EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1091907
Filing Year: 2022
Filename: 1091907_10-K_2022_0001091907-22-000018.json

---

ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Item 1. Business
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an integrated media and entertainment company. "WWE" refers to World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries, unless the context otherwise requires. References to "we," "us," "our" and the "Company" refer to WWE. The initials "WWE" and our stylized and iconic "W" logo are two of our trademarks. This report also contains other WWE trademarks and trade names as well as those of other companies. All trademarks and trade names appearing in this report are the property of their respective holders.
We have been involved in the sports entertainment business for four decades, and have developed WWE into one of the most popular brands in global entertainment today. We are principally engaged in the production and distribution of unique and creative content through various channels, including the premium over-the-top network (“WWE Network”) monetized through license arrangements or through direct-to-consumer subscriptions, content rights agreements, premium live event programming, filmed entertainment, live events, licensing of various WWE themed products, and the sale of consumer products featuring our brands. At the heart of our success are the athletic and entertainment skills and appeal of our Superstars, and our consistently innovative and multi-faceted storylines. Our distribution platforms provide significant cross-promotion and marketing opportunities that reinforce our brands while effectively reaching our fans.
Based on the strength of the Company’s brands and its ownership and control over its intellectual property, the Company has been able to leverage its content and talent globally across virtually all media platforms. We continually evaluate additional opportunities to monetize new and existing content.
Our operations are organized around the following principal activities:
Media:
The Media segment reflects the production and monetization of long-form and short-form video content across various platforms, including WWE Network, broadcast and pay television, digital and social media, as well as filmed entertainment. Across these platforms, revenues principally consist of content rights fees, subscriptions to WWE Network, and advertising and sponsorships. Effective March 18, 2021, the domestic monetization of WWE Network is generated from content license fees and certain shared sponsorship revenues from NBC Universal (“NBCU”). Media segment revenues for the year ended December 31, 2021 include the upfront revenue recognition related to the delivery of certain intellectual property rights under this agreement.
Live Events:
Live events provide ongoing content for our media platforms. Live Event segment revenues consist primarily of ticket sales, revenues from events for which we receive a fixed fee, as well as the sale of travel packages associated with the Company’s global live events. As a result of the global spread of the coronavirus pandemic (“COVID-19”), these revenues had been greatly limited from March 2020 through the first half of 2021. We held our annual WrestleMania events on April 10 and 11, 2021 with ticketed audiences, and on July 16, 2021, we resumed our domestic and international live event touring schedules.
Consumer Products:
The Consumer Products segment engages in the merchandising of WWE branded products, such as video games, toys and apparel, through licensing arrangements and direct-to-consumer sales. Revenues principally consist of royalties and licensee fees related to WWE branded products, and sales of merchandise distributed at our live events and through eCommerce platforms.
Media
Media net revenues were $936.2 million, $868.2 million and $743.1 million, representing 85%, 89% and 77% of total net revenues in 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Network
WWE Network launched in February 2014, becoming the first-ever 24/7 live streaming direct-to-consumer network. In connection with our multi-year agreement with Peacock TV LLC (“Peacock”), an affiliate of NBCU, beginning on March 18, 2021, the Peacock paid streaming service is the exclusive home to WWE Network in the United States. The content licensed via Peacock includes WWE’s premium live event content, second runs of our in-ring television programming, original and archival content, as well as new WWE Network content. Our subscription-based WWE Network is still available in most international markets other than embargoed
countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia, among others. Subscribers can access all of WWE’s premium live events, exclusive original programming and our video-on-demand library.
In addition to our premium live events, WWE Network content also includes exclusive original programming, groundbreaking documentaries, reality shows and in-ring specials, including WWE Ruthless Aggression, Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions and WWE’s The Bump. Our strategy of creating compelling original content for broadcast on WWE Network has contributed to the popularity of WWE Network, which premiered nearly 380 hours of original content during 2021.
Core Content Rights Fees
Leveraging our expertise in live event television production, we currently produce seven hours of original weekly domestic television programming, RAW, SmackDown and NXT, our core content. RAW and NXT are licensed domestically under multi-year contracts with NBCU, while SmackDown is licensed domestically under a multi-year contract with Fox Network. We also distribute second runs of RAW and NXT to Hulu, which are available after the original first run airing dates on television, along with a wide selection of other WWE content.
RAW is a three-hour live primetime program airing on Mondays, which ranks among the most watched regularly scheduled programs on primetime cable television. RAW remains the longest running weekly episodic program in primetime television history, with over 1,450 original episodes, and anchors USA Network’s programming line-up, consistently helping make it the top-rated cable entertainment network.
SmackDown is a two-hour live primetime program airing on Fridays on Fox Network. SmackDown continues to be the second longest running weekly episodic program in primetime TV history, second only to RAW.
NXT is a two-hour live primetime program airing on Tuesday nights on USA Network. The weekly program continues to air on WWE Network shortly after the initial run on USA Network.
WWE’s TV-PG, family-friendly television programming, including RAW and SmackDown, can be seen in more than one billion homes and in 30 languages around the world. Our international broadcast partners currently include: BT Sport in the United Kingdom; Sony Ten in India and Rogers in Canada, among many others.
Advertising and Sponsorships
WWE utilizes a multitude of platforms, including the Internet and social media, to promote our brands, market and distribute our content and digital products, create a community experience among our fans and sell advertising across these various platforms. WWE currently streams its media content on select social media platforms, such as YouTube and Facebook. WWE surpassed 85 million subscribers on YouTube, and consistently ranks among the top viewed channels, with nearly 15 billion views of WWE content in 2021. The Company also receives advertising revenues from YouTube and Facebook based on viewership data of our content. In 2021, WWE had over 1.2 billion social media fan engagements across social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Tumblr.
Our primary website, WWE.com, attracted an average of over four million monthly unique visitors worldwide during 2021. These visitors viewed an average of 44 million pages and four million video streams per month. WWE short-form video and other content is available through our mobile partnerships. WWE currently has local language-based websites allowing fans to experience WWE in their native language with a concentration on local events and shows. Currently, the available languages are English, Spanish, Mandarin, French, German, Polish and Arabic. We monetize our digital advertising inventory on WWE.com in global markets via programmatic ad sales and relationships with sales agencies.
In addition, through our product integrations, we offer advertisers a full range of our promotional opportunities, including online and print advertising, on-air announcements and special appearances by our Superstars. These opportunities allow our advertisers and sponsors to engage consumers across a variety of our platforms. In 2021, we grew several partnerships with blue-chip brands, including Cricket, Credit One, Procter & Gamble, Applebee’s, Constellation Brands and Papa John’s Pizza. We also partnered with new advertisers, such as Netflix, Blue Triton, General Motors, Pizza Hut and Wendy’s. Our sponsors promote their products utilizing our digital media assets, including promotion on WWE.com as well as promotion through WWE Network and through our live events. Certain sponsorship sales related to WWE Network are shared with NBCU.
Other
Our Media segment also generates revenue from the distribution of other WWE content, including, but not limited to, certain live in-ring programming content in international markets, scripted, reality and other programming.
Our current reality-based television series is Miz and Mrs. This docuseries, which premiered in July 2018 on USA Network, chronicles the lives of WWE Superstars The Miz and Maryse. Following the success of the first two seasons in this series, USA Network has renewed the hit unscripted series for a third season, which is expected to air during 2022.
Our WWE Media team also develops and produces feature films, television (scripted, non-scripted), and digital content. In 2021, we secured partnerships for films, animated content, unscripted formats, scripted series and documentaries on a variety of platforms, including Netflix, A&E, Universal Television and other domestic and international platforms. Our partnership with A&E continued to expand with the creation of multiple documentaries, including WWE Legends and WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures, driving viewership gains on Sunday nights for the A&E network. We also entered the premium scripted space by announcing a partnership with Blumhouse for an original series, The United States of America Vs. Vince McMahon, which will be a fictionalized version of the 1994 trial.
Live Events
Live Events net revenues were $57.8 million, $19.9 million and $125.6 million, representing 5%, 2% and 13% of total net revenues in 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Our broad and talented roster of Superstars allows us to perform in numerous domestic markets and take advantage of the strong international demand for our events. Live events and the associated programming produced at our live events are our principal creative content and production activities. Our creative team develops compelling and complex characters and weaves them into dynamic storylines that combine physical and emotional elements. Storylines are usually played out in the ring and unfold on our weekly television shows, culminating in our premium live events which air on WWE Network and are also available via pay-per-view.
The global spread of COVID-19 and the various attempts to contain it have resulted in restrictions, postponements and cancellations of various events, and the cancellation of ticketed events due to public health concerns. The impact of COVID-19 was significant on our live events segment from March 2020 through the first half of 2021, as revenues are highly dependent on ticket sales at our live events. We held our annual WrestleMania events on April 10 and 11, 2021 with ticketed audiences, and on July 16, 2021, we resumed our domestic and international live event touring schedules.
North American Ticket Sales
In 2021, following our return to live event touring after nearly a year and a half, we produced 88 live events (excluding NXT) throughout North America, entertaining over 605,000 fans at an average ticket price of $76.05. We held many of these live events at major stadiums and arenas across the country. In addition to providing content for our television and other programming, these events provide us with a real-time assessment of the popularity of our storylines and characters.
International Ticket Sales
In 2021, following our return to live event touring, we produced 13 live events (excluding NXT) internationally, reaching nearly 60,000 fans at an average ticket price of $78.37. These events were held primarily in the United Kingdom during our international tour in September 2021. We also held one large-scale international event in 2021, for which we received a fixed fee.
Consumer Products
Consumer Products net revenues were $101.2 million, $86.1 million and $91.7 million, representing 9%, 9% and 10% of total net revenues in 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Consumer Product Licensing
We have established a worldwide licensing program using our marks and logos, copyrighted works and characters on a large variety of products, including video games, toys, apparel and books. Currently, we have relationships with more than 100 licensees worldwide that provide products for sale at major retailers. To maintain the distinctive style and quality of our intellectual property and brand, we retain creative approval over the design, packaging, advertising and promotional materials associated with these products. Additionally, we continually seek new opportunities to partner with best-in-class organizations to develop new products for our fans and further expand our licensing business. In this regard, during 2021, we announced an exclusive multi-year agreement with Blockchain Creative Labs to launch a non-fungible token (“NFT”) marketplace for licensed digital WWE tokens and collectibles. During 2021, we also announced a multi-year agreement with the Panini Group that will make Panini WWE’s exclusive trading card and collectible sticker partner. Both licensing agreements will begin in the first quarter of 2022.
Video games and toys are among the largest components of our licensing program. We have a comprehensive, multi-year licensing agreement with Mattel, Inc., our master toy licensee, covering all global territories, and a multi-year licensing agreement with Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. ("Take-Two") to produce and sell our branded console video games. WWE branded video games currently include WWE 2K and WWE Battlegrounds, available on PlayStation and XBOX platforms and on iOS and Android devices, and WWE
SuperCard, available on iOS and Android devices. We recently announced Rey Mysterio as the main cover star of our franchise game, WWE 2K22, which will be released on March 11, 2022. The video game industry continues to migrate the availability of video games toward downloadable content through an Internet connected device. Accordingly, our video games can be downloaded via the Internet and contain subsequent downloadable content that can be purchased to add additional characters and game modes to enhance game play.
Music is an integral part of the WWE entertainment experience. We compose and record music, including Superstar entrance themes, in our recording studio. In addition to our own composed music, we license music performed by popular artists.
eCommerce
WWEShop is our direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront. WWE merchandise is also distributed on other domestic and international e-commerce platforms, including Amazon. We processed 586,600 orders during 2021 as compared to 722,300 in 2020, with the higher volume in 2020 driven, in part, by changes in consumer spending habits as a result of COVID-19.
Venue Merchandise
Our direct-to-consumer venue merchandise business consists of the design, sourcing, marketing and distribution of numerous WWE-branded products such as t-shirts, belts, caps and other novelty items, all of which feature our Superstars and/or logos.
The impact of COVID-19 was significant on our venue merchandise results from March 2020 through the first half of 2021, as revenues are highly dependent on purchases of merchandise by consumers at our live events. Following our annual WrestleMania events on April 10 and 11, 2021, which were held with ticketed audiences, we resumed our domestic and international live event touring schedules on July 16, 2021.
Customers
Our customers include content distributors of our media content through their networks and platforms, fans who purchase tickets to our live events or purchase our merchandise at venues or online through our eCommerce platforms, subscribers to WWE Network, advertisers, sponsors, consumer product licensees, and film distributors/buyers. As noted elsewhere, we have several important partners, including NBCU and its affiliates who, among other things, carry the domestic television distribution of Raw and NXT, and, beginning in March 2021, carry the exclusive domestic streaming rights of WWE Network content. We also partner with Fox Network who carries the domestic television distribution of SmackDown, and the General Entertainment Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who, among other things, hosts our live events in the Middle East.
Creative Development and Production
Headed by our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Vincent K. McMahon, our creative team develops compelling and complex characters and weaves them into dynamic storylines that combine physical and emotional elements. Storylines are usually played out in the ring and unfold on our weekly television shows, culminating in our premium live events. We voluntarily designate the suitability of each of our television shows using standard industry ratings, and all our in-ring television programming carries a PG rating, which is critical to maintaining the Company’s reputation for family friendly entertainment.
Our success is due primarily to the continuing popularity of our Superstars. We have nearly 250 Superstars under exclusive contracts, ranging from multi-year guaranteed contracts with established Superstars to developmental contracts with our Superstars in training. Our Superstars are highly trained and motivated independent contractors, whose compensation is tied to the revenue that they help generate. We own the rights to substantially all our characters and exclusively license the rights we do not own through agreements with our Superstars.
Talent Development
We continually seek to identify, recruit and develop additional talent for our business. Our development system, including the NXT division, features talent training to become WWE Superstars and has produced over 90% of our current active main roster stars, such as Roman Reigns, Riddle, Big E, Sasha Banks, Bianca Belair and the Street Profits. NXT has evolved into our third brand after Raw and SmackDown and has transitioned into a weekly live television series. Prior to COVID-19, NXT was also a global touring brand broadcasting live specials on WWE Network. More than 50% of our developmental talent come from countries outside the United States, including the United Kingdom, China, India, Japan, Australia, Mexico, Brazil and Germany. Women comprise approximately 35% of our developmental talent. NXT talent train at our WWE Performance Center in Florida, a state-of-the-art training facility, which was designed to cultivate our next generation of talent and has become the center of our talent development program. In efforts to localize our content around the world, we opened the WWE UK Performance Center in January 2019, the first WWE training facility outside of the United States.
In December 2021, we launched a major recruiting initiative for in-ring competitors called Next In Line (“NIL”), announcing 15 college athletes from 13 universities, seven NCAA conferences, and four sports as part of the inaugural class. These athletes will join Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson in WWE’s first-of-its-kind NIL program. In addition to the United States, the class includes representation from a myriad of countries, including Canada and Nigeria. These athlete partnerships will feature access to the state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center in Orlando, in addition to resources across the organization, including brand building, media training, communications, live event promotion, creative writing and community relations. Upon completion of the NIL program, select athletes may earn an exclusive opportunity to be offered a WWE contract.
Competition
While we believe that we have a loyal fan base, the entertainment industry is highly competitive and subject to fluctuations in popularity, which are not easy to predict. For our live event and media content audiences, we face competition from professional and college sports, other live, filmed, televised and streamed entertainment, which includes other professional wrestling leagues, and other leisure activities. We will face increased competition from websites and mobile and other internet connected apps delivering paid and free content as streamed media offerings continue to expand. For purchases of our merchandise, we compete with entertainment companies, professional and college sports leagues and other makers of branded apparel and merchandise. Many companies with whom we compete have greater financial resources than we do.
Trademarks and Copyrights
Intellectual property is material to all aspects of our operations, and we expend substantial cost and effort in an attempt to maintain and protect our intellectual property and to maintain compliance vis-à-vis other parties’ intellectual property. We have a large portfolio of registered and unregistered trademarks and service marks worldwide and maintain a large catalog of copyrighted works, including copyrights in our television and WWE Network programming, music, photographs, books, films and apparel art. We also own a large number of internet website domain names and operate a network of developed, content-based sites, which facilitate and contribute to the exploitation of our intellectual property worldwide.
We vigorously seek to enforce our intellectual property rights worldwide by, among other things, searching the internet to ascertain unauthorized use, seizing counterfeit goods and seeking restraining orders and/or damages in court against individuals or entities infringing our intellectual property rights. Our failure or inability to curtail piracy, infringement or other unauthorized use of our intellectual property rights effectively, or our infringement of others’ intellectual property rights, could adversely affect our operating results.
Human Capital
The Company believes it has a talented, motivated, and dedicated team, and is committed to supporting the development of all of its team members and to continuously build on its strong culture. As of February 2022, the Company had approximately 870 full-time equivalent employees. We believe the relationship between WWE and our employees is strong. Our in-house production staff is supplemented with contract personnel for our television production who are not included in our headcount. Our employee headcount also excludes our Superstars and NXT talent, who are independent contractors.
Workplace Practices and Policies
The Company is committed to providing a workplace free of harassment or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or other legally protected characteristics. The Company is an equal opportunity employer committed to inclusion and diversity.
Compensation and Benefits
The Company believes that compensation should not only be competitive, it should be equitable and should enable employees to share in the Company’s success. The Company recognizes its people are most likely to thrive when they have the resources to meet their needs and the time and support to succeed in their professional and personal lives. In support of this, the Company offers a wide variety of benefits to employees around the world.
Inclusion and Diversity
The Company is committed to hiring inclusively, providing training and development opportunities, fostering an inclusive culture, and ensuring equitable pay for employees, and is continuing to focus on increasing diverse representation at every level of the Company.
Health and Safety
The Company is committed to protecting its employees everywhere it operates. The Company identifies potential risks associated with workplace activities in order to develop measures to mitigate possible hazards. The Company has taken additional measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, including providing information resources, testing, face masks and personal protective equipment, and case support. The Company also offers special sick leave for employees with possible COVID-19 symptoms, as well as comprehensive health coverage.
Regulation
Live Events
In some United States and foreign jurisdictions, athletic commissions and other applicable regulatory agencies require us to obtain licenses for promoters, medical clearances and/or other permits or licenses for performers and/or permits for events in order for us to promote and conduct our live events. If we fail to comply with the regulations of a particular jurisdiction, we may be prohibited from promoting and conducting our live events in that jurisdiction. The inability to present our live events over an extended period of time, especially after the hiatus resulting from COVID-19, or in a number of jurisdictions could lead to a decline in the various revenue streams generated from our live events, which could adversely affect our operating results.
Television and WWE Network Programming
The marketplace for audio-visual programming (including cable television and Internet programming) in the United States and internationally is substantially affected by government regulations applicable to, as well as social and political influences on, television stations, television networks and cable and satellite television systems and channels. Certain Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) regulations are imposed directly on the Company and/or indirectly through our distributors. Other domestic and foreign governmental and private-sector initiatives relating to video programming are announced from time to time. In addition, the delivery of WWE Network in international markets exposes us to multiple regulatory frameworks, the complexity of which may result in unintentional noncompliance. One of our weekly television programs, SmackDown, is distributed via broadcast television on the Fox Network, and we are responsible, directly or indirectly, for compliance with certain additional FCC regulations and statutory requirements. Any failure by us to meet these governmental policies or regulations and private-sector expectations could restrict our program content and, in the case of government regulation, result in monetary liability. Such failure could also adversely affect our levels of viewership and/or number of WWE Network subscribers. Any of these could affect our operating results.
Available Information
Copies of our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments to those reports, are available free of charge on our website at http://corporate.wwe.com as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Our reports are also available free of charge on the SEC’s website, http://www.sec.gov. None of the information on any of our websites is part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines, Code of Business Conduct and charters of our Audit, Compensation and our Governance and Nominating Committees are also available on our website. A copy of any of these documents will be mailed to any stockholder without charge upon request to us at 1241 East Main Street, Stamford, CT 06902, Attn: Investor Relations Department.

---

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Item 1A. Risk Factors
There are inherent risks and uncertainties associated with our business that could adversely affect our operating performance and financial condition. Set forth below are descriptions of those risks and uncertainties that we currently believe to be material, but the risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones that could affect our business. See the discussion under “Cautionary Statement for Purposes of the ‘Safe Harbor’ Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995” in Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Risks Related to Our Industry and Business
The ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may continue to negatively affect world economies as well as our industry, business and results of operations.
The global spread of the coronavirus, including its current and future variants (COVID-19), and the various attempts to contain it have resulted and likely will continue to result in restrictions, postponements and cancellations of various sports and other events and has required and likely will continue to require us to cancel, postpone, relocate and/or modify certain of our live events. We do not expect insurance to cover any portion of this lost business. The pandemic has also continued to create significant volatility, uncertainty and economic disruption, the full extent of which will depend on numerous evolving factors that we can neither predict nor control
including the pandemic’s duration, the impact of current and future COVID-19 variants and related governmental, business and individual responses. As a result, we have been required to alter certain aspects of our operations beyond our live events. We are unable to predict future attendance at our live events, even when the pandemic risks and restrictions have lessened. We have also taken measures to protect the health and well-being of our employees and our talent and other vendors. Our workforce has spent a significant amount of time working from home. Remote access could heighten operational risks, including cybersecurity risks. Travel has been curtailed. We have greatly increased our cleaning and health check protocols, which increase related expenditures. We have also implemented certain cash conserving measures, which were in effect for various time periods during 2020, including pausing our stock repurchase program and certain capital expenditures; containing employment costs through salary reductions and furloughs; containing certain third party vendor costs; and drawing under our revolving credit facility, which has since been repaid. No assurances can be provided that COVID-19 will not in the future require changes to our operations and/or renewed cash conserving measures.
We believe our partners’ operations have also been affected including, without limitation, in their sales of advertising. Widely reported supply constraints on inflation have occurred and may be ongoing into the foreseeable future. Depending on the severity and persistence of the pandemic and resulting impacts including, without limitation, these supply constraints and inflationary pressures, we could see a material impact on our customers’ demand, or ability to pay (including an impact on the collectability of our accounts receivable), for our goods and services. We will continue actively to monitor the issues raised by the COVID-19 pandemic and related factors and may take further actions that alter our business operations as required by applicable governmental authorities and/or that we determine to be in the best interests of our employees, talent, customers, partners and stockholders. There can be no assurance that we will be entirely successful in these endeavors, which could result in inadvertent noncompliance with applicable law. The COVID-19 pandemic also could result in heightened litigation risks relating to personal injury or death and/or increased levels of commercial litigation. Any of the foregoing could have a material negative effect on our business and results of operations.
Our failure to maintain or renew key agreements could adversely affect our ability to distribute our media content, WWE Network, our films and/or other of our goods and services, which could adversely affect our operating results.
Our media content is distributed by cable, satellite and broadcast television networks and digital platforms around the globe. As detailed below, we have depended on and, in international markets will continue to depend on, third parties for many aspects of the operation and distribution of WWE Network. Our films are generally also distributed by other, more established film companies. Because a large portion of our revenues are generated, directly and indirectly, from this distribution, any failure to maintain (such as due to a breach or alleged breach by either party) or renew arrangements with distributors and platforms, the failure of distributors or platforms to continue to provide services to us or the failure to enter into new distribution opportunities on terms favorable to us could adversely affect our financial outlook, liquidity, business and operating results. We regularly engage in negotiations relating to substantial agreements covering the distribution of our media content by carriers located in the United States and abroad. We have substantial relationships with NBCU, which carries RAW and NXT through its cable networks. WWE Network is distributed exclusively via Peacock in the domestic market. Fox Network carries SmackDown. We also have an important partnership with the General Entertainment Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. These relationships are expected to continue to constitute a significant percentage of our revenues. Many of our other goods and services, such as our toys and video games are manufactured and sold by other parties under licenses of our intellectual property or distribution agreements. Our inability for any of the reasons set forth in these Risk Factors to enter into, maintain and/or renew or replace, as the case may be, these agreements on terms favorable to us could adversely affect our financial outlook, liquidity, business and/or operating results.
Our failure to compete effectively in a rapidly evolving and highly competitive media landscape could adversely affect our operating results.
The manner in which audio/media content is distributed and viewed is constantly changing, and consumers have increasing options to access entertainment video. Changes in technology require Company resources including personnel, capital and operating expenses. Conversely, technology changes have also decreased the cost of video production and distribution for certain programmers (such as through social media), which lowers the barriers to entry and increases the competition for viewership and revenues. While we attempt to distribute our programming across all platforms, our failure to continue to do so effectively (including, for example only, our emphasizing a distribution platform that in time lessens in importance or becomes obsolete or our loss of, or other inability to procure, carriage on an important platform) could adversely affect our operating results. If other providers of video programming address the changes in consumer viewing habits in a manner that is better able to meet content distributor and consumer needs and expectations, our business could be adversely affected. Cable and broadcast television distribution constitutes a large part of our revenues. The number of subscribers and ratings of television networks and advertising revenues in general have been reported as being impacted by viewers moving to alternative media content providers, a process known as “cord cutting” and “cord shaving”. Developments in technology may have added, and may continue to add, to this shift as consumers’ expectations relative to the availability of video content on demand, their willingness to pay to access content and their tolerance for commercial interruptions evolve. Many well-funded digital companies (such as Apple, Facebook, YouTube, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu) have been competing with the traditional television business model and, while it has been widely reported that they are paying significant amounts for media content, it is not clear that these digital distributors will replace the importance (in terms of money paid for content, viewer penetration and other factors) of television distribution to media content owners such as WWE. Our media partners’ businesses are affected by their sale of advertising and
subscriptions for their services. If they are unable to sell advertising and/or subscriptions either with regard to WWE programming specifically (such as, by way of example and without limitation, due to a decline in the popularity of our programming and/or brand) or all of their programing generally (such as, by way of example and without limitation, due to a move of consumers away from a platform carrying our programming), it could adversely affect our operating results.
If, for any number of reasons, we are unable to continue to develop and monetize WWE Network successfully, it could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.
Need to Attract, Retain and Replace Fans. The markets for entertainment video are intensely competitive and include many subscription, transactional and ad-supported models and vast amounts of pirated materials, all of which capture segments of the entertainment video market. These markets have been and are expected to continue to be subject to rapid changes, and new technologies and evolving business models are developing at a fast pace. In domestic markets, WWE Network is carried exclusively as a part of Peacock. Our ability to attract and retain fans for WWE Network internationally and for Peacock domestically will depend in part on our ability to provide consistent high-quality content and a high level of service that is perceived as a good value for the consumer’s entertainment dollars in the face of this intense competition. Our failure to do so could adversely affect our business and operating results.
Significant Ongoing Costs. WWE Network has and will continue to require significant content cost and operating costs. Any and all such costs, if not more than offset by revenues from WWE Network, could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.
Reliance on Partners to Offer our Content. Fans have the ability to receive streaming WWE content through their PCs, Macs and other Internet-connected devices, including game consoles and mobile devices, such as tablets and mobile phones as well as smart televisions and Blu-Ray players. We intend to continue to offer WWE Network in international markets through available platforms and partners. As a result, we rely on outside partners to develop, supply and maintain technology and infrastructure necessary to deliver our content and interact with the user. If we (in international markets) or Peacock (in the domestic market) are not successful in maintaining, renewing and/or replacing this technology or if we or Peacock are not successful in entering into and maintaining relationships with platform providers, if we or our partners (including Peacock) encounter technological, licensing or other impediments to streaming our content, or if viewers either upgrade existing platforms or migrate to new platforms in such a way that we or our partners (including Peacock) do not or cannot deliver through the new or upgraded platform, our ability to reach our fans and monetize our content successfully could be adversely impacted. Certain platforms, such as Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Hulu, offer their owned or licensed content and, therefore, may be disincentivized to promote and deliver our content at the same level as provided for their content.
We and our business partners face various risks relating to our computer systems, content delivery and online operations, which could have a negative impact on our financial condition or our results of operations.
Our reputation and ability to attract, retain and serve our fans will depend on the reliable performance of computer and information systems and other technologies, including technology systems used in connection with the production and distribution of our programming and those of third-parties (including Peacock) with whom we partner in our operations. Interruptions in these systems, or with the Internet in general whether due to fault by any party or due to weather, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, power loss or other force majeure type events, could make our content unavailable or degraded. These service disruptions or failures could be prolonged. Delivery of video programming over the Internet is done through a series of carriers with switch-overs between carriers. Television delivery is extremely complex and includes satellite, fiberoptic cable, over-the-air delivery and other means. Any point of failure in this distribution chain would cause a disruption or degradation of our signal. Service disruption or degradation for any of the foregoing reasons could diminish the overall attractiveness of our content. We do not carry insurance that would cover us in the event of many types of business interruption that could occur.
The Company and its partners face the risk of a security breach or disruption, whether through external cyber-attack/intrusion or from persons with access to systems inside the organization. These risks include, without limitation, computer viruses (including worms, malware, ransomware and other destructive or disruptive software or denial of service attacks), physical or electronic break-ins and similar disruptions and any delays in our service and operations as well as loss, misuse, theft or release of proprietary, confidential, sensitive or otherwise valuable company or customer data or information. The Company commits significant personnel and financial resources to maintain the security of its systems, including implementing various measures to monitor and manage the risk of a security breach or disruption, and to plan for the mitigation of losses if such breach or disruption were to occur. There can be no assurance that these security efforts will be effective or that attempted security breaches or disruptions would not be successful or damaging or that the Company would be promptly aware of them or able to mitigate damages from them. The Company also utilizes third party service providers in several aspects of its operations, and these third parties are also subject to risks of security breach or disruption. The Company is not able to assure the effectiveness of security among our service providers. The Company and certain of its third-party service providers receive personal information through web services. This information is generally subject to applicable privacy policies. Personal information received by our service providers includes credit card information in certain instances. The Company expends significant effort to ensure compliance with its privacy policy and to ensure that our service providers safeguard credit card information
including contractually requiring those providers to remain compliant with applicable PCI Data Security Standards. However, a significant security breach or other disruption involving the systems of the Company or one or more of its service providers could disrupt the proper functioning of these systems and therefore the Company's operations (for which we likely will not carry sufficient insurance); result in the unauthorized access to, and destruction, loss, theft, misappropriation or release of proprietary, confidential, sensitive or otherwise valuable information; require significant management attention and resources to remedy the damages that could result (if, in fact, they can be remedied), and subject the Company to litigation or damage to its reputation. Any or all of these could have a negative impact on our financial condition or results of operations.
Our businesses entail certain risks relating to privacy norms and regulations.
We and our business partners collect certain data supplied by our fans. We utilize this data in various ways including our marketing efforts. We face complex legal obligations domestically and internationally regarding the manner in which we treat and use such information, including, without limitation, the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”) and the California Consumer Privacy Act, updated by the California Privacy Rights Act which will go into effect on January 1, 2023. These legal obligations carry substantial monetary penalties if breached. Unintentional noncompliance by us or our partners of these regulations could have an adverse effect on our business. If we were to disclose or use data about our fans in a manner that is objectionable to them or is contrary to applicable law, our business reputation could be adversely affected and it could result in litigation, either or both of which could impact our operating results. In addition, our operations in international markets expose us to multiple regulatory frameworks and societal norms, the complexity of which may result in unintentional noncompliance which could adversely affect our business and operating results.
The adoption of any laws or regulations that adversely affect the growth, popularity or use of the Internet to access our programming, including laws and/or court decisions that have the effect of limiting Internet neutrality, could limit the demand for our content via Peacock and other online platforms. The FCC had adopted an “Open Internet” Report and Order and accompanying rules, which addressed various practices of broadband Internet access providers. Those rules, in substantial part, were reversed by the FCC “Restoring Internet Freedom” Declaratory Ruling, Report and Order released in 2018, and replaced by what the FCC refers to as a “light-touch regulatory framework,” including modified customer transparency requirements. Petitions for review of the FCC’s rulings were filed by multiple parties. In October 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (“D.C. Circuit”) largely affirmed the FCC’s 2018 Restoring Internet Freedom decision, though reversed the blanket preemption adopted by the FCC of state and local requirements that are inconsistent with FCC’s deregulatory approach and remanded to the FCC to further consider three discrete issues. The FCC concluded in an order on remand that there was no basis to alter its conclusions in the Restoring Internet Freedom Order. Petitions for reconsideration of the FCC order on remand remain pending, and the FCC has asked the D.C. Circuit to refrain from hearing any challenges to its order on remand, while it considers the pending petitions. Following the FCC’s repeal of its Open Internet rules, California, and a number of other states enacted or introduced their own versions of Open Internet-type laws. Following judicial challenge of the California law in Federal Court by a group of service provider associations and the district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of the California law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of an injunction and ruled, agreeing with the D.C. Circuit’s preemption analysis, that the FCC’s adoption of its Restoring Internet Freedom order did not preempt the California law. The 9th Circuit decision, which is subject to further review and appeal and may or may not be followed in other U.S. Courts of Appeal, nonetheless appears to remove an impediment to the adoption and implementation of Open Internet-type laws by the states. To the extent that network operators engage in discriminatory practices, our business could be adversely impacted. As we continue to expand internationally, government regulation concerning the Internet, and in particular, net neutrality, may be nascent or non-existent. Within such a regulatory environment, due to the political and economic power of local network operators, who may have interests that do not align with ours, we could experience discriminatory or anti-competitive practices that could impede our growth, cause us to incur additional expense or otherwise negatively affect our business. To the extent that network operators in international markets implement usage based pricing, including meaningful bandwidth caps, or otherwise try to monetize access to their networks by data providers (such as through tiered access or pricing), due to the heavy bandwidth use of audio/visual content, we could incur greater operating expenses and our business could be negatively impacted.
Our failure to continue to build and maintain our brand of entertainment could adversely affect our operating results.
We must continue to build and maintain our strong brand identity to attract and retain fans who have a number of entertainment choices. The creation, marketing and distribution of live events, programming and films that our fans value and enjoy is at the core of our business. The production of compelling live, televised, streamed and film content is critical to our ability to generate revenues across our media platforms and product outlets. Also important are effective consumer communications, such as marketing, customer service and public relations. The role of social media by fans and by us is an important factor in our brand perception. If our efforts to create compelling services and goods and/or otherwise promote and maintain our brand, services and merchandise are not successful, our ability to attract and retain fans may be adversely affected. Such a result would likely lead to a decline in our television ratings, attendance
at our live events post-pandemic, and/or otherwise impact our sales of goods and services, which would adversely affect our operating results.
Our failure to retain or continue to recruit key performers could lead to a decline in the appeal of our storylines and the popularity of our brand of entertainment, which could adversely affect our operating results.
Our success depends, in large part, upon our ability to recruit, train and retain athletic performers who have the physical presence, acting ability and charisma to portray characters in our live events, programming and films. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to continue to identify and train these performers. Additionally, throughout our history, performers from time to time have stopped working for us for any number of reasons, and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to retain our current performers either during the terms of their contracts or when their contracts expire. Our failure to attract and retain key performers, an increase in the costs required to attract and retain such performers, or a serious or untimely injury to, or the death of, or unexpected or premature loss or retirement for any reason of, any of our key performers could lead to a decline in the appeal of our storylines and the popularity of our brand of entertainment. Scheduling conflicts for talent services may also affect certain productions. Any of the foregoing issues could adversely affect our operating results.
A decline in the popularity of our brand of sports entertainment, including as a result of changes in the social and political climate, could adversely affect our business.
Our operations are affected by consumer tastes and entertainment trends, which are unpredictable and subject to change and may be affected by changes in the social and political climate. Our programming is created to evoke a passionate response from our fans. Changes in our fans’ tastes or a material change in the perceptions of our business partners, including our distributors, sponsors and licensees, whether as a result of the social and political climate or otherwise, could adversely affect our operating results.
The unexpected loss of the services of Vincent K. McMahon could adversely affect our ability to create popular characters and creative storylines or could otherwise adversely affect our operating results.
In addition to serving as Chairman of our Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. McMahon leads the creative team that develops the storylines and the characters for our programming (including our television, WWE Network and other programming) and live events. The loss of Mr. McMahon due to unexpected retirement, disability, death or other unexpected termination for any reason could have a material adverse effect on our ability to create popular characters and creative storylines or could otherwise adversely affect our operating results.
Changes in the regulatory atmosphere and related private sector initiatives could adversely affect our businesses.
Production of video programming by independent producers is generally not directly regulated by the federal or state governments in the United States. SmackDown is on broadcast television on the Fox Network, and certain of our programming is distributed on-demand via cable and satellite operators. We are responsible, directly or indirectly, for compliance with certain additional FCC regulations and statutory requirements applicable to programming distributed over television broadcast stations, cable and satellite, as well as for certain of our programming distributed via online platforms that has been televised via broadcast television, cable or satellite. Any failure to remain in compliance with these requirements could expose us to substantial costs and adverse publicity which could impact our operating results. Changes in FCC regulations, and the ongoing reallocation of satellite spectrum for “5G” next generation wireless broadband use, could impact the availability of satellite transmission spectrum for video programming distribution, which could increase the transmission costs of certain of our programming and/or affect transmission quality and reliability. The markets for programming in the United States and internationally may be substantially affected by government regulations applicable to, as well as social and political influences on, television stations and networks. We voluntarily designate the suitability of each of our television and WWE Network programs using standard industry ratings. Domestic and foreign governmental and private-sector initiatives relating to the production and distribution of video programming are announced from time to time. Compliance by our licensees of these initiatives and/or their noncompliance of governmental policies could restrict our program distribution and adversely affect our levels of viewership, result in adverse publicity and/or otherwise impact our operating results.
The markets in which we operate are intensely competitive, rapidly changing and increasingly fragmented, and we may not be able to compete effectively, especially against competitors with greater financial resources or marketplace presence, which could adversely affect our operating results.
We face competition for our audiences from professional and college sports, as well as other forms of live and televised, streamed and filmed entertainment and other leisure activities in a rapidly changing and increasingly fragmented marketplace. For the sale of our consumer products, we compete with entertainment companies, professional and college sports leagues and other makers of branded apparel and merchandise. Many of the companies with whom we compete have substantially greater financial resources than we do. Other new and existing professional wrestling leagues also compete with our goods and services. Our failure to compete effectively
could result in a significant loss of viewers, subscribers, venues, distribution channels or performers and fewer entertainment and advertising dollars spent on our form of sports entertainment, any of which could adversely affect our operating results.
We face uncertainties associated with international markets, which could adversely affect our operating results and impair our business strategy.
We are regularly negotiating and entering into new agreements and renewals and extensions of existing agreements for our products and services in international markets. WWE Network is available in most international markets. In 2018, WWE embarked on an important long-term partnership with the General Entertainment Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for, among other things, a series of live events in that region. We periodically held talent tryouts overseas pre-pandemic and have a training facility in the United Kingdom. Cultural norms and regulatory frameworks vary in the markets in which we operate and our products' nonconformance to local norms or applicable law, regulations or licensing requirements could interrupt our operations or affect our sales, viewership and success in the markets. Our production of live events overseas in non-pandemic times subjects us to numerous risks involved in foreign travel and operations and also subjects us to local norms and complex regulations (including visa obligations). In addition, these live events and the licensing and/or sale of our goods and services in international markets expose us to some degree of currency risk. International operations may be subject to political instability inherent in varying degrees in those markets, terrorism and wars. Other risks relating to foreign operations include difficulties and costs associated with staffing and managing foreign operations, management distraction, new and different sources of competition, compliance with U.S. and international laws relating to, among other things, bribery, less favorable foreign intellectual property laws, laws relating to repatriation of funds, lower levels of Internet availability, complexity of VAT and other local tax laws, and data protection, consumer protection, censorship, licensing and other regulatory matters as well as possible reputational risks. The GDPR applies to certain of our operations, and its provisions are far reaching. Noncompliance with GDPR could result in significant fines, operational issues and/or harm to reputation. The United Kingdom’s withdrawal of its membership from the European Union (referred to as “Brexit”) could complicate international matters including financial, legal, tax and trade implications. We have committed significant financial and personnel resources toward compliance. No assurances can be provided that our efforts will be successful in this regard. These risks could adversely affect our operating results and impair our ability to pursue our business strategy as it relates to international markets, which could adversely affect our business.
We may be prohibited from promoting and conducting our live events if we do not comply with applicable regulations, which could lead to a decline in the various revenue streams generated from our live events, which could adversely affect our operating results.
In some United States and foreign jurisdictions, athletic commissions and other applicable regulatory agencies require us to obtain licenses for promoters, medical clearances and/or other permits or licenses for performers and/or permits for events in order for us to promote and conduct our live events. Foreign jurisdictions require visas for personnel and talent at international live events. In international markets, third party promoters generally oversee permitting and regulatory matters. In the event that we fail to comply with the regulations of a particular jurisdiction, whether through our acts or omissions or those of our third-party promoters, we may be prohibited from promoting and conducting our live events in that jurisdiction. In non-pandemic times, the inability to present our live events in jurisdiction(s), in addition to the lost revenues and expenses of the missed event(s), could lead to a decline in various revenue streams in such jurisdiction(s), which could adversely affect our operating results.
Because we depend upon our intellectual property rights, our inability to protect those rights, or our infringement of others’ intellectual property rights, could adversely affect our business.
Intellectual property is material to all aspects of our business. We have a large portfolio of registered and unregistered trademarks, service marks, copyrighted material and characters, trade names and other intellectual property rights worldwide. We also own a large number of Internet website domain names and operate a network of developed, content-based sites, which facilitate and contribute to the exploitation of our intellectual property worldwide. We expend substantial cost and effort in an attempt to maintain and protect this intellectual property and to maintain compliance with other parties’ intellectual property. Our failure to curtail piracy, infringement or other unauthorized use of our intellectual property rights effectively, or our infringement of others’ intellectual property rights, could result in litigation, damage our brand or adversely affect our relationships with the companies that distribute our goods and services, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. Many companies devote significant resources on patents relating to various aspects of streaming services. For example, there are numerous patents that broadly claim means and methods of conducting business on the Internet, and we and/or our service providers have from time to time been named in lawsuits and other claims alleging violations of patents in connection with various aspects of our business. Defending against intellectual property claims, whether they are with or without merit, can result in costly litigation and diversion of personnel. These types of claims could result in our inability to use technology and could significantly impact the monetization of our intellectual property.
Our distribution mechanisms for our goods and services are increasingly complex across various distribution platforms, various geographical areas and timing windows.
Our inadvertent grant of inconsistent rights to our intellectual property, goods and/or services or allegations of such inconsistent grants could result in claims of breach of our distribution agreements or licenses and/or result in litigation which could adversely impact our operations.
We could incur substantial liability relating to accidents or injuries (or insurance relating thereto) arising out of our physically demanding events.
We hold numerous live events each year. This schedule exposes our performers and our employees who are involved in the production of those events to the risk of travel and performance-related accidents, the consequences of which are not fully covered by insurance. The physical nature of our events exposes our performers to the risk of serious injury or death. Although our performers, as independent contractors, are responsible for maintaining their own health, disability and life insurance, we self-insure medical costs for our performers for injuries that they incur while training and performing. We self-insure a substantial portion of any other liability that we could incur relating to such injuries. In certain states, notably California and New York, legislative changes have been enacted or are contemplated that draw into question our ability to treat our talent as independent contractors in those states. The impact to the Company of these initiatives is unknown. If ultimately required, worker’s compensation insurance for our talent or other aspects of their treatment as employees in those states could add expense to, or otherwise alter, our operations, which could affect our business, financial condition and/or results of operations. Liability to us resulting from any death or serious injury sustained by one of our performers while performing, to the extent not covered by our insurance, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
Our live events entail other risks inherent in public live events, which could lead to disruptions of our business as well as liability to other parties, any of which could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations.
We hold numerous large live events each year, both domestically and internationally. Certain risks are inherent in events of the type we perform as well as the travel to and from them, and we are required to expend substantial resources on safety matters such as security. Risks of travel and large live events include air and land travel interruption or accidents, the spread of infectious disease (such as COVID-19) or other illness, injuries resulting from building problems, pyrotechnics or other equipment malfunction, terrorism or other violence, local labor strikes and other force majeure type events. These issues could result in personal injuries or deaths, canceled events and other disruptions to our business for which our business interruption insurance may be insufficient or nonexistent. Any of these occurrences also could result in liability to other parties for which we may not have insurance. Any of these risks could adversely affect our business, financial condition and/or results of operations.
We could face a variety of risks if we expand into other new and complementary businesses and/or make certain investments or acquisitions.
We have entered into new or complementary businesses and made equity and debt investments in other companies in the past and plan to continue to do so in the future. We may also enter into business combination transactions, make acquisitions or enter into strategic partnerships, joint ventures or alliances. Risks of this expansion and/or these investments and transactions may include, among other risks: unanticipated liabilities or contingencies including counter-party risks such as inadvertent breaches or collection difficulties; potential diversion of management’s attention and other resources, including available cash, from our existing businesses; loss on investments due to poor performance by the business invested in; inability to integrate a new business successfully; revaluations of debt and equity investments as well as market, credit and interest-rate risks (any of which could result in impairment charges and other costs); competition from other companies with more experience in such businesses; and possible additional regulatory requirements and compliance costs, all of which could affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
Our accounts receivable relate principally to a limited number of distributors, licensees, and other partners increasing our exposure to bad debts and counter-party risk which could potentially have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
Substantial portions of our accounts receivable are from distributors of our programming; hosts/promoters of our live events (pre-pandemic); and licensees who produce consumer products containing our intellectual property. The concentration of our accounts receivable across a limited number of parties subjects us to individual counter-party and credit risk as these parties may breach our agreement, claim that we have breached the agreement, become insolvent and/or declare bankruptcy, delaying or reducing our collection of receivables or rendering collection impossible altogether. Certain of the parties are located overseas which may make collection efforts more difficult (including due to increased legal uncertainty) and, at times, collections may be economically unfeasible. Adverse changes in general economic conditions and/or contraction in global credit markets could precipitate liquidity problems among our
debtors. This could increase our exposure to losses from bad debts and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
There are inherent risks relating to our new leased corporate headquarters and media production facilities.
We have signed a lease for space in downtown Stamford, Connecticut, in which we plan to house substantially all our operations, including our corporate headquarters and media production facilities. The scope of this project has changed somewhat, and the move is now expected to begin in late 2022. The buildout of this space will involve substantial capital expenditure, and it could take longer, and cost more, than currently expected. Significant delays and/or cost overruns would result in higher expenditures and could be disruptive of operations, any of which could have a negative impact on our financial condition or results of operations. Moreover, it is possible that, once built, the space may prove to be less conducive to our operations than is currently anticipated, resulting in operational inefficiencies or similar difficulties that could prove difficult or impossible to remediate and result in an adverse impact on the our financial condition or results of operations.
We could incur substantial liabilities if litigation is resolved unfavorably.
In our business, we become subject to various complaints and litigation matters. By its nature, the outcome of litigation is difficult to assess and quantify, and its continuing defense is costly. Any adverse judgment or settlement could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition or results of operations.
A change in tax laws in key jurisdictions could materially increase our tax expense.
We are subject to federal, state and international tax laws and regulations. Changes to tax laws and regulations, or in the interpretation of such laws and regulations, could increase our effective tax rate, adversely affecting our operating results. The Company uses its best judgment in determining these tax obligations. However, developments such as a challenge by a taxing authority, a change in the Company’s ability to utilize tax benefits, such as carryforwards and/or credits, or a deviation from other tax-related assumptions may impact our financial results. In this connection, the Company anticipates that it will continue to avail itself of certain state content production and infrastructure tax incentives and anticipates receiving tax credits from the new headquarters buildout. Any loss of these credits or inability of the Company to utilize these credits as anticipated could adversely affect our operating results.
We continue to face certain risks relating to our feature film business, which could result in asset impairment charges, adversely affecting our financial condition or our results of operations.
While lower than they were at historical levels, we still have capitalized film costs on our balance sheet. The accounting for our film business in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles entails significant judgment to develop estimates of expected future revenues from films. If expected revenue from one or more of our films does not materialize because audience demand does not meet expectations, our estimated revenues may not be sufficient to recoup our investment in the film. If actual revenues are lower than our estimated revenues or if costs are higher than expected, we are required to record an impairment charge and write down the capitalized costs of the film. No assurance can be given that we will not record impairment charges in any periods.
Risks Related to Markets Generally
A decline in general economic conditions or disruption of financial markets, including any resulting from COVID-19, may, among other things, reduce the discretionary income of consumers or erode advertising markets, which could adversely affect our business.
Our operations are affected by general economic conditions, including consumers’ disposable income, which has a direct material impact on the demand for entertainment and leisure activities. Declines in general economic conditions (such as, without limitation, a continuing deterioration due to COVID-19) could reduce the level of discretionary income that our fans and potential fans have to spend on our live events, programming, films and consumer products, which could adversely affect our revenues. Volatility and disruption of financial markets could limit the ability of our sponsors, licensees and distributors to obtain adequate financing to maintain operations and result in a decrease in sales volume that could have a negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Inflation, which has historically not had a material impact on the Company, is reported over the past year to be increasing materially and it could affect our customers and business partners’ purchases from, and sales to, us, adversely affecting our revenues and/or costs of doing business. Our television partners derive revenues from the sale of advertising. We also sell advertising directly on our website and, depending upon the distribution methods used to monetize additional content, we may have additional advertising to sell. We sell sponsorship packages to our live events and certain other of our services, and we will continue to participate in such sponsorship sales
with Peacock on its platforms. Continued softness in the advertising markets due to a weak economic environment, the COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise, could adversely affect our revenues or the financial viability of our distributors.
Risks Related to Our Indebtedness
Servicing our debt may require a significant amount of cash, and we could have insufficient cash flow from operations or lack of access to sources of financing to meet these obligations and/or our other liquidity needs.
Our total consolidated debt, including the $215.0 million aggregate principal amount of 3.375% convertible senior notes due 2023 (the "Convertible Notes"), is significant. We also have availability under our $200.0 million revolving credit facility (the "Revolving Credit Facility"). Through certain of our subsidiaries, the Company also has in place a real estate mortgage in the principal amount of $21.7 million secured by the related real estate (the “Asset-Backed Facilities”).
We believe we have sufficient liquidity for at least the next twelve months for our needs (including the payment of our dividend). However, our ability to make scheduled principal and interest payments on the Convertible Notes and under the Revolving Credit Facility, the Asset-Backed Facilities and any other indebtedness that may be outstanding at the time will depend on our future performance, which is subject to economic, financial, competitive and other factors which may be beyond our control, including the items described elsewhere in these Risk Factors. It is possible our business may not continue to generate cash flow from operations in the future sufficient to service our debt and provide for all our other uses of cash including capital and operating expenditures and paying our dividend. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow, we could be required to adopt one or more alternatives which, assuming they are, in fact, available, could be onerous, dilutive or otherwise affect our operations and/or the market price of our Common Stock. Such alternatives could include, for example, substantially reducing our cost structure, selling assets, reducing or eliminating our dividend, and/or obtaining additional debt or equity financing. We may not be able to engage in any of these activities on desirable terms, or at all, due to our then existing financial condition, market conditions, regulatory matters or contractual obligations (including, for example, any restrictions under our Revolving Credit Facility or other credit agreement or debt instruments that may exist at that time). Any failure to make a required payment under our indebtedness may constitute a default under that indebtedness and under other indebtedness due to cross-default provisions and could trigger acceleration clauses causing the obligations to become immediately due and payable. The occurrence of one or more of these risks could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.
The accounting method for convertible debt securities that may be settled in cash and/or shares, such as the Company’s convertible notes, could have a material effect on our diluted earnings per share.
In August 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2020-06, Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity (“ASU 2020-06”). The Company intends to adopt the amendments on January 1, 2022. Once adopted, the convertible notes of the Company will be subject to the “if-converted” method for calculating diluted earnings per share. Under the “if-converted” method, diluted earnings per share will be calculated assuming that all of the convertible notes were converted solely into shares of common stock at the beginning of the reporting period, unless the result would be anti-dilutive. This new method of calculating earnings per share may adversely affect our diluted earnings per share.
Risks Related to Our Stock Ownership
Failure to meet market expectations for our financial performance could adversely affect the market price and volatility of our stock.
We believe that the price of our stock generally reflects certain market expectations for our future operating results. Any failure to meet or delay in meeting these expectations, including as a result of any of the events, conditions and/or circumstances set forth in these Risk Factors, could cause the market price of our stock to decline significantly.
Through his beneficial ownership of a majority of our Class B common stock, Mr. McMahon can exercise control over our affairs, and his interests may conflict with the holders of our Class A common stock.
We have Class A common stock and Class B common stock. The holders of Class A common stock generally have rights identical to holders of Class B common stock, except that holders of Class A common stock are entitled to one vote per share, and holders of Class B common stock are entitled to ten votes per share. Holders of both classes of common stock generally will vote together as a single class on all matters presented to stockholders for their vote or approval, except as otherwise required by applicable Delaware law.
A substantial majority of the issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock is owned beneficially by Vincent K. McMahon and, as a result, he controls a majority of the voting power of our common stock and can effectively exercise control over our affairs. His interest could conflict with the holders of our Class A common stock. McMahon’s voting control could discourage or
preclude others from initiating potential mergers, takeovers or other change of control transactions. As a result, the market price of our Class A common stock could decline.
Our dividend is affected by a number of factors, and we cannot provide any guaranty that we will continue to repurchase shares of our common stock pursuant to our share repurchase program.
Our Board of Directors regularly evaluates the Company’s Common Stock dividend policy and determines the dividend rate each quarter. The level of dividends, if any, will continue to be influenced by many factors, including, among other things, our liquidity and historical and projected cash flow, our strategic plan (including alternative uses of capital), our financial results and condition, contractual and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends (including under our revolving credit facility), general economic and competitive conditions and such other factors as our Board of Directors may consider relevant from time to time. All of these factors are subject to the various contingencies listed in the other Risk Factors included in this Form 10-K. We cannot assure our stockholders that dividends will be paid in the future, or that, if paid, dividends will be at the same amount or with the same frequency as in the past. Any reduction in our dividend payments could have a negative effect on our stock price.
In February 2019, the Company announced a $500 million stock repurchase program pursuant to which we are authorized to repurchase shares of our common stock at management’s discretion and subject to applicable laws. We have repurchased approximately $249 million of common stock to date and all share repurchases have been retired. This program is subject to the same risk factors as those influencing our dividend. The share repurchase program does not obligate us to repurchase any set dollar amount or number of shares and may be modified, suspended, or terminated at any time, and it was suspended throughout 2020, largely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, no assurances can be provided as to the level of repurchases or the completion of this repurchase program at any specific time or at all. The suspension or termination of our share repurchase program could adversely affect the market price of our common stock. Additionally, the existence of a share repurchase program could cause the market price of our common stock to be higher than it would be in the absence of such a program. As a result, any repurchase program may not ultimately result in enhanced value to our stockholders and may not prove to be the best use of our cash resources.
A substantial number of shares are eligible for sale by Mr. McMahon and members of his family or trusts established for their benefit, and the sale of those shares could lower our stock price.
All of the issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock are held by Vincent McMahon and other members of his family including certain trusts set up for family members. Sales of substantial amounts of these shares, or the perception that such sales could occur, may lower the prevailing market price of our Class A common stock. If any sales or transfers of Class B common stock are made to persons outside of the McMahon family, the shares automatically convert into Class A common stock.
The market for our Class A common stock is volatile.
The price at which our common stock has traded has fluctuated significantly. The price may continue to be volatile due to a number of factors beyond our direct control, including our operating results (especially where different from the expectations of securities analysts, investors and the financial community), market volatility in general and short interest in our stock. Given the dynamic nature of our business and all other factors that limit the predictability of the future, any of our forecasts, outlook or other forward-looking statements could differ materially from actual results which could cause a decline in the trading price of our common stock.

---

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.

---

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Item 2. Properties
Our headquarters are located in Stamford, Connecticut. During 2019, we entered into a long-term lease for a new global headquarters site in Stamford. We expect to move into the new location in phases beginning in late 2022 upon completion of leasehold improvements. We currently own our existing headquarters building, as well as two nearby buildings in Stamford that support our television production operations. We also have leases in the Stamford and surrounding areas for additional corporate office spaces and warehouse storage space. Upon completion of our move to the new global headquarters, we expect to sell our existing headquarters building and exit our leased office spaces. We will evaluate options for our two television production studio buildings based on strategic, operating and financial considerations. In addition, we have leases for our Performance Centers located in Orlando, Florida and the United Kingdom, which are used for development and training activities. We also have leases for various sales offices located domestically and internationally. All of our facilities are utilized by our Media, Live Events and Consumer Products segments.

---

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
Information with respect to this item may be found in Note 15, Commitments and Contingencies, to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 15, which is incorporated herein by reference.

---

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not Applicable.
PART II

---

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Information and Holders of Each Class of Common Equity
Our Class A common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange, under the symbol "WWE". Our Class B common stock is not listed on any exchange.
There were 6,596 holders of record of Class A common stock and three holders of record of Class B common stock on February 1, 2022. Vincent K. McMahon, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, controls a substantial majority of the voting power of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock, and as a result, can effectively exercise control over our affairs.
Our Class B common stock is fully convertible into Class A common stock, on a one for one basis, at any time at the option of the holder. The two classes are entitled to equal per share dividends and distributions and vote together as a class with each share of Class B entitled to ten votes and each share of Class A entitled to one vote, except when separate class voting is required by applicable law. If, at any time, any shares of Class B common stock are beneficially owned by any person other than Vincent McMahon, Linda McMahon, any descendant of either of them, any entity which is wholly owned and is controlled by any combination of such persons or any trust, all the beneficiaries of which are any combination of such persons, each of those shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock.
Dividends
Our Board of Directors regularly evaluates the Company’s Common Stock dividend policy and determines the dividend rate each quarter. The level of dividends will continue to be influenced by many factors, including, among other things, our liquidity and historical and projected cash flow, our strategic plan (including alternative uses of capital), our financial results and condition, contractual and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends (including under our Revolving Credit Facility), general economic and competitive conditions and such other factors as our Board of Directors may consider relevant from time to time. We cannot assure our stockholders that dividends will be paid in the future, or that, if paid, dividends will be at the same amount or with the same frequency as in the past. Any reduction in our dividend payments could have a negative effect on our stock price.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
The following table presents information with respect to purchases of common stock of the Company made during the three months ended December 31, 2021 pursuant to the Company’s authorized share repurchase program:
Period
Total Number of Shares Purchased
Average Price Paid Per Share
Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Program
Maximum Dollar Value that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Program (1)
October 1, 2021 to October 31, 2021
-
$
-
-
$
300,929,323
November 1, 2021 to November 30, 2021
415,119
$
53.54
415,119
$
278,705,731
December 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021
570,493
$
48.69
570,493
$
250,929,337
Total
985,612
$
50.73
985,612
$
250,929,337
(1)In February 2019, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a stock repurchase program of up to $500.0 million of our common stock. Repurchases may be made from time to time at management’s discretion subject to certain pre-approved parameters and in accordance with all applicable securities and other laws and regulations. The stock repurchase program does not obligate the Company to repurchase any minimum dollar amount or number of shares, has no pre-established termination date and may be modified, suspended or discontinued at any time. During 2021, the Company repurchased approximately 3.3 million shares of common stock in the open market for an aggregate amount of $165.6 million. Since the program’s inception, the Company has repurchased approximately 4.6 million shares of common stock in the open market for an aggregate amount of $249.1 million. All repurchased shares were subsequently retired.
‎
Cumulative Total Return Chart
Set forth below is a line graph comparing, for the period commencing December 31, 2016 and ended December 31, 2021, the cumulative total return on our Class A common stock compared to the cumulative total return of the Russell 2000 Index and S&P Movies and Entertainment Index, a published industry index. The graph assumes the investment of $100 at the close of trading as of December 31, 2016 in our Class A common stock, the Russell 2000 Index and the S&P Movies and Entertainment Index and the reinvestment of all dividends.
Period Ending
Index
12/31/16
12/31/17
12/31/18
12/31/19
12/31/20
12/31/21
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
100.00
169.72
418.10
365.38
273.76
283.57
Russell 2000
100.00
114.65
102.02
128.06
153.62
176.39
S&P Movies & Entertainment
100.00
105.02
105.66
133.89
186.21
181.63
‎

---

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Item 6. [Reserved]

---

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
You should read the following discussion in conjunction with the audited Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes included elsewhere in this report.
Our operations are organized around the following principal activities:
Media:
The Media segment reflects the production and monetization of long-form and short-form video content across various platforms, including WWE Network, broadcast and pay television, digital and social media, as well as filmed entertainment. Across these platforms, revenues principally consist of content rights fees associated with the distribution of our programming content, subscriptions to WWE Network, and advertising and sponsorships. Effective March 18, 2021, the domestic monetization of WWE Network is generated from content license fees and certain shared sponsorship revenues from NBCU. Media segment revenues for the year ended December 31, 2021 include the upfront revenue recognition related to the delivery of certain intellectual property rights under this agreement.
Live Events:
Live events provide ongoing content for our media platforms. Live Event segment revenues consist primarily of ticket sales, revenues from events for which we receive a fixed fee, as well as the sale of travel packages associated with the Company’s global live events. As a result of the global spread of COVID-19, these revenues had been greatly limited from March 2020 through the first half of 2021. We held our annual WrestleMania events on April 10 and 11, 2021 with ticketed audiences, and on July 16, 2021, we resumed our domestic and international live event touring schedules.
Consumer Products:
The Consumer Products segment engages in the merchandising of WWE branded products, such as video games, toys and apparel, through licensing arrangements and direct-to-consumer sales. Revenues principally consist of royalties and licensee fees related to WWE branded products, and sales of merchandise distributed at our live events and through eCommerce platforms.
Results of Operations
The Company presents Adjusted OIBDA as the primary measure of segment profit (loss). The Company defines Adjusted OIBDA as operating income before depreciation and amortization, excluding stock-based compensation, certain impairment charges and other non-recurring material items. Adjusted OIBDA includes depreciation and amortization expenses directly related to supporting the operations of our segments, including content production asset amortization, depreciation and amortization of costs related to content delivery and technology assets utilized for WWE Network, as well as amortization of right-of-use assets related to finance leases of equipment used to produce and broadcast our live events. The Company believes the presentation of Adjusted OIBDA is relevant and useful for investors because it allows investors to view our segment performance in the same manner as the primary method used by management to evaluate segment performance and make decisions about allocating resources. Additionally, we believe that Adjusted OIBDA is a primary measure used by media investors, analysts and peers for comparative purposes.
Adjusted OIBDA is a non-GAAP financial measure and may be different from similarly-titled non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. A limitation of Adjusted OIBDA is that it excludes depreciation and amortization, which represents the periodic charge for certain fixed assets and intangible assets used in our business. Additionally, Adjusted OIBDA excludes stock-based compensation, a non-cash expense that may vary between periods with limited correlation to underlying operating performance, as well as other non-recurring material items. Adjusted OIBDA should not be regarded as an alternative to operating income or net income as an indicator of operating performance, or to the statement of cash flows as a measure of liquidity, nor should it be considered in isolation or as a substitute for financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. We believe that operating income is the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure to Adjusted OIBDA.
Unallocated corporate general and administrative expenses largely relate to corporate functions such as finance, investor relations, community relations, corporate communications, information technology, legal, human resources and our Board of Directors. These unallocated corporate general and administrative expenses will be shown, as applicable, as a reconciling item in tables where segment and consolidated results are both shown.
Summary
Year Ended December 31, 2021 compared to Year Ended December 31, 2020
(dollars in millions, except where noted)
The following tables present our consolidated results followed by our Adjusted OIBDA results:
Increase
(decrease)
Net revenues
Media
$
936.2
$
868.2
%
Live Events
57.8
19.9
%
Consumer Products
101.2
86.1
%
Total net revenues (1)
1,095.2
974.2
%
Operating expenses
Media
499.4
458.3
%
Live Events
46.0
33.9
%
Consumer Products
62.8
57.3
%
Total operating expenses (2)
608.2
549.5
%
Marketing and selling expenses
Media
60.0
62.2
(4)
%
Live Events
4.9
5.1
(4)
%
Consumer Products
4.4
4.0
%
Total marketing and selling expenses
69.3
71.3
(3)
%
General and administrative expenses (3)
117.8
102.2
%
Depreciation and amortization
40.9
42.6
(4)
%
Operating income
259.0
208.6
%
Interest expense
33.6
35.6
(6)
%
Other income (expense), net
7.5
(1.9)
%
Income before income taxes
232.9
171.1
%
Provision for income taxes
52.5
39.3
%
Net income
$
180.4
$
131.8
%
(1)Our consolidated net revenues increased by $121.0 million, or 12%, in 2021 as compared to 2020. This increase was driven by $42.4 million of higher ticket and merchandise sales due to the return of ticketed live events for a portion of year, coupled with $37.5 million in incremental revenues primarily associated with the contractual escalations of our key domestic distribution agreements for our flagship programs, RAW and SmackDown. Additionally, the current year includes increased network revenues of $29.7 million, primarily driven by the upfront revenue recognition related to the delivery of certain WWE Network intellectual property rights to NBCU, coupled with content license fees associated with the delivery of new WWE Network content. For further analysis, refer to Management’s Discussion and Analysis of our business segments.
(2)Our consolidated operating expenses increased by $58.7 million, or 11%, in 2021 as compared to 2020. This increase was driven by higher content creation and event-related costs associated with the production of our weekly, in-ring content, as well as our premium live events. In the current year, we incurred $38.3 million of higher production-related costs within our Media segment, primarily driven by the resumption of live event touring, including WrestleMania and SummerSlam, and the production of content utilizing the higher cost environment of WWE ThunderDome. During the prior year, we produced a significant portion of our content, including WrestleMania, at our lower cost performance center. We also incurred $16.7 million of higher event-related costs within our Live Events segment, primarily driven by the impact of additional events associated with the return to live event touring. Additionally, the increase was driven by higher management incentive compensation costs of $13.8 million that resulted from improved operating performance, partially offset by a decline of $8.0 million in network-related expenses driven by the transition of the domestic WWE Network to NBCU in March 2021. For further analysis, refer to Management’s Discussion and Analysis of our business segments.
(3)Our consolidated general and administrative expenses increased by $15.6 million, or 15%, in 2021 as compared to 2020. This increase was primarily driven by $9.5 million of additional staff-related costs, including the impact of $6.8 million of incremental severance expenses. For further analysis, refer to Management’s Discussion and Analysis of our business segments.
Reconciliation of Operating Income to Adjusted OIBDA
% of Rev
% of Rev
Operating income
$
259.0
%
$
208.6
%
Depreciation and amortization
40.9
%
42.6
%
Stock-based compensation
19.1
%
28.0
%
Other adjustments (1)
8.1
%
7.0
%
Adjusted OIBDA
$
327.1
%
$
286.2
%
(1)Other adjustments in 2021 include severance expenses primarily associated with the combination of WWE’s television, digital and studios teams into one organization. Other adjustments in 2020 include severance expenses associated with a reduction in our workforce as a result of COVID-19.
Increase
(decrease)
Adjusted OIBDA
Media
$
390.5
$
367.8
%
Live Events
7.7
(17.6)
%
Consumer Products
35.5
26.6
%
Corporate
(106.6)
(90.6)
%
Total Adjusted OIBDA
$
327.1
$
286.2
%
Media
The following tables present the performance results and key drivers for our Media segment:
Increase
(decrease)
Net Revenues
Network (including pay-per-view) (1)
$
215.4
$
185.7
%
Core content rights fees (2)
575.8
538.3
%
Advertising and sponsorship (3)
71.5
65.3
%
Other (4)
73.5
78.9
(7)
%
Total net revenues
$
936.2
$
868.2
%
(1)Network revenues consist primarily of license fees associated with the domestic distribution of WWE Network content to NBCU (effective March 18, 2021), as well as subscription fees from customers of WWE Network and license fees associated with our international licensed partner agreements. Network revenues for the year ended December 31, 2021 include the upfront revenue recognition related to the delivery of certain WWE Network intellectual property rights to NBCU during the first quarter of 2021.
(2)Core content rights fees consist primarily of licensing revenues from the distribution of our flagship programs, RAW and SmackDown, as well as our NXT programming, through global broadcast, pay television and digital platforms.
(3)Advertising and sponsorships revenues within our Media segment consist primarily of advertising revenues from the Company’s content on third-party social media platforms and sponsorship fees from sponsors who promote their products utilizing the Company’s media platforms, including promotion on the Company’s digital websites and on-air promotional media spots.
(4)Other revenues within our Media segment reflect revenues from the distribution of other WWE content, including, but not limited to, certain live in-ring programming content in international markets, scripted, reality and other programming, as well as theatrical and direct-to-home video releases.
Reconciliation of Operating Income to Adjusted OIBDA
% of Rev
% of Rev
Operating income
$
363.4
%
$
332.5
%
Depreciation and amortization
13.4
%
15.1
%
Stock-based compensation
13.7
%
20.2
%
Other adjustments
-
-
%
-
-
%
Adjusted OIBDA
$
390.5
%
$
367.8
%
Media revenues increased by $68.0 million, or 8%, in 2021 as compared to 2020. This increase was primarily driven by an increase in core content rights fees increased by $37.5 million, or 7%, driven primarily by the contractual escalations of our key domestic distribution agreements for our flagship programs, RAW and SmackDown. Additionally, our Network revenues increased by $29.7 million, or 16%, primarily driven by the upfront revenue recognition related to the delivery of certain WWE Network intellectual
property rights to NBCU during the first quarter of 2021, coupled with content license fees associated with the delivery of new WWE Network content.
Media Adjusted OIBDA as a percentage of revenues remained flat in 2021 as compared to 2020, as the incremental core content and network revenues, as discussed above, were mostly offset by $38.3 million of additional production-related costs associated with our weekly, in-ring content, and our premium live events. These increased costs were primarily driven by our return to live event touring and the production of content from WWE ThunderDome in the current year, as compared to content production from our lower cost performance center for a significant portion of the prior year. Additionally, the current year includes increased management incentive compensation costs of $12.1 million resulting from improved operating performance, partially offset by a decline of $8.0 million in network-related expenses driven by the transition of WWE Network to NBCU in March 2021.
Live Events
The following tables present the performance results and key drivers for our Live Events segment:
Increase
(decrease)
Net Revenues
North American ticket sales
$
46.3
$
15.2
%
International ticket sales
4.6
0.2
2,200
%
Advertising and sponsorship (1)
0.9
0.4
%
Other (2)
6.0
4.1
%
Total net revenues
$
57.8
$
19.9
%
Operating Metrics (3)
Total live event attendance
664,700
259,000
%
Number of North American events
%
Average North American attendance
6,880
6,320
%
Average North American ticket price (dollars)
$
76.05
$
53.46
%
Number of international events
1,200
%
Average international attendance
4,930
-
NM
Average international ticket price (dollars)
$
78.37
$
-
NM
(1)Advertising and sponsorships revenues within our Live Events segment primarily consists of fees from advertisers and sponsors who promote their products utilizing the Company’s live events (i.e., presenting sponsor of fan engagement events and advertising signage at the event).
(2)Other revenues within our Live Events segment primarily consists of the sale of travel packages associated with the Company’s global live events, as well as revenues from events for which the Company receives a fixed fee.
(3)Metrics exclude the events for our domestic and United Kingdom NXT brands. These are our developmental brands that typically conduct their events in smaller venues with lower ticket prices. We have conducted 30 NXT events in 2021. Due to COVID-19, these events have been conducted without ticketed attendance. Prior to COVID-19, we conducted 44 ticketed NXT events with paid attendance of 40,900 and average ticket prices of $37.36 in 2020.
Reconciliation of Operating (Loss) Income to Adjusted OIBDA
% of Rev
% of Rev
Operating (loss) income
$
6.9
%
$
(19.1)
(96)
%
Depreciation and amortization
-
-
%
-
-
%
Stock-based compensation
0.8
%
1.5
%
Other adjustments
-
-
%
-
-
%
Adjusted OIBDA
$
7.7
%
$
(17.6)
(88)
%
Live events revenues, which include revenues from ticket sales and travel packages, increased by $37.9 million, or 190%, in 2021 as compared to 2020. Revenues from our ticket sales increased by $35.5 million, or 230%, due to the return of ticketed events in 2021, which began with WrestleMania in April followed by resumption of our domestic and international touring schedules in July. After resuming our domestic and international touring schedules, average attendance increased by 5% and average ticket prices increased by 43% in 2021 as compared to 2020.
Live Events Adjusted OIBDA as a percentage of revenues increased in 2021 as compared to 2020. This increase was driven by the increase in ticket sales, as discussed above, partially offset by increased event-related costs associated with conducting 59 additional events in the current year.
Consumer Products
The following tables present the performance results and key drivers for our Consumer Products segment:
Increase
(decrease)
Net Revenues
Consumer product licensing
$
52.0
$
41.7
%
eCommerce
39.1
41.2
(5)
%
Venue merchandise
10.1
3.2
%
Total net revenues
$
101.2
$
86.1
%
Operating Metrics
Average eCommerce revenue per order (dollars)
$
65.92
$
56.72
%
Number of eCommerce orders
586,600
722,300
(19)
%
Venue merchandise domestic per capita spending (dollars)
$
14.67
$
10.41
%
Reconciliation of Operating Income to Adjusted OIBDA
% of Rev
% of Rev
Operating income
$
33.8
%
$
24.8
%
Depreciation and amortization
0.2
%
-
-
%
Stock-based compensation
1.5
%
1.8
%
Other adjustments
-
-
%
-
-
%
Adjusted OIBDA
$
35.5
%
$
26.6
%
Consumer Products revenues increased by $15.1 million, or 18%, in 2021 as compared to 2020. Consumer product licensing revenues increased by $10.3 million, or 25%, primarily due to growth attributable to the Company’s franchise video game and toys. Venue merchandise revenues increased by $6.9 million, or 216%, primarily driven by the return of merchandise sales at our ticketed events during 2021. This increase was partially offset by a decline in eCommerce revenues of $2.1 million, or 5%, primarily due to a 19% decrease in the volume of online merchandise orders which was driven, in part, by changes in consumer spending habits in the prior year as a result of COVID-19. The decline in orders was partially offset by a 16% increase in average revenue per order.
Consumer Products Adjusted OIBDA as a percentage of revenues increased in 2021 as compared to 2020. This increase was primarily driven by increased revenues, as discussed above.
Corporate
Unallocated corporate general and administrative expenses largely relate to corporate administrative functions, including finance, investor relations, community relations, corporate communications, information technology, legal, human resources and our Board of Directors. The Company does not allocate these general and administrative expenses to its business segments.
Reconciliation of Operating Loss to Adjusted OIBDA
% of Rev
% of Rev
Operating loss
$
(145.1)
(13)
%
$
(129.6)
(13)
%
Depreciation and amortization
27.3
%
27.5
%
Stock-based compensation
3.1
%
4.5
%
Other adjustments (1)
8.1
%
7.0
%
Adjusted OIBDA
$
(106.6)
(10)
%
$
(90.6)
(9)
%
(1)Other adjustments in 2021 include severance expenses primarily associated with the combination of WWE’s television, digital and studios teams into one organization. Other adjustments in 2020 include severance expenses associated with a reduction in our workforce as a result of COVID-19. Our policy is to record Company-wide severance expenses as unallocated corporate general and administrative expenses.
Corporate Adjusted OIBDA decreased by $16.0 million, or 18%, in 2021 as compared to 2020. This decrease was primarily driven by $9.8 million of additional staff-related costs.
Depreciation and Amortization
(dollars in millions)
Increase
(decrease)
Depreciation and amortization
$
40.9
$
42.6
(4)
%
Depreciation and amortization expense decreased by $1.7 million, or 4%, in 2021 as compared to 2020. The current year includes a benefit of $1.0 million from the recognition of an infrastructure tax credit.
Interest Expense
(dollars in millions)
Increase
(decrease)
Interest expense
$
33.6
$
35.6
(6)
%
Interest expense, which relates primarily to interest and amortization associated with our convertible notes, our real estate and equipment finance leases, the revolving credit facility and mortgage, declined by $2.0 million in 2021 as compared to 2020. The prior year included $2.6 million of additional expenses associated with the amounts outstanding under the Company’s Revolving Credit Facility.
Other Income (Expense), Net
(dollars in millions)
Increase
(decrease)
Other income (expense), net
$
7.5
$
(1.9)
%
Other income (expense), net, which is comprised of interest income, gains and losses recorded on our equity investments, realized translation gains and losses, and rental income, increased by $9.3 million in 2021 as compared to 2020. During 2021, the Company recognized a gain of $6.7 million on the partial termination of approximately 33,000 rentable square feet as part of an amendment to its new Stamford headquarters lease. Additionally, the prior year included a net loss of $2.4 million associated with impairment charges and valuation adjustments related to our equity investments.
Income Taxes
(dollars in millions)
Increase
(decrease)
Provision for income taxes
$
52.5
$
39.3
%
Effective tax rate
%
%
The effective tax rate remained flat in 2021 as compared to 2020.
‎
Liquidity and Capital Resources
We had cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments of $415.8 million and $593.4 million as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Our short-term investments consist primarily of U.S. Treasury securities, corporate bonds and government agency bonds. Our debt balance totaled $222.8 million and $316.8 million as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and includes the carrying value of $201.1 and $194.7 million related to our convertible senior notes due 2023 as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Our debt balance as of December 31, 2020 also included $100.0 million of borrowings outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility (defined below).
The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the global economy, disrupted business operations and created significant volatility and disruption to financial markets. Significant uncertainty remains as to the potential impact of COVID-19 and its variants on our operations, and on the global economy as a whole. While restrictions have lessened and we have resumed our domestic and international live event touring schedules, the extent and duration of the pandemic could continue to disrupt global markets and may affect our ability to generate cash from operations. Additionally, please refer to Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors, which provides a discussion of risk factors related to COVID-19.
We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents and short-term investment balances, along with cash generated from operations, will be sufficient to meet our ongoing operating requirements for at least the next twelve months, inclusive of dividend payments, debt service, content production activities, planned capital expenditures and for any discretionary repurchase of shares of our common stock under our approved share repurchase program (see below for further details). The Company also has available capacity of $200.0 million under its Revolving Credit Facility (defined below), which may be used, as needed, for general corporate purposes.
In February 2019, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a stock repurchase program of up to $500.0 million of our common stock. Repurchases may be made from time to time at management’s discretion subject to certain pre-approved parameters and in accordance with all applicable securities and other laws and regulations. The extent to which WWE repurchases its shares, and the timing of such repurchases, will depend upon a variety of factors, including liquidity, capital needs of the business, market conditions, regulatory requirements and other corporate considerations. Repurchases under this program may be funded by one or a combination of existing cash balances and free cash flow. The stock repurchase program does not obligate the Company to repurchase any minimum dollar amount or number of shares, and may be modified, suspended or discontinued at any time. We repurchased 3,251,313 shares of our common stock in the open market for an aggregate cost of $165.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2021.
As it relates to our Convertible Notes (defined below), which pursuant to the terms are currently convertible, we believe that if note holders elect to convert their notes within the next twelve months, the Company has sufficient means to settle the Convertible Notes using any combination of existing cash and cash equivalents and investment balances, borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility, cash generated from operations or through the issuance of shares.
Debt Summary and Borrowing Capacity
The Company has $215.0 million aggregate principal amount of 3.375% convertible senior notes (the "Convertible Notes") due December 15, 2023. See Note 11, Convertible Debt, and Note 3, Earnings Per Share, in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further information on the Convertible Notes, including the dilutive nature of the Convertible Notes.
In May 2019, the Company entered into an amended and restated $200.0 million senior unsecured revolving credit facility with a syndicated group of banks, with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. acting as Administrative Agent (the "Revolving Credit Facility"). The Revolving Credit Facility has a maturity date of May 24, 2024. In April 2020, as a precautionary measure to further strengthen liquidity due to the impact of COVID-19, the Company borrowed $200.0 million under its Revolving Credit Facility. In December 2020, the Company repaid $100.0 million of the borrowings, and in January 2021, the Company repaid the remaining $100.0 million. As of December 31, 2021, the Company was in compliance with the provisions of our Revolving Credit Facility, there were no amounts outstanding, and the Company had available capacity under the terms of the facility of $200.0 million.
In September 2016, the Company acquired land and a building located in Stamford, Connecticut adjacent to our production facility. In connection with the acquisition, we assumed future obligations under a loan agreement, in the principal amount of $23.0 million, which loan is secured by a mortgage on the property. Pursuant to the loan agreement, the assets of WWE Real Estate, a subsidiary of the Company, represent collateral for the underlying mortgage, therefore these assets will not be available to satisfy debts and obligations due to any other creditors of the Company. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the amounts outstanding of the mortgage were $21.7 million and $22.1 million, respectively.
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
Cash generated from operating activities was $178.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to $319.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The $141.3 million decrease in the current year was driven by the timing of collections
associated with our large-scale international events and WWE Network revenues, as well as a decrease in non-cash adjustments, which were partially offset by higher net income.
During 2021, the Company spent $17.7 million on content production activities, including WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures, A&E: Biography, WWE Evil, and various programs for WWE Network, as compared to $25.6 million in 2020. We anticipate spending approximately $40 million to $50 million on content production during the year ending December 31, 2022. In 2021, we received content production incentives of $15.4 million, as compared to $9.5 million in 2020. During the year ending December 31, 2022, we anticipate receiving $15 million to $20 million in content production incentives.
Our accounts receivable represents a significant portion of our current assets and relate principally to a limited number of distributors and licensees. At December 31, 2021, our two largest receivable balances from customers were 38% and 26% of our gross accounts receivable. Changes in the financial condition or operations of our distributors, customers or licensees may result in increased delayed payments or non-payments which would adversely impact our cash flows from operating activities and/or our results of operations. We believe credit risk with respect to accounts receivable is limited due to the generally high credit quality of the Company’s major customers.
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
Cash used in investing activities was $188.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to cash provided of $11.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. During the current year, we purchased $374.5 million of short-term investments and received proceeds from the maturities and sales of our short-term investments of $222.1 million, as compared to purchases of $153.9 million and proceeds of $182.3 million in the prior year. Additionally, we sold certain marketable equity investments during 2020 and collected net proceeds of $11.7 million. Capital expenditures in 2021 increased by $11.6 million as compared to 2020, as we have resumed the construction activity on the Company’s new global headquarters space in Stamford, Connecticut. Capital expenditures for the year ending December 31, 2022 are estimated to range between $280 million and $310 million, with a large portion of this spend associated with the Company’s new global headquarters. During 2021, the Company also received tax credits of $4.3 million relating to our infrastructure improvements in conjunction with capital projects to support our increased content production efforts.
Cash Flow from Financing Activities
Cash used in financing activities was $317.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to cash provided of $39.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. During 2021, the Company paid $165.6 million for stock repurchases under its approved stock repurchase program and repaid $100.0 million from borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility. During 2020, the Company received proceeds of $200.0 million from borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility and repaid $100.0 million of those borrowings. The Company made dividend payments of $36.4 million and $37.2 million during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Additionally, the Company made employee payroll withholding tax payments of $5.6 million and $11.1 million during 2021 and 2020, respectively, related to net settlement upon vesting of employee equity awards.
Contractual Obligations
We have entered into various contracts under which we have commitments to make contractually required payments, including:
Scheduled principal and fixed interest payments under our assumed mortgage in connection with an owned building in Stamford, Connecticut.
Convertible Notes with fixed semi-annual interest payments.
Various operating leases for facilities, sales offices and equipment with terms generally ranging from one to ten years.
Finance lease for the Company’s new headquarters building with an accounting lease term of 30 years in addition to finance leases of certain equipment utilized in our television production operations with contractual terms generally five years or less (see Note 8, Leases, in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further information).
Service contracts with certain vendors and independent contractors, including our talent, with terms ranging from one to twenty years.
Service agreement obligations related to WWE Network (excluding future performance-based payments which are variable in nature).
Our aggregate minimum payment obligations under these contracts as of December 31, 2021 are as follows (dollars in millions):
After
Total
Long-term debt
$
1.4
$
1.4
$
1.4
$
20.8
$
-
$
-
$
25.0
Convertible debt (1)
7.2
222.0
-
-
-
-
229.2
Operating leases (2)
5.0
2.7
1.2
0.6
0.3
0.5
10.3
Finance leases (2) (3)
27.2
27.4
24.3
21.1
21.5
536.8
658.3
Service contracts and talent commitments
37.5
16.8
11.7
10.3
7.9
-
84.2
Total commitments
$
78.3
$
270.3
$
38.6
$
52.8
$
29.7
$
537.3
$
1,007.0
(1)Convertible debt obligations assume that no notes are converted prior to the December 15, 2023 maturity date. See Note 11, Convertible Debt, in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.
(2)Operating and finance lease obligations disclosed in the table above are presented on an undiscounted basis. See Note 8, Leases, in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for the discounted amounts which include the amounts for imputed interest.
(3)Finance lease payments include $358.4 million related to options to extend our global headquarters lease that are reasonably certain of being exercised.
Our Consolidated Balance Sheet at December 31, 2021 includes $0.1 million in liabilities associated with uncertain tax positions (including interest and penalties), which are not included in the table above. The Company does not expect to pay any significant settlements related to these uncertain tax positions in 2022.
Seasonality
Our operating results are not materially affected by seasonal factors; however, we may produce several large-scale premier events throughout the year, including WrestleMania, which result in increased revenues and expenses during the periods in which these events occur. WrestleMania typically occurs late in our first quarter or early second quarter, while certain other large-scale premier events may not have set recurring dates. Revenues from our licensing and direct sale of consumer products, including our internet sites, varies from period to period depending on the volume and extent of licensing agreements and marketing and promotion programs entered into during any particular period of time, as well as the commercial success of the media exposure of our characters and brand. The timing of these events, as well as the continued introduction of new product offerings and revenue generating outlets, can and will cause fluctuations in quarterly revenues and earnings.
Inflation
During 2021, 2020 and 2019, inflation did not have a material effect on our business. Widely reported inflation has occurred, however, and may be ongoing into the foreseeable future. Depending on the severity and persistence of these inflationary pressures, we could see in the future a negative impact on our customers’ demand, or ability to pay (including an impact on the collectability of our accounts receivable), for our goods and services.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The preparation of our Consolidated Financial Statements requires us to make estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, and the related disclosure of contingent assets and contingent liabilities. We base our estimates on our historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making estimates about the carrying values of assets and liabilities. The accuracy of these estimates and the likelihood of future changes depend on a range of possible outcomes and a number of underlying variables, many of which are beyond our control. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
We believe the following judgments and estimates are critical in the preparation of our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Revenue Recognition with Multiple Performance Obligations
Most of our contracts have one performance obligation and all consideration is allocated to that performance obligation. In contracts that have multiple performance obligations, which may include the production of live events, content licenses, and advertising and sponsorship rights, we allocate the transaction price to each identified performance obligation based upon their relative standalone selling price. The standalone selling prices are determined using observable standalone selling prices when available as well as estimates of standalone selling prices using adjusted market assessment and expected cost plus margin approaches to estimate the price for individual components. Judgment is required to determine the standalone selling prices and estimate the portion of the transaction price allocated to each performance obligation.
Content Production Assets, Net
The Company is primarily a content producer with content production assets consisting of feature films, non-live event episodic television series, and original programming content for WWE Network. Feature film titles are predominantly monetized on their own through exploitation and exhibition through individual film distribution arrangements or by sale to a third party. The non-live event episodic television series are predominantly monetized on their own through individual television distribution arrangements. The original WWE Network programming content are predominantly monetized as a film group through the collection of licensing fees from distribution partners or through the collection of monthly subscription fees from WWE Network.
Amounts capitalized for content production assets typically include development costs, production costs, production overhead, and employee salaries and are net of any film production incentives associated with our feature films. Content production assets related to our feature films are amortized in the proportion that revenues bear to management’s estimates of the ultimate revenue expected to be recognized from exploitation, exhibition or sale. Content production assets related to non-live event episodic television series are expensed upon delivery of the completed programming content to the individual television distributors. Our programming content distributed on the WWE Network is expensed based upon delivery to distribution partners or based on viewership consumption patterns if on the subscription-based WWE Network.
Unamortized content production costs are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the fair value of a film predominantly monetized on its own or a film group may be less than its unamortized costs. As it relates to our unamortized feature film production assets, if estimates for a feature film’s ultimate revenues and/or costs are revised and indicate a significant decline in a film’s profitability or if events or circumstances change that indicate that we should assess whether the fair value of a film is less than its unamortized film costs, we calculate the film's estimated fair value using a discounted cash flows model. If fair value is less than the unamortized cost, the film is written down to fair value. Our estimate of ultimate revenues for feature films includes revenues from all sources for ten years from the date of a film’s initial release. We estimate the ultimate revenues based on industry and Company specific trends, the historical performance of similar films, the star power of the lead actors, and the genre of the film. Prior to the release of a feature film and throughout its life, we revise our estimates of revenues based on expected future results, actual results and other known factors affecting the various distribution markets. As it relates to our unamortized non-live event episodic television series content assets, if conditions indicate a potential impairment, and the estimated future cash flows using a discounted cash flow model are not sufficient to recover the unamortized asset, the asset is written down to fair value. As it relates to our unamortized original WWE Network programming content assets, which are predominantly monetized as film group, we review in aggregate at a group level when an event or change in circumstances indicates a change in the expected usefulness of the content or that the fair value may be less than unamortized cost. In addition, if we determine that a program will not likely air, we expense the remaining unamortized asset.
As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, we had $13.8 million and $15.4 million, respectively, in capitalized content production costs. During the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, we recorded aggregate impairment charges of $0.3 million, $3.2 million, and $1.3 million, respectively, related to our content production assets. No assurance can be given that additional unfavorable changes impacting the monetization of our content portfolio will not occur, which, in turn, may result in additional impairment charges that might materially affect our results of operations and financial condition.
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts
Our accounts receivable relate principally to a limited number of distributors and licensees that produce consumer products containing our intellectual property. Adverse changes in general economic conditions and/or contraction in global credit markets could precipitate liquidity problems among our key distributors, increasing our exposure to bad debts which could negatively impact our results of operations and financial condition. We estimate the collectability of our receivables and establish allowances for the amount of account receivable that we estimate to be uncollectible. We base these allowances on our historical collection experience, the length of time our accounts receivable are outstanding, the financial condition of individual customers and current economic conditions that may affect a customer’s ability to pay. Changes in the financial condition of a single major customer, either adverse or positive, could impact the amount and timing of any additional allowances or reductions that may be required. At December 31, 2021, our two largest receivable balances from customers were 38% and 26% of our gross accounts receivable. At December 31, 2020, there were no
customers that individually exceeded 10% of our gross accounts receivable balance. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, our allowance for doubtful accounts was $5.2 million and $4.1 million, respectively.
Income Taxes
Deferred tax liabilities and assets are recognized for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been reflected in the Consolidated Financial Statements. Deferred tax liabilities and assets are determined based on the differences between the book and tax basis of particular assets and liabilities, using tax rates in effect for the years in which the differences are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance is provided to offset deferred tax assets if, based upon the available evidence, it is more-likely-than-not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. In evaluating our ability to recover deferred tax assets within the jurisdiction from which they arise, we consider all available positive and negative evidence, including scheduled reversals of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income, tax-planning strategies, and results of recent operations. If we determine that we would be able to realize our deferred tax assets in the future in excess of their net recorded amount, we would make an adjustment to the deferred tax assets valuation allowance, which would reduce the provision for income taxes.
As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, our deferred tax assets (net of valuation reserve) were $13.1 million and $10.1 million, respectively. The increase in our net deferred tax asset balance in 2021 was primarily driven by a reduction in deferred tax liabilities related to bonus depreciation for fixed assets. We believe that it is more likely than not that we will have sufficient taxable income in the future to realize these deferred tax assets and as such have not recorded a valuation allowance to reduce the net carrying value. If we determine it is more likely than not that we will not have sufficient taxable income to realize these assets, we may need to record a valuation allowance in the future.
We use a two-step approach in recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions. The first step is to evaluate tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return by assessing whether they are more likely than not sustainable, based solely on their technical merits, upon examination, and including resolution of any related appeals or litigation process. The second step is to measure the associated tax benefit of each position, as the largest amount that we believe is more likely than not realizable. Differences between the amount of tax benefits taken or expected to be taken in our income tax returns and the amount of tax benefits recognized in our financial statements represent our unrecognized income tax benefits, which we record as a liability. Our policy is to include interest and penalties related to unrecognized income tax benefits as a component of income tax expense. At December 31, 2021, our unrecognized tax benefits including interest and penalties totaled $0.1 million.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
The information set forth under Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements under the caption “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Recent Accounting Pronouncements, is incorporated herein by reference.
Cautionary Statement for Purposes of the “Safe Harbor” Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a “safe harbor” for certain statements that are forward-looking and are not based on historical facts. When used in this Form 10-K and our other SEC filings, our press releases and comments made in earnings calls, investor presentations or otherwise to the public, the words “may,” “will,” “could,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “continue,” “project,” “intend,” “estimate,” “believe,” “expect” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such words. These statements relate to our future plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and are not historical facts and accordingly involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results or the performance by us to be materially different from future results or performance expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements made in this Form 10-K and our other SEC filings, in press releases, earnings calls and other statements made by our authorized officers: (i) risks relating to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may continue to negatively affect world economies as well as our industry, business and results of operations; (ii) risks relating to entering, maintaining and renewing major distribution agreements; (iii) risks relating to a rapidly evolving and highly competitive media landscape; (iv) risks relating to WWE Network; (v) risks related to the computer systems, content delivery and online operations of WWE and our business partners; (vi) risks relating to privacy norms and regulations; (vii) our need to continue to develop creative and entertaining programs and events; (viii) our need to retain or continue to recruit key performers; (ix) the risk of a decline in the popularity of our brand of sports entertainment, including as a result of changes in the social and political climate; (x) the possible unexpected loss of the services of Vincent K. McMahon; (xi) possible adverse changes in the regulatory atmosphere and related private sector initiatives; (xii) the highly competitive, rapidly changing and increasingly fragmented nature of the markets in which we operate and/or our inability to compete effectively, especially against competitors with greater financial resources or marketplace presence; (xiii) uncertainties associated with international markets including possible disruptions and reputational risks; (xiv) our difficulty or inability to promote and conduct our live events and/or other businesses if we do not comply with applicable regulations; (xv) our dependence on our intellectual property rights, our need to protect those rights, and the risks of our infringement of others’ intellectual property rights; (xvi) risks relating to the complexity of our rights agreements across distribution mechanisms and geographical areas; (xvii) the risk of substantial liability in the
event of accidents or injuries occurring during our physically demanding events; (xviii) exposure to risks relating to large public events as well as travel to and from such events; (xix); a variety of risks as we expand into new or complementary businesses and/or make strategic investments and/or acquisitions; (xx) risks relating to our accounts receivable; (xxi) risks related to our new leased corporate headquarters and media production facilities; (xxii) potential substantial liabilities if litigation is resolved unfavorably; (xxiii) a change in tax laws in key jurisdictions could materially increase our tax expense; (xxiv) risks inherent in our feature film business; (xxv) risks relating to a possible decline in general economic conditions and disruption in financial markets, including any resulting from COVID-19; (xxvi) risks relating to our indebtedness, including our convertible notes; (xxvii) our potential failure to meet market expectations for our financial performance; (xxviii) through his beneficial ownership of a substantial majority of our Class B common stock, our controlling stockholder, Vincent K. McMahon, exercises control over our affairs, and his interests may conflict with the holders of our Class A common stock; (xxix) risks associated with our share repurchase program; (xxx) a substantial number of shares are eligible for sale by Mr. McMahon and members of his family or trusts established for their benefit, and the sale, or the perception of possible sales, of those shares could lower our stock price; and (xxxi) risks related to the volatility of our Class A common stock. In addition, our dividend is dependent on a number of factors, including, among other things, our liquidity and historical and projected cash flow, strategic plan (including alternative uses of capital), our financial results and condition, contractual and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends (including under our revolving credit facility), general economic and competitive conditions and such other factors as our Board of Directors may consider relevant. Forward-looking statements made by the Company speak only as of the date made, are subject to change without any obligation on the part of the Company to update or revise them, and undue reliance should not be placed on these statements. For more information about risks and uncertainties associated with the Company's business, please refer to the "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Risk Factors" sections of this Form 10-K and our other SEC filings.

---

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
In the normal course of business, we are exposed to foreign currency exchange rate, interest rate and equity price risks that could impact our results of operations. Our foreign currency exchange rate risk is minimized by maintaining minimal net assets and liabilities in currencies other than our functional currency.
Short-Term Investments
Our short-term investment portfolio consists of U.S. Treasury securities, corporate bonds and government agency bonds. We are exposed to market risk related to our investment portfolio primarily as a result of credit quality risk and interest rate risk. Credit quality risk is defined as the risk of a credit downgrade to an individual fixed or floating rate security and the potential loss attributable to that downgrade. Credit quality risk is managed through our investment policy, which establishes credit quality limitations on the overall portfolio as well as diversification and percentage limits on securities of individual issuers. The result is a diversified portfolio of fixed or floating rate securities, with a weighted average credit rating of approximately “AA”.
Interest rate risk is defined as the potential for economic losses on fixed or floating rate securities due to a change in market interest rates. Our investments in corporate bonds have exposure to changes in the level of market interest rates. Interest rate risk is mitigated by managing our investment portfolio’s dollar weighted duration. Additionally, we have the capability of holding any security to maturity, which would allow us to realize full par value. We have evaluated the impact of an immediate 100 basis point change in interest rates on our investment portfolio. A 100 basis-point increase in interest rates would result in an approximate $1.7 million decrease in fair value, whereas a 100 basis-point decrease in interest rates would result in an approximate $1.7 million increase in fair value.
Convertible Senior Notes
We have $215.0 million principal amount of 3.375% convertible senior notes due December 15, 2023. We carry this instrument at face value less unamortized discount and unamortized debt issuance costs on our Consolidated Balance Sheet. Since this instrument bears interest at fixed rates, we have no financial statement risk associated with changes in interest rates. However, the fair value of this instrument fluctuates when interest rates change, and when the market price of our stock fluctuates. The fair value of the convertible senior notes will generally increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. In addition, the fair value of the convertible senior notes will generally increase as our common stock price increases and will generally decrease as our common stock price declines in value. The interest and market value changes affect the fair value of our convertible senior notes but do not impact our financial position, cash flows or results of operations due to the fixed nature of the debt obligation. Conversion of our Convertible Notes and the exercise of related Warrants may cause economic dilution to our stockholders and dilution to our earnings per share.

---

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
The information required by this item is set forth in the Consolidated Financial Statements filed with this report and are herein incorporated by reference.

---

ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosures
None.

---

ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We have performed an evaluation under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, as defined under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Based on that evaluation, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer concluded that as of the end of the period covered by this Form 10-K, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective and designed to ensure that all material information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified by the SEC and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
There were no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting identified in connection with management’s evaluation that occurred during the fourth quarter of our fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f). Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021 based on the guidelines established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Our internal control over financial reporting includes policies and procedures that provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
Based on the results of our evaluation, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2021. We reviewed the results of management’s assessment with our Audit Committee.
The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021 has been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which is included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Such report expresses an unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021.
‎
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by COSO.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2021, of the Company and our report dated February 3, 2022, expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements.
Basis for Opinion
The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP
Stamford, Connecticut
February 3, 2022
‎

---

ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 9B. Other Information
None.

---

ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

---

ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

---

ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS

---

ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS

---

ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES

---

ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
(a) The following documents are filed as a part of this report:
1. Consolidated Financial Statements and Schedule: See index to Consolidated Financial Statements on page of this report.
2. Exhibits:
Exhibit
‎No.
Description of Exhibit
3.1
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to our Registration Statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-84327)).
3.1A
Amendment to Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1(a) to our Registration Statement on Form S-8, filed July 15, 2002).
3.1B
Amendment to Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (incorporated by reference to Annex B to the Proxy Statement filed on March 11, 2016).
3.2
Amended and Restated By-laws (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.4 to our Registration Statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-84327)).
3.2A
Amendment to Amended and Restated By-Laws (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2(a) to our Registration Statement on Form S-8, filed July 15, 2002).
4.1
Indenture between World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee, dated December 16, 2016 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed December 12, 2016).
4.2
Form of 3.375% Convertible Senior Note due 2023 (included in Exhibit 4.1).
4.3
Description of Common Stock (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019).
10.1*
Amended and Restated Employment Agreement with Vincent K. McMahon, effective as of January 1, 2011 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed November 15, 2010).
10.1A*
First Amendment to Amended and Restated Employment Agreement with Vincent K. McMahon, effective as of April 3, 2018 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4A to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2018).
10.2*
World Wrestling Entertainment 2012 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (incorporated by reference to Appendix A to our Proxy Statement dated March 16, 2012).
10.2A*
First Amendment to World Wrestling Entertainment 2012 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5A to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2018).
10.2B*
Second Amendment to World Wrestling Entertainment 2012 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (filed herewith).
10.3*
Amended and Restated Booking Agreement with Paul Levesque, effective as of January 1, 2012 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011).
10.3A*
First Amendment to Amended and Restated Booking Agreement with Paul Levesque, dated May 9, 2016 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.17 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2016).
10.4*
Form of offer letters between the Company and executive officers (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011).
10.5*
Booking Agreement, dated October 7, 2013, between the Company and Stephanie McMahon Levesque (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.17 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2013).
10.5A*
First Amendment to Booking Contract with Stephanie McMahon-Levesque, dated October 7, 2016 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.21 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2016).
10.5B*
Second Amendment to Booking Contract with Stephanie McMahon-Levesque, dated March 4, 2019 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8B to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2019).
10.6*
Form of Indemnification Agreement entered into between the Company and its independent Directors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.13 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2014).
10.7*
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. 2016 Omnibus Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Annex A to the Proxy Statement filed March 11, 2016).
10.7A*
Form of Performance Stock Units to the Company’s executive officers under the Company’s 2016 Omnibus Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.16A to the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed April 21, 2016).
10.7B*
Form of Restricted Stock Units to the Company’s executive officers under the Company’s 2016 Omnibus Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.16A to the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed April 21, 2016).
10.8
Amended and Restated Revolving Credit Facility dated May 24, 2019, among World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., certain subsidiaries of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. party thereto, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Administrative Agent, and the lenders, issuing banks and agents party thereto (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.18 to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 24, 2019).
10.9
Note and Mortgage Assumption Agreement, dated as of September 13, 2016, by and among WWE Real Estate Holdings, LLC, 88 Hamilton Avenue Associates, LLC and Wilmington Trust, National Association, as trustee for the registered holders of Wells Fargo Commercial Mortgage Trust 2015-NXS2, Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2015-NXS2 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19 to the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed September 15, 2016).
10.10
Loan Agreement, dated June 8, 2015, between 88 Hamilton Avenue Associates, LLC and Natixis Real Estate Capital LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.20 to the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed September 15, 2016).
10.11
Convertible Note Hedge Confirmation between World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. and JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, London Branch, dated December 12, 2016 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed December 12, 2016).
10.12
Warrant Confirmation between World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. and JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, London Branch, dated December 12, 2016 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed December 12, 2016).
10.13
Convertible Note Hedge Confirmation between World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc, dated December 12, 2016 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed December 12, 2016).
10.14
Warrant Confirmation between World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc, dated December 12, 2016 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed December 12, 2016).
10.15
Convertible Note Hedge Confirmation between World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. and Citibank, N.A., dated December 12, 2016 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed December 12, 2016).
10.16
Warrant Confirmation between World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. and Citibank, N.A., dated December 12, 2016 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed December 12, 2016).
10.17
Agreement of Lease, dated March 7, 2019, between World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. and Stamford Washington Office LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.29 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2019).
10.17A
Lease Amendment Agreement, dated November 25, 2020, between World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. and Stamford Washington Office LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.29A to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020).
10.17B
Second Lease Amendment Agreement, dated June 16, 2021, between World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. and Stamford Washington Office LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.29B to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2021).
10.17C
Third Lease Amendment Agreement, dated October 26, 2021, between World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. and Stamford Washington Office LLC (filed herewith).
10.18*
Employment Agreement with Frank A. Riddick III, effective as of November 3, 2021 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Current Report on From 8-K, filed November 5, 2021).
10.18A*
Restricted Stock Sign-On Award and Non-Competition Agreement with Frank A. Riddick III under the Company’s 2016 Omnibus Incentive Plan (filed herewith).
10.19*
Separation Agreement with Kristina Salen, effective as of November 5, 2021 (filed herewith).
10.20*
Employment Agreement between World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. and Nick Khan, effective as of August 3, 2020 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K, filed August 6, 2020).
10.21*
Form of Performance Stock Sign-On Award and Non-Competition Agreement with Nick Khan under the Company’s 2016 Omnibus Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.35 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020).
21.1
List of Subsidiaries (filed herewith).
23.1
Consent of Deloitte & Touche LLP (filed herewith).
31.1
Certification by Vincent K. McMahon pursuant to Section 302 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (filed herewith).
31.2
Certification by Frank A. Riddick III pursuant to Section 302 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (filed herewith).
32.1
Certification by Vincent K. McMahon and Frank A. Riddick III pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (filed herewith).
101.INS
Inline XBRL Instance Document
101.SCH
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.DEF
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
101.LAB
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
101.PRE
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101)
____________________
* Indicates management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.