Business

WWE off the mat as new pricing plan, layoffs lift shares

World Wrestling Entertainment shares are up nearly 8 percent since Wednesday after the Stamford, Conn., company announced a new pricing for its digital-only network after enduring months of body slams from Wall Street over the money-bleeding venture.

The pricing change, coupled with layoffs that will trim 7 percent from its payroll and an international rollout of the digital network, did much to put the entertainment firm back on track with investors on Friday as the stock rose to $13.05 in late afternoon trading.

Shares, which had been down 25 percent this year.

WWE used to charge $9.99 a month and require a six-month commitment from customers to watch monthly special events.

While that is still an option, subscribers can also pay $19.99 a month with no commitment — just in time for “SummerSlam” on Aug. 17.

For those who don’t want the hassle of a monthly bill, in particular younger viewers, they have the option of paying $59.94 upfront for six months.

“[WWE execs] did their homework and found people don’t want to pay $120 [a year] but they don’t mind paying $40 to $60” to watch a couple of big events, said Robert Routh, an analyst with National Alliance.

WWE, which has TV carriage deals with USA and SyFy, has signed up 700,000 customers for WWE Network since its Feb. 24 debut — short of the one million it needs to break even.

The network netted only 33,000 additions in the quarter, while gross additions were 161,000. That means most new customers ended up canceling.

A spokesman said the company said it “would feel really good if they got to 1 million subscribers by year end.”