WWE’s fourth quarter financials show rise:
WWE’s financial results for the fourth quarter of 2012 have shown rises in revenue across the board. Over all net revenue rose from $112.9 million to $115.1 million.

Revenues from Live Events and TV were $82.0 million compared to $81.0 million the prior year.

Revenues from merchandise increased 9% to $20.4 million from $18.7 million.

Thanks to the Youtube and Hulu deals Digital Media revenues were $12.1 million as compared to $8.9 million in the prior-year quarter, representing a 36% increase.

Although PPV revenue was down, this is due to the dropping of Vengeance and the subsequent reshuffling.

WWE Studios revenue was also down, however looking at the year as a whole they broke even compared to huge loses prior.

“In the fourth quarter, we continued to make important progress on our key strategic initiatives, expanding the production and licensing of new programs and enhancing our brands,” stated Vince McMahon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Although we did not announce the launch of a domestic television network during the year, we believe, now more than ever, that we can realize the full value of our intellectual property using a variety of approaches in our global markets. Our confidence is based on the rising value of content and the tremendous global appeal of our brands.”

During the conference call it was revealed that the company would need around one million subscribers to break even on the planned WWE Network. If marketed correctly this would be easily attainable because the Network would include the majority of the monthly PPVs, excluding Wrestlemania, which makes up for more than half of PPV revenue.
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Chris Jericho talks return and who impresses him:
Chris Jericho recently spoke with WWE.com about his secret return at Royal Rumble and who out of the younger superstars impresses him…

“In this day and age, it’s almost impossible to keep a secret. It was just really, really cool to know that we could still keep a secret and keep a nice surprise. But there was no rumors at all that Jericho was going to come back at the Rumble. If I go to a movie, I don’t want to know what the ending of it is before I go.

“The hardest part was just waiting for the shoe to drop, and waiting for somebody to find out I was going to be there. I was like so scared, like kind of crawling under the cover of night to get to this little bus where I was hiding, hoping that no one would see me. And that, like some parking attendant going “oh, Jericho’s here.” And when nobody did I was just like this is, this is amazing. I got into the Rumble, and people were chanting, “you still got it.” And like, I never lost it.”

Impressed by the Shield…

“It’s good to know that the new prospects that are coming in have some experience and been around a little bit. And obviously The Shield, I was really impressed by them right off the bat. They were just three guys that were given a shot and really took the ball and ran with it. Cesaro, I’ve been a fan of his even before he came here. They’ve worked around the world and it benefited them when they debuted.”
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The Miz wants the Rock & talks new belt design:
In a recent interview with FilmYap.com The Miz said his ideal program would be with The Rock…

“I’d like to work The Rock. He was basically the person I looked at and said ‘I want to be a WWE Superstar.’ Just to watch him during the Attitude Era and to watch his matches. Not only to go up against him, but to exceed him. That’s what every WWE Superstar wants to do, whether it’s CM Punk, John Cena, you want to take it to the next level. I’ve already had that huge program with John Cena that took me to the next level, which taught me so much about the WWE, and there’s always CM Punk who is doing such a great job. He was WWE Champion for 400-plus days and is still on a roll. Those are great superstars who you want to get. You always want to be at the top.”

He also gave his views on the new WWE Title belt design…

“I really like it. When I was WWE champion, I changed the belt too, changing the WWE logo to an “M” and stopping it from spinning. I agree with the Rock. A championship should not spin and should not be looked at as a toy. It should be looked upon with prestige and I think this new title reflects that. When people win World Series or NBA Finals or Super Bowls, I think they’ll be wearing this around their waists because it embodies what a title should look like.”
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WWE planning world’s largest Harlem Shake?:
Now that Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio are off the cards for Wrestlemania, preventing WWE’s planned world record attempt of the most masked fans…it’s rumored that they’re considering doing the world’s largest Harlem Shake!