India hit milestone viewership of 56 million during WrestleMania 38
In their Quarterly Report for the First Quarter of 2022, WWE announced that the WrestleMania viewership in India hit a milestone of 56 million this year.
The two-night affair at WrestleMania 38 was hotly anticipated by fans all over the world. Night One of The Show of Shows witnessed WWE legend Stone Cold Steve Austin make his in-ring return after nearly 19 years against Kevin Owens. On the second night, Roman Reigns created history by defeating Brock Lesnar to become the first-ever Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
WWE issued a press release highlighting their generation of revenue worth $333.4 million in the first quarter of the year, which was a record for the company. This number was 27% higher than the previous quarter.
During the 2022 Q1 Earnings call, the President and Chief Revenue Officer, Nick Khan, highlighted that India showcased a massive number of over 56 million viewers for The Show of Shows:
"As we all heard in Comcast Earnings report last week, Peacock increased it’s paid subs by 40% in Q1 alone. As Peacock continues to grow its user base and in turn, those users continue to sample WWE content, we are confident these viewership numbers will only continue to grow. Our viewership records were not limited to the United States, a staggering 56 million viewers watched WrestleMania in India through Sony Sports Network. The number showcases are incredible reach in the region in total we saw 54% global viewership increase over 2021." [4:34-5:14]
Check out the entire Q1 call below:
Meanwhile, Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon indicated that she was thrilled about the 2K22 game's success. She further announced that the company was looking forward to launching a new RPG game.
WWE Executives highlight India to be a crucial market for the company
The First Quarterly Report accentuated the role and importance of the Indian market for WWE.
During the same call, the WWE Executives discussed the importance of the Indian market to the company. They highlighted that the company garnered nearly 25 million viewers from India from the exclusive Superstar Spectacle last year.
"About a year or so ago, we did an exclusive to India only event, which were our up and coming Indian superstars vs. our American Superstars. So, for that event which we produced out of Orlando, we did 25 million viewers, so a significant amount again. Even in India, the Indian Superstars are not big names yet, so we saw a massive viewership turnout for that. Obviously, the WrestleMania numbers are terrific as our other Premium Live Events, have done quite well there as well. It's a hugely important market to us," stated Nick Khan.
WWE 2022 Q1 Financial Analysis: Revenue Breakdown, Adjusted OIBDA Up, How WWE Performed On Peacock dlvr.it/SPrWGD
In March 2022, Vince McMahon's company signed a multi-year deal with A&E for an original programming partnership. This will be inclusive of over 130 hours of premium WWE series and specials.
While using quotes from the first part of the article, please add a H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcription and credit Fightful for the video.