Vince McMahon lost $350 million today.

[tk13]

And you thought you had a bad day.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexa...lion-in-a-day/

WWE CEO Vince McMahon No Longer Billionaire After Losing $350 Million In A Day

Vince McMahon lost $350 million as of market close on Friday, as shares in his WWE took a beating from investors. The stock was down more than 40% since the market open. In fact, the stock, which had closed just below $20 on Thursday, opened down below $11. That immediately knocked the WWE boss out of the billionaire ranks, putting his net worth now at an estimated $750 million.

The stock fell after news that WWE had signed a new television deal with NBCUniversal for less than some investors had hoped. Benchmark analyst Mike Hickey estimated WWE got a 50% raise over its last TV agreement, but he expected the new deal to pay WWE double or triple its previous one.

“The company’s valuation could take a heavy beating this morning, as the new domestic TV deal with NBCUniversal likely disappointed investors,” he wrote in a report downgrading the price target for the company’s stock from $29.12 to $19.96.

WWE executives kept an even tone but offered little additional guidance. “We never commented publicly on the expectation,” said George Barrios, chief strategy and financial officer. “We said we were undervalued by the math that we had done.”

The new TV deal hit at a turbulent time for WWE and McMahon. The company’s shares shot up 89% in the first three months of 2014, and McMahon’s net worth peaked in mid-March at $1.6 billion. But shares dropped 29% the week after WWE announced its new online streaming network had only 667,000 subscribers, taking a $325 million chunk out of McMahon’s fortune. He remained a billionaire until this morning.

Some investors saw the trouble coming. Intrepid Capital Management, once WWE’s largest outside investor, sold its 10% stake in January. Intrepid’s Jayme Wiggins told Forbes in a feature story on McMahon that he thought the billionaire was getting too excited about his new online streaming network.

That concern remains, but Wiggins now has additional questions after reading the company’s financial projections provided in the news release about the TV deal. The online streaming network should break even when it has 1.5 million subscribers, according to Wiggins, but WWE said its operating income will be just $40-$60 million at that point—even with new TV deals that will add $90 million to the company’s revenue.

“The question is why their numbers are so low given this renewal,” Wiggins said. “With the information that they put out there, it seems to imply that their core business isn’t making money.”

[007]

WWE on NBC. God no.

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by Guru

WWE on NBC. God no.

SyFy channel

[BigRock]

Both his billionaire status and the losses today are only on paper. It's based on his stock ownership and it's not like he's gonna cash it all out.

[thabear04]

I think his Worst day was when he made XFL and HeHateMe was the super star for that league.

[Dylan]

Wow - WWE stock dropped -44.45% on Friday. Family heads should roll - "In recent years, he has bolstered his executive ranks and groomed his son-in-law Paul Levesque —better known to fans as the wrestler "Triple H"—and his daughter Stephanie McMahon to take bigger roles. But Mr. McMahon, a self-confessed workaholic and the controlling shareholder, still makes all the key decisions—both at the corporate level and at events."

WSJ (paywall) Excerpt: Body Slammed

The episode highlighted a shortcoming: While an unbeatable promoter and a creative genius, Mr. McMahon has at times struggled to master corporate negotiations and dealings with Wall Street.

But as he approaches his 69th birthday, questions are emerging about what the future holds for WWE. Its stock plummeted 44% on Friday after Mr. McMahon failed in a high-stakes effort to wring a huge increase in television fees it receives from Comcast Corp.'s CMCSA -0.24% NBCUniversal—part of an effort to boost the company's stagnant revenues and declining profits.

Mr. McMahon has spent much of this year renegotiating the television contracts. Determined to get a better deal for wrestling in light of the inflation in sports and event programming, he played hardball in discussions with NBCUniversal, demanding to more than double the value of their previous deal of just shy of $100 million. He looked around for possible alternative TV partners, unsuccessfully, ending up renewing the NBCU deal with an increase that analysts estimate at around 50%—still generous but well short of what Wall Street had come to expect.

The company has also struggled to manage expectations for the launch of an online subscription video service showing WWE programming which Mr. McMahon calls "one of the most important things I've ever done."

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/...21176938562317

[CoMoChief]

I dont see why anyone would get the WWE network, when there's YouTube.

[Dylan]

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

I dont see why anyone would get the WWE network, when there's YouTube.

WSJ (paywall) Excerpt: WWE Boss Loses Fight for TV Fees

The television recordings—"Raw" on USA Network and "Smackdown" on Syfy—are the bread and butter of the business, accounting for around 30% of revenue. The shows' ratings have held steady, and they remain among the most-watched weekly cable-TV programs. The events themselves bring in another 20% of revenue.

One of the most interesting moments of the interview:

Since its launch earlier this year, the WWE Network has drawn more than 660,000 U.S. subscribers, says finance chief George Barrios —one of a band of executives hired to bring more corporate expertise to the Stamford, Conn., company. Last year, WWE reported net income fell to $2.8 million on revenue of $508 million, down from a profit of $31 million a year earlier.

Long-term, the company expects to draw two million to three million subscribers—a range described as "very conservative" by the effusive chairman. But the company's latest profit guidance implies the network's fixed costs will be much higher than expected, says Daniel Moore, analyst at CJS Securities.

"This management has a history of over-promising and underperforming," adds Bradley Safalow, chief executive of PAA Research, who describes the new online network as a "black hole."

In an emailed statement Friday, Mr. McMahon defended the company's record: "There should be no confusion on Wall Street as it is extraordinary to have reached more than 660,000 WWE Network subscribers only 42 days after launch, putting us on track to reach 1 million subscribers by the end of the year." He added: "We feel good about nearly doubling the value of our four largest TV deals around the world."

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/...21176938562317

[thabear04]

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

I dont see why anyone would get the WWE network, when there's YouTube.

WWE need to be back on UPN. Jk but they were on how many TV networks USA ,UPN,Spike .

I found this on how it will fail

http://www.fool.com/investing/genera...will-flop.aspx

[Valiant]

Originally Posted by thabear04

WWE need to be back on UPN. Jk but they were on how many TV networks USA ,UPN,Spike .

I found this on how it will fail

http://www.fool.com/investing/genera...will-flop.aspx

lol, I like the counterpoint article well they have a lot of twitter and facebook followers...

[Rasputin]

[arrowheadnation]

And he was on TV the very next Monday because of the Benoit fiasco.

[LoneWolf]

I can't believe anyone watches that crap. The sooner it goes away the better.

[Fairplay]

Don't cut AJ Lee whatever you do.

[DaFace]

People still watch wrestling?