard for wrestling to attract big sponserships. Especially with the type of product they had a few years ago. The PG switch has seen an influx of licensing and sponsership deals. Its unfortunately a joke of a business. Thats probably why he doesnt want the WWE to be seen as a wrestling promotion. Even though to be honest, you'd have to be a wrestling fan to know he's trying to eliminate the word wrestling out of the companies language. Anyone calls it "wrestling".

[LaGoosh]

I think a big part of it is John Cena's popularity with the kiddies. When your top performer's fanbase is primary children and act pretty much PG why not level out the product with him and make some real dough?

 

With live gates and PPV numbers decreasing they got to make the money elsewhere and they found it in advertising. Business wise it's a spectacular move.

[King Pitcos]

I don't want this to turn into an "Attitude Vrs PG" deal, I'm just genuinely interested in why they feel the PG sponsors are the only way to go. Didn't they make shit loads of money during the Attitude Era?

Yeah, at first. But remember there were about seven years between the attitude era's success tapering off and the family-friendly direction. By the time Kurt Angle was on about monkey-raping Booker T's wife in 2005, there wasn't much controversy and it wasn't creating as much cash. It was only after the PG rating came in that mongs suddenly decided wrestling would be great if only it had blood and profane gestures, even though it had had those things for the last seven years they'd been moaning about it being shit.

 

Attitude era style content stopped being cool but remained tawdry, which made it less appealing to advertisers. Aiming the stuff at kids, who are more apt to accept creatively-bereft crap, made more sense than trying to put everything into winning back people who had likely just grown out of wrestling anyway. Plus the big thing that sparked the change, trying to clean up the company's image after The Real Captain Charisma sent Chavo his physical address.

[Dirty Eddie]

Surely someone like Bud would love to get in with WWE, considering most of the people who watch RAW (regardless of who it's aimed at) are adult men? I imagine Budweiser and Coors have Ad budgets that rival Skittles and Paper Jamz, right?

I'm sure if they could have, they would have. A lot of advertising companies want nothing to do with wrestling. Its notoriously hard for wrestling to attract big sponserships. Especially with the type of product they had a few years ago. The PG switch has seen an influx of licensing and sponsership deals. Its unfortunately a joke of a business. Thats probably why he doesnt want the WWE to be seen as a wrestling promotion. Even though to be honest, you'd have to be a wrestling fan to know he's trying to eliminate the word wrestling out of the companies language. Anyone calls it "wrestling".

 

 

I'm sure you are right that they would take those deals if they were offered. It just seems a little weird to me...?

 

They get sponsorship from some of the biggest game releases of the year, as well as some of the biggest Box Office films of the year - it's not exactly small-time sponsors. Yet often those games/films are not PG themselves, so how come Mattel (or whoever) are fine with them being closely associated with very violent games/films, but threaten to quit on them when someone gets choked with a tie (speculation, I know)?

 

Yeah, i certainly know all about the general "uh, wrestling? No thanks" mentality from potential sponsors, but surely a Beer company (hardly moral high-ground types) would see WWE as a great platform to advertise. Even with the move to PG, it's not like that have Coca-Cola or Disney sponsoring them anyway!

[PowerButchi]

I think with Beer companies they want to be seen with the cool and edgy and hip frat house programming like UFC. UFC also has Harley Davidson as a major sponsor, hammering that UFC is a rebellious brand. WWE has never struck me as super cool "Beer" TV. Even during the attitude era it didn't seem that cool.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

WWE tried to get a major beer company to sponser them for years (even up until 2004) to market and sell Stone Cold Beer, but they had no joy. It wasnt for the want of trying their biggest star during the adult-based era had a beer drinking thing going on. They wanted that deal for years. WWE has recently got beer sponsership though havent they? Bischoff even put it over, saying how hard it is to gain sponsership from wrestling companies like that (he even mentioned he'd tried himself).

 

Here it is:

Congrats to WWE for landing a beer sponsor (Miller). That has been a target sponsor for years and one that I myself tried hard to land for long time. Going to be interesting to watch WWE walk the tightrope between marketing alcohol and their obvious kids demo. Stay tuned..this will be interesting from a business pov.

[Dirty Eddie]

I think with Beer companies they want to be seen with the cool and edgy frat house programming like UFC. WWE has never struck me as super cool "Beer" TV. Even during the attitude era it didn't seem that cool.

 

It might not have seemed it to you, but it was in America. I remember when they started visiting frat houses and showing their RAW parties.

 

 

Back to the wider topic...

 

Isn't WWE's improved financial success over the last few years pretty much entirely down to their huge expanse in international business? I thought that TV ratings and buyrates were generally still as bad or worse than they were during the 2003-2008 period, but that they were selling their product to more foreign markets than ever, as well as increased touring?

 

I'm sure the PG product has aided them in getting these new foreign contracts of course.

[rvd_mr_ppv]

Apparently, from an Interview I read with Mattel, they don't tell WWE what to do from programme content (which is obvious), but, have said they will make the action figures, regardless as to weather they go a bit more past a PG moment in Violence & have stated before they had nothing to do with the whole Daniel Bryan Tie choking incident / being the cause of his release.

 

Also, a fan questioned Mattel about possibly threatening to quit making the action figures should the content on TV ever step out of line & said that it was false / speculation & no truth to it.

 

 

But, like Dirty Eddie says, even if Mattel were to do this, another toy company would jump in at the chance to take over.

 

For every company that doesn't want to be associated with WWE / Wrestling and its product / content as a whole, plenty of other companies will.

 

 

Personally, I don't care if WWE is in Attitude era, Early 80's / 90's Cheese or the current PG product mode, I just think censorship of the old content on the WWE Network will affect it (IMO) even if only slightly.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

For every company that doesn't want to be associated with WWE / Wrestling and its product / content as a whole, plenty of other companies will.

Mattel is massive for them. In the period WWE have at the moment, Mattel is hugely important to them. Who else would step in if Mattel told them where to go? If you look at the end of year profits, PPV revenue was down, Television ratings were down, live attendance was down. But the action figure sales were at an all time high. It was shown with Finlay and Daniel Bryan, in 2011 sponsership and advertising revenue is WWE's bread and butter. They definitely make a decision based on a sponsers input. If Mattel, Gillette and Pepsi and the likes decide they dont want to be apart of WWE anymore, who is big enough to fill those sponsers? WWE have never had it so good when it comes that to area of business.

[rvd_mr_ppv]

For every company that doesn't want to be associated with WWE / Wrestling and its product / content as a whole, plenty of other companies will.

Mattel is massive for them. In the period WWE have at the moment, Mattel is hugely important to them. Who else would step in if Mattel told them where to go? If you look at the end of year profits, PPV revenue was down, Television ratings were down, live attendance was down. But the action figure sales were at an all time high. It was shown with Finlay and Daniel Bryan, in 2011 sponsership and advertising revenue is WWE's bread and butter. They definitely make a decision based on a sponsers input. If Mattel, Gillette and Pepsi and the likes decide they dont want to be apart of WWE anymore, who is big enough to fill those sponsers? WWE have never had it so good when it comes that to area of business.

 

 

Well, Mattel is not the be all or end all & it's not like they're the first toy company to make figures for WWE, they're the 4th, so somebody else would probably step in.

 

If Pepsi goes, I'm sure Coca Cola or another drinks company would jump at the chance.

 

If Gillette decides to drop out, I'm sure another Shaving company will also be ready to get involved if it's viable & works for them.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Well, Mattel is not the be all or end all & it's not like they're the first toy company to make figures for WWE, they're the 4th, so somebody else would probably step in.

 

If Pepsi goes, I'm sure Coca Cola or another drinks company would jump at the chance.

 

If Gillette decides to drop out, I'm sure another Shaving company will also be ready to get involved if it's viable & works for them.

Thats not how it works. If these drop out, there's a reason why they are dropping out. I bet McMahon wishes it was that easy just to say "if they drop out, they will come in". Wrestling doesnt attract sponsership easily. WWE have lost sponsers before, and nobody has stepped in, because attitudes towards the low browness that is WWE differs. The "if Pespi goes, Coca Cola would jump at the chance" line is funny though. He's Monday Night Raw, not American Idol.

[rvd_mr_ppv]

Well, Mattel is not the be all or end all & it's not like they're the first toy company to make figures for WWE, they're the 4th, so somebody else would probably step in.

 

If Pepsi goes, I'm sure Coca Cola or another drinks company would jump at the chance.

 

If Gillette decides to drop out, I'm sure another Shaving company will also be ready to get involved if it's viable & works for them.

Thats not how it works. If these drop out, there's a reason why they are dropping out. I bet McMahon wishes it was that easy just to say "if they drop out, they will come in". Wrestling doesnt attract sponsership easily. WWE have lost sponsers before, and nobody has stepped in, because attitudes towards the low browness that is WWE differs. The "if Pespi goes, Coca Cola would jump at the chance" line is funny though. He's Monday Night Raw, not American Idol.

 

 

Yes, but to whatever reasons these companies would have for deciding to drop out, the ones deciding to get involved should they see an opening won't be thinking about the moral high ground if being a sponsor of WWE benefits both parties financially.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Yes, but to whatever reasons these companies would have for deciding to drop out, the ones deciding to get involved should they see an opening won't be thinking about the moral high ground if being a sponsor of WWE benefits both parties financially.

Thats all fantasy talk though. The fact is, WWE wont want to lose their current sponsers because there is no guarentee that anyone will replace them, because history shows nobody usually wants to sponser a wrestling promotion. History proves it. WWE have lost sponsers countless times and nobody has stepped in. Thats not how it works. You arent playing on Championship Manager. If Man United loses Nike, Adidas will step in. If WWE lose Pespi, it might be brown trousers time. WWE have to justify to stockholders and all sorts as to why a major sponser has walked out. If you piss the sponsers off, you piss thes shareholders off as well. Which pisses Vince off, which means Primo will end up working for 1PW in the winter.