Variety posted a detailed story about WWE’s quest to at least double their revenues for TV rights when their existing contracts expire in early 2014. WWE currently makes approximately $139.5 million on existing TV licensing contracts, but for the first time they will be able to shop all of their shows — including Raw and SmackDown — at the same time.
One idea is that SmackDown could be made into a live weekly TV show to increase the fees to carry it.
The article also states that TV rights for NASCAR, by example, went for $820 million per year in their 10-year deal with NBC and FOX, yet WWE actually posts better TV ratings for Raw and SmackDown, as noted in the excerpt below:
“Combined, the shows air 156 episodes a year that average a 2.2 household rating. Nascar airs 154 races and averages a 1.38 household rating among viewers, who are 92% white and over 50. WWE’s audience is far more diverse and broken out fairly evenly among age groups. A selling point is that 44% of them are under 34.”
