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WWE: Again, it's all about the cash flow

Steven Mallas — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:38:00 EST

Filed under: Earnings Reports, Walt Disney (DIS), Viacom (VIA)

World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE) reported results for the third quarter, and by just about all accounts, things were tough. Revenues were flat at $108.8 million. Net income on a per-share basis, however, dropped almost 42% to $0.07. Talk about getting slammed to the mat! But the really bad aspect was the cash-flow statement. This has been a constant theme as of late. The company's operational cash flow declined massively during the nine-month period, coming in at $17.7 million. Know how much money was paid out in dividends? Try almost $61 million. That's probably why WWE's stock yields over 10%.

So what's the problem here? A couple things. First, costs need to be controlled (the press release does mention this issue, as well as a desire to be more careful when it comes to capital expenditures). Second, CEO Linda McMahon has to get fans excited about wrestling again. If you look at the buy rates for the pay-per-view events, you'll notice they've been declining. I think one thing that WWE must do is figure out a way to make its secondary pay-per-view shows a must-purchase item for the part of the fan base that falls outside of the hardcore wrestling viewer but doesn't exactly reach the realm of the casual audience. If the company can bring shows like The Great American Bash and Unforgiven up to the level of a SummerSlam, then the company will really be on a growth track.

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WWE: Again, it's all about the cash flow originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Amazon makes risky move into pay-per-view

Douglas McIntyre — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:17:00 EST

Filed under: Launches, Apple Inc (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN)

The video pay-per-view business would probably be pretty good if almost every company in the world was not already in it. Starting with Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and running across a wide spectrum of firms all the way to the telecom companies and cable, video-on-demand subscription services are available to consumers in bunches.

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), which already has a foothold in the business, is about to go back for more. According to The New York Times, "Customers of Amazon's new store will be able to start watching any of 40,000 movies and television programs immediately after ordering them because they stream, just like programs on a cable video-on-demand service." In other words, the customers will not have to wait for the files to download, which does not take all that long on most good high-speed connections.

The launch seems like an odd way to waste the time of Amazon's management. It really has nothing special to make its service stand out among all the others. So, why bother?

Amazon has had some skill doing well in businesses where others have not. It moved from selling books to offering everything from consumer electronics to DVDs online and has profited well from it. A number of other companies who have tried to get into the niche have failed.

Amazon may simply be launching a new VOD service because it can. It may be something that strengthens it bond with customers, but nothing more.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Amazon makes risky move into pay-per-view originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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