World Wrestling Entertainment, known worldwide as WWE has made quite an impact in the last 50 years. They are now far and away the best pro-wrestling promotion in the world and clearly they have made an impact in pop culture. Yet, some speculate that WWE could be sold by the Chairman of the Board, Vincent K. McMahon.
Vince did an interview with Forbes recently where he spoke about a number of things involving WWE, but said something involving WWE’s future that opened eyes on Wallstreet, enough to increase stock to the highest price in company history.
When asked about the future of the WWE, and the possibility of it one day being run by a non-McMahon, he had this to say:
I would like to see a degree of that, I just think as times go on, things will evaporate. Eventually Uncle Sam sees the benefit. You can’t do anything without Uncle Sam taking a huge bite of it.
People took his comments out of context in that Vince wanted to somehow sell the company. There has been interest in purchasing WWE as of late due to how lucrative they are currently in the TV market place on top of how their WWE Network and partnerships are succeeding. On top of that, they have over 250 million impressions on social media networks and their WWE app has been downloaded 9 million times.
Currently, WWE’s TV deal with NBC Universal is over and they could sign with a new network within the next month. Currently, WWE is claiming that they will have a decision made by May. Disney, Discovery, and several other companies are interested in purchasing the WWE TV rights.
According to experts, WWE’s TV Rights could go for near a billion per year due to FOX and NBC’s joint deal with NASCAR for 10 years, $800 million per year . WWE has a much larger demographic and higher ratings….on cable. This versus the network NASCAR with a 90% adult white male audience.
That being said, why on God’s green earth would WWE sell? Sure, they have had interested parties for years. However, they are in a position to make the most money they have ever made in the history of their business. Yet they’d sell right then? WWE is very much a family business and has been since day one. In fact, Vince McMahon bought it from his own father then renamed it and it became what it is today all due to his brilliant vision.
Currently, Vince McMahon is aging but controls the day-to-day materials of the WWE. He is grooming former WWE Superstar and part time talent Triple H to become the next man in charge along with his wife and daughter of Vince, Stephanie McMahon.
Those who do not do their research on WWE in the stock business miss that although Vince McMahon is getting older he is already grooming a successor for when he decides to call it quits or passes away. His daughter and her husband are clearly being successful with what they are doing. So why sell the company in it’s biggest success and properly prepared successors?
It’s sad that people jump to conclusions with Vince McMahon’s comments. After he is done, clearly Triple H and Stephanie will run the company. However, after this a McMahon will not run the place as the last name of a potential child of the pair might run the company. This could have been what Vince was alluding to in his comments to Forbes about WWE’s future.
WWE is a massive success that isn’t going anywhere, any time soon. Whether or not the stock holders and interesting parties believe WWE is not for sale or not is up for debate.