The Effect That 'Brexit' Could Have on WWE

If you’ve been watching the news for any amount of time in the last couple of weeks, you’ve certainly heard of Britain’s exit from the European Union, which has come to be known as the “Brexit.”

While there is an uncertainty of how this change will effect the economy of not only the country of Britain but of Europe as a continent, one might wonder what effect this event will have in WWE.

Wrestling Inc. has posted a story which answers some of those questions.

The United Kingdom is WWE’s largest international market and represents nearly 45% of the company’s non-North American revenue. One of the major reasons for this was because of a new five-year television rights contract with BSkyB which was signed in January 2014, but didn’t go into effect until the beginning of 2015.

It should also be noted that this recent television deal was signed in US Dollars and not the British Pound, so WWE’s television rights deals should not be effected in the U.K.

One area of interest is the subscribers to the WWE Network in the U.K. The U.K. has the #2 amount of subscribers in the world behind the United States. However, the price is at premium of £9.99 for the U.K. and €12.99 for Ireland. The potential crash in the economy could cause a loss of subscribers, which could mean a financial loss for WWE.

The following quote from the article addresses the further state of WWE in the U.K. due to “Brexit:”

WWE confirmed to Wrestling Inc. that they will be further addressing implications of “Brexit” at their next conference call. That call is expected to be held either in late July or early August and will cover the Q2 2016 results for WWE. When asked whether the political turmoil in the United Kingdom will have any impact on live events in the United Kingdom, the company said that it would have no impact.

Certainly, regardless of what the future holds, the UK market is a well-established and key component of WWE’s business strategy.

You can find the entire article, with more detailed information, at this link.

Editor’s Note:

Honestly, I hadn’t even considered this until I read this story. The U.K. has always been a huge market for WWE, but it appears that this economic uncertainty won’t change how the company does business over there. Either way, it’s certainly an interesting study, and I’m sure WWE isn’t the only company that is looking at how their business will be effected by “Brexit.”

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