I recently wrote about World Wrestling Entertainment's (NYSE: WWE) million-dollar giveaway plans. This is the scheme that sees the Mr. McMahon character reward viewers who register at the company's website with portions of his fortune. He calls them up on the phone during WWE's RAW program and doles out various sums; according to this press release, one winner got $200,000, while another player received $125,000. One poor hapless soul won $2! Remember, Mr. McMahon is an evil guy.

I tuned in to see how the contest would be presented and to get some sense of how it was received. It seemed a bit awkward and slow at times. A few in the audience screamed that they were bored. Personally, I thought it was goofy fun to see Vince McMahon calling people to hand out some of his money and enjoyed it for what it was. But WWE will need to optimize the segment and try to make it more exciting, as I don't think it came off exactly as it wanted. McMahon is supposed to keep handing out $1 million a week for an unspecified time period, so the company will have more chances to improve the presentation.

WWE wants to really juice the ratings for the RAW brand, hoping that viewers beyond the hardcore fan base will stop watching networks owned by CBS (NYSE: CBS), Disney (NYSE: DIS), News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), and General Electric (NYSE: GE) long enough to sample the spectacle of the WWE product (of course, GE's NBC Universal owns the USA cable network, which RAW runs on). McMahon is smart to be trying something like this since WWE will be working its way up to perhaps one of its biggest pay-per-view opportunities ever: Wrestlemania 25. With a milestone like that coming, the company has a chance of really expanding its brand equity and setting the stage for long-term growth.

I have to admit, I completely missed this move. I usually keep tabs on Playboy (NYSE: PLA)'s stock action. Not very close tabs, truthfully, but I do check in somewhat regularly. I was shocked when I saw how low the stock had recently dropped. Back in the first week of May, when I reported on the adult-entertainment entity's earnings, the stock was trading around $7.25. As of Thursday's close, the stock was priced at $5.85 per share. The 52-week low now stands at $5.52. TheStreet.com recently cursed the stock to sell status.

That's a steep move in such a short period of time, and now I have to ask myself: Is the stock a trade? I mean, a thought that immediately came to my mind upon seeing the current share price was that the Wall Street movers and shakers may have overshot on the selling here.

But then, other thoughts came to mind such as how badly the company has been doing. Also, as Zac Bissonnette recently pointed out, pornography isn't really recession-proof at all in this age of the Internet. Seekers of adult entertainment have seen their wallets benefit from the proliferation of the clip culture as expressed by sites like YouTube and its more porn-friendly counterparts.

World Wrestling Entertainment's (NYSE: WWE) Vincent Kennedy McMahon wants more viewers for his Monday Night Raw wrestling extravaganza. In fact, he's so keen on growing ratings that he's willing to spend his own money to keep viewers tuned. How much? Try $1 million.

In a terse press release concerning a promotional sweepstakes, WWE says that Raw viewers can register at the company's Web site and then watch for codes during the program beginning next Monday. People will be competing to win a portion of a $1 million giveaway each week for some unspecified time period. Now, before you think me naive, I made sure to see if this was legitimate, and from the looks of things it is. According to this AP article, McMahon will really be doing this. According to other reports, the June 9 Raw will reveal the details of the promotion. The $1 million will come from McMahon's own fortune (again, from what I understand, this is real).

There's no question as to why this is being done. WWE wants eyeballs. Ratings have been challenged as of late, according to that AP piece. I think giving away $1 million is exciting, and as far as a marketing campaign goes, it should boost ratings. Only problem is, I'd have to imagine that long-term shareholders aren't happy that this kind of gimmick has to be employed. Is wrestling becoming boring to people? Are they in need of other reasons to watch? Well, the answer would seem to be a resounding "yes."

Playboy's (NYSE: PLA) shares are hovering near a 52-week low as I write this. The catalyst, you ask? The sexy company reported some dismal earnings this week. Net sales decreased 8%. The net loss came in at $0.09 per diluted share versus positive net income of $0.04 per diluted share in the previous year's quarter.

Even if you look at some of the adjustments, the Playboy story just isn't a seductive one. And according to a Reuters article, expectations were for a profit of $0.06 per share after adjustments. The net income of each Playboy operating division headed in a downward direction. And publishing, well -- that's been the saddest segment of all for a while now.

I have a question for Christie Hefner: Are you serious about turning your father's company around? Seriously. I've been giving Playboy the benefit of the doubt now for quite some time, and I'm not sure I can do that anymore. I want to, believe me; I'm a guy who has always been in love with the Playboy lifestyle. And, remember, the invitation is always open if you need me to come over to the Mansion to help you generate some new marketing strategies.

World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE) stepped into the Wall Street ring on Tuesday -- and lost. The company's stock dropped about 8% at closing on the Q1 earnings release (it did recover a bit during the after-hours session). I'd probably call this profit-taking, although there was one thing about the earnings report that I didn't like: free cash flow.

Let me say first, though, that revenues increased more than 50% to $162.6 million, and that earnings per share rose almost 29% to 27 cents (according to Briefing.com, this matched expectations). This is excellent growth, and it shows the resilience of wrestling as an entertainment brand; sure, many on Wall Street may not take the company seriously, but they're wrong. I enjoyed, by the way, that WWE increased the buy-rates for its Royal Rumble and No Way Out pay-per-view events. Pay-per-view is a very vital part of WWE's operations, in my opinion. And let's not forget a big driver for the quarter -- Wrestlemania XXIV -- which brought in more than million buys.

Unfortunately, free cash tumbled off the mat, decreasing 77%. And, no, the amount generated did not cover the generous dividend that WWE pays. I would really like to see free cash flow do well every quarter since WWE has been a steady dividend-increaser over its time as a public company. Management must focus on the cash-flow statement and make it a priority.

World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE) is going to be one busy company this weekend. And don't tell me you don't know why. Well, okay, I suppose a few of you may be in the dark -- you see, Wrestlemania 24 is scheduled for this Sunday. It promises to be a big affair. In fact, I caught Triple H, John Cena, Chris Jericho, The Big Show, Floyd "Money" Mayweather, and Vincent Kennedy McMahon on Larry King's CNN program yesterday -- they were in full promotion mode, and even Donald Trump called in to wish the gang well (you may recall that Trump won last year's hair-match battle with McMahon, a feat that left the latter with a bald head). Oh, and Vince even mentioned the stock.

It was an interesting interview, and it highlighted the fact for shareholders that the data from Wrestlemania should help to tell what kind of state the company is in. Will the buy rates be lower or higher than last year? Tough to tell, but I have to say that there doesn't seem to be, for me at least, that one match that's sure to drive even the most casual of wrestling fans to order up the show on their pay-per-view menu. A lot of the fallen fans will probably come back into the fold this weekend, however, to view the Ric Flair contest, in what is being billed as perhaps his last match. Thing of it is, though, Wrestlemania should still do well, even if it isn't necessarily the best roster they've ever had (I say this subjectively, of course) -- remember, Wrestlemania is not just an event, it's a brand, and a lot of people will order it up regardless. And the event is an excellent opportunity to bring more mindshare into the WWE product. THQ (Nasdaq: THQI) and JAKKS Pacific (Nasdaq: JAKK), for instance, will certainly be hyping the heck out of their WWE videogames this weekend with their annual superstar challenge.

So, the market is having problems today (not that I have to explicitly state such an observation, since any day is pretty much problematic these days) with the continuation of the financial crisis as so wonderfully expressed by the JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) transaction with Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC). So...what's working today?

Well, Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) is like one of the only stocks in my portfolio right now that is in the green. But there's another stock out there that isn't doing so badly that might surprise you -- World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE). When was the last time you watched wrestling; when was the last time you invested in it? Believe it or not, WWE is holding up well today, and as of the time of this writing, it's actually up a couple pennies to $18.18. Its 52-week high is $18.85, and it is currently yielding nearly 8%. It seems like a much safer way to get yield over a financial stock, doesn't it?

WWE is wrestling with the market and holding its own. Vince McMahon must be one smiling guy right about now...

Disclosure: I own shares of Coca-Cola; positions can change at any time.

World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE) reported Q4 earnings today, and they showed that this little media company isn't ready to submit yet. WWE generated $0.30 per share in net income, which represented growth of 36%. According to earnings.com, the street was figuring on $0.17 per share. Guess the street had better learn not to doubt Vincent Kennedy McMahon.

Nevertheless, all is not necessarily well with WWE. For one thing, the company has found that playing in the movie business is not as easy as it sounds. The WWE Films unit saw revenues of $3.1 million in the quarter but contributed nothing in terms of profit. WWE is recognizing revenues from films See No Evil -- which was distributed by Lions Gate (NYSE: LGF) in the summer of 2006 -- and The Marine, which was released by News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) Fox in the fall of 2006. Also, the pay-per-view buy rates could use some help, maybe some marketing muscle to get things back on track.

Still, free cash flow for the year saw a body-slamming jump to $79.6 million versus $26.2 million for 2006. That was enough to cover the dividend obligation -- and WWE actually pays a decent yield. Shares are up as I write this over 7%, and the volume is Hulkin' up as well. So, investors are clearly pleased. But, Mr. McMahon really better take a good, hard look at his film business and get some exciting projects into production -- I believe there is great potential for this segment over the long haul. Sure, the company isn't a Disney (NYSE: DIS) or Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), but it still is a fun way to play the media sector.

Disclosure: I own shares in Disney.

Another blow was dealt to wrestling fans around the world, as ex-tag team champion Brian "Crush" Adams was found dead in his home yesterday.

The wrestling community has definitely had a tough run of things over the past few months, with the news of Adams' death coming less than two months after the horrible incident surrounding Chris Benoit at the end of June.

Reports show that Adams' wife called for help yesterday, but that rescue workers were unable to bring the unconscious Adams back. So far there are no real clues as to what may have led to this recent tragedy. Since there was no obvious signs of injury, and authorities have no reason to believe that foul play was involved, we are going to have to wait for an official autopsy report to find out what led to this tragedy.

Adams had not been a professional wrestler since 2001 when he was wrestling for the World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE). Following his retirement from the world of wrestling, Adams had been working as a bodyguard for another former wrestler, Randy "The Macho Man" Savage.

Definitely another sad day for fans everywhere, we will continue to follow this story and let you know as soon as we find out what exactly led to this unfortunate event

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last two years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer

According to ESPN, World Wrestling Entertainment's (NYSE: WWE) CEO Vince McMahon was charged with conspiring to distribute steroids to his wrestlers.

Moreover, Phil Lowe, editor of WrestleMag.com, the largest wrestling Web site in the United Kingdom, said "Depending on what comes out from [Benoit's] toxicology reports, we could see changes implemented or at least changes called for."

Meanwhile, FoxNews reported that Benoit's Wikipedia was changed 13 hours before his wife's body was discovered by someone in Stamford, CT -- WWE's headquarters city. The Wikipedia site said that Benoit would not be able to make it to a wrestling match due to his wife's death.

WWE stock is down slightly today. If its writers were as creative as the reality that keeps coming out, the stock might be in better shape. It just keeps getting more and more bizarre!

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in WWE.

Two weeks ago, Vince McMahon, World Wrestling Entertainment's (NYSE: WWE) CEO, faked his own death. This week, Chris Benoit killed his wife and mentally retarded 7-year-old son. I think it may be time for a change at the top of WWE.

In response to an earlier post, I discussed this yesterday with CNBC. A risk noted in WWE's financial statements is that if CEO Vince McMahon left, it could hurt the company. And since McMahon faked his death, the stock has lost 11% of its value. I realize that these kinds of stunts are part of the entertainment. But as an investor, I would be concerned that WWE lacks the depth of management to replace McMahon.

Meanwhile, speculation continues as to what drove Benoit. Here are three possibilities:

• His wife has filed for divorce from him in 2003 citing "cruel treatment" and tensions continued
• He was stressed by his wife's demands to spend more time at home taking care of their son
• Steroids were found at the scene which are known to cause paranoia and rage.
  

It's too early to tell what happened with Benoit. But in the absence of a deeper management bench, the best thing preserving WWE's future is the possibility that a bigger media outlet might acquire it.

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in WWE.

Former World Heavyweight wrestling champion, Chris Benoit, his wife, and seven-year-old son were found dead in the family's Atlanta home, according to AP Sports. Police believe it was a murder-suicide.

Benoit's wife managed several wrestlers and went by the stage name "Woman." They met when her then-husband drew up a script that had them involved in a relationship as part of an ongoing story line on World Championship Wrestling. Did Benoit's wife have an affair with one of the wrestlers that sent Benoit into a jealous rage?

I don't know. But World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE) canceled its live "Monday Night RAW" card in Corpus Christi, TX, and USA Network aired a three-hour tribute to Benoit in place of the scheduled wrestling telecast.

None of this seems to be hurting its stock much -- WWE is down a mere 12 cents.

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in WWE.

Monday February 12

• Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) to hold a 10:30am press conference from Barcelona on 3GSM.
• US and South Korea to hold Free-Trade Agreement talks from 2/11 to 2/14.

Tuesday February 13

• Extreme entertainment earnings:
• World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE), conference call at 11am.
• Playboy Enterprises (NYSE: PLA), conference call at 11am. Note that Playboy was recently downgraded by RBC Capital Markets and Sanders Morris Harris. Sanders Morris said the company will either issue guidance below consensus expectations or none at all on the call.
• PDUFA date for Pfizer, Inc's (NYSE: PFE) Fesoterodine, a new drug candidate for the treatment of an overactive bladder.

Wednesday February 14

• Garmin Limited (NASDAQ: GRMN) to report Q4 earnings, conference call at 11am.
• MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) to report Q4 earnings, conference call at 11am.
• PDUFA date for Acambis plc's (OTC: ACAMY) ACAM-2000, a smallpox vaccine derived from Dryvax, a first-generation vaccine used during the global eradication program.
• PDUFA date for MedImmune Inc's (NASDAQ: MEDI) CAIV-T, an investigational intranasal, cold-adapted trivalent influenza vaccine.

Thursday February 15

• Biogen Idec Inc (NASDAQ: BIIB) to report Q4 earnings, conference call at 8:30am. On February 2, JP Morgan recommended buying Biogen before its quarterly report, saying the Tysbari uptake should be better than current expectations.

Friday February 16

• Jack in the Box Inc (NYSE: JBX) to hold annual shareholder meeting at 3pm.