Reference no: EM132249657
WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT
Case Synopsis
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) announced in January 2017, that its WWE Network was planning to crown its first ever WWE United Kingdom Champion. This push to cater to local markets was one way WWE was trying to deal with worldwide competition from other mixed martial arts disciplines such as the Ultimate Fighting Championships. Even given the growth in other markets, the consensus was that WWE didn't have much to worry about in the short run.
Vince McMahon had taken over a small wrestling business from his father and built it into a large national business. For years, the firm managed to show consistent growth by attracting more and more fans. In an effort to diversify, shortly after going public in 1999, WWE launched an eight-team football league called the XFL.
Unfortunately, the football venture did not prove successful and resulted in a $57 million loss for WWE. Subsequently, WWE had struggled with its efforts to build new wrestling stars; the attendance at its live shows began to drop off, and advertising revenues declined as well. In part, this may have resulted from a saturation of the wrestling market, but the lackluster financial results might also have been attributed to the failure of WWE's efforts to diversify away from wrestling.
In the years since that misstep, CEO Vince McMahon explored new avenues of growth and turned pro wrestling into a perpetual traveling road show. WWE used wrestling's increased popularity to build up a stronger ad-supported Internet presence, where content can be watched 24/7, and the firm even expanded into feature film production with its wrestling superstars.
The firm also staged over 330 live events a year, and by 2014 had produced almost 70 live shows outside the United States, helping to boost the worldwide revenuesthat the firm was able to generate from its merchandise. In 2015 WWE celebrated the popularity of its YouTube channel success, attracting over one million subscribers to its original WWE Network programming.
Regarding competition, the firm has had to face a challenge from mixed martial arts (MMA), the combat sport that combines kickboxing and grappling.
Because of its similarity to wrestling, this new sport might pull away some of WWE's fans. The question remained: could WWE identify opportunities for further diversification and expansion to maintain its current success?
QUESTIONS:?1. Which statement is most true?
a. WWE used to own a football team.
b. WWE has a line of toys.
c. CEOVinceMcMahonwasajuveniledelinquent.
d. Each WWE "performance" is scripted, and sometimes the script changes in the middle of the show.
e. All these statements are true.
2. Was WWE successful at exporting this very violent, very American content to the predominantly Muslim countries of Egypt and UAE?
a. Yes b. No
3. What industry does WWE operate? Who are the main competitors? What is the target/strategic group of WWE? What corporate innovation strategies did Vince McMahon use to grow World Wrestling Entertainment?
4. What resources does WWE have and how valuable are they? (It's important to consider the concept of the resource-based view of the firm, and the three key types of resources: tangible resources, intangible resources, and organizational capabilities that can help a firm sustain a competitive advantage).
5. In your opinion, what should be done to expand or grow such type of business? What factors influence on successful life cycle of this industry? What threats, if any, can you identify for WWE and what are its main strengths?
6. Would you manage this business? What are the pitfalls of this industry that would/would not stop you to open a start-up like WWE?