Shares of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE) tumbled nearly 15% as the number of subscribers of WWE Network fell well short of the market expectations.
The current tally of 667,287 subscribers of WWE Network, as stated by the company, came as a disappointment for investors as they were probably anticipating a higher figure. WWE Network had earlier set a target of 1 million subscribers by the end of 2014. This was perhaps the key factor that propelled this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock southward.
However, according to the company, WWE Network, which was launched on Feb 24, 2014 in the U.S., is the most rapidly growing digital subscription service. The service is expected to spread to the U.K., Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore and the Nordics by the end of 2014 or latest by the beginning of 2015.
WWE Network is the first non-stop streaming network, facilitating access to ongoing as well as scheduled programs. It includes all live pay-per-view events along with a versatile video-on-demand library. It is available to subscribers for 6 months at $9.99 per month.
Its easy access is well evident from its easy availability on connected devices such as Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3&4. Further, it can be accessed via the WWE App, operating on iOS devices, like Android devices, Amazon.com Inc.'s (AMZN) Kindle Fire devices, Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone and iPad, and on laptops and desktops through WWE.com.
In addition, the response to the quality of streaming for WrestleMania 30, which recently went live on the WWE Network was mostly positive as per media reports. This further highlights the promising prospects of WWE Network, whose customers had been using other monthly subscription services like Netflix, Inc. (NFLX).
These striking features and its growing popularity are likely to enable it to achieve its subscriber target within the year. Furthermore, although the current subscriber tally came below market expectations, they are still quite impressive and raise optimism about the company’s goal.
This makes us wonder whether this abrupt share fall is just a market apparition or not.
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