Felix Upton on February 2, 2023
WWE is a business and their bottom-line is more important than ever. The company is reportedly positioning themselves for a sale, and that means they want to make as much money as they can to prove what a cash cow WWE can be for a potential buyer down the line. That includes branding aspects of the show that generally aren’t labeled with a company trademark.
The Royal Rumble event saw Applebee’s sponsor the countdown clock, and Mountain Dew Pitch Black got its own match. WrestleMania will potentially see a cross-branded match as well, and fans might see a lot more.
During WWE’s 4th Quarter earnings call, company CEO Nick Khan said that WWE is looking to take a “deep dive” into making money off more aspects of the show, like the ramp and ring apron, that haven’t historically been used to rake in cash.
Yes, to your question about monetizing the ring assets. It’s something we’re taking a deep dive into now and that we want to do. In terms of what’s driven it, I think it all started with Stephanie McMahon and changing the culture of our sales group, from changing from a ‘maybe’ to a ‘yes,’ so when Mountain Dew and Pepsi pitched us the idea of sponsoring a match, I think it was done, was ‘absolutely we’ll do it,’ and then a conversation with Triple H, our head of creative, about ‘hey, we can probably do this, right?’ Which Triple H and our creative team made every accommodation to get it done.”
“I think that’s what’s driving it, in addition of going into higher levels for each of these potential companies.”
As previously noted, while speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, WWE Senior Vice President and Head of Global Sales and Partnerships, Craig Stimmel, previously confirmed that WrestleMania 39 is set to feature a marquee sponsorship match.
“I don’t want to give away too much, but it’ll be around a match, and the sponsorship of that match, and what they’ll be able to bring to that match. So we’re going to do things that fit inside of our storyline as well.”
WWE has a lot of untapped assets that sponsors might be interested in. A new owner could also kick things up to another level if the company does find itself in the hands of new masters sometime in the near future.
We’ll have to see what happens in the future, but it would probably be a good idea to get use to advertising during WWE programming. In the meantime, keep checking back with Ringside News for all the news you need.
Transcription by Ringside News
What’s your take on WWE selling more advertising space? Sound off in the comments!
February 2, 2023 6:07 pm
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