WWE held a Conference call today to discuss their fourth quarter earnings. 

The call was hosted by VP of Investor Relations Michael White and included Chief Executive Officer Linda McMahon and Chief Financial Officer Michael Sileck.

There was plenty of talk about profits and losses which has been posted earlier in a Press Release.  No need to repeat them here.

Linda McMahon read a prepared statement that WWE is strong and getting stronger.   Linda said live attendance increased compared to the last quarter.  

The Question and Answer session with investors started.  Most calls appeared to be by Investment brokers. 

WWE is expecting continued growth from their consumer products, as opposed to television.

There is no court date set yet, and motions continue to be filed by both sides of lawsuit with JAKKS Pacific.  Linda said both sides are continuing to perform under the conditions of their old contract, and despite the lawsuit, both sides are not letting up with producing great products for the fans. Linda did mention that the courts seem to take forever.

I am told that the Classic 10 Superstars collection is a top seller. The three most popular figures are Sabu, Mr. Perfect and Bruno Sammartino.  Almost all the dealers are all in re-order now.

Some wrestlers will move back and forth between ECW and the other brands, just as they do between Raw and Smackdown.  Linda said they moved some big stars to ECW, and that it will help to establish the brand.  The WWE seems very high on the ECW brand, as a potential money maker.  It should break even this year, according to Linda McMahon.

Linda said that WWE Films is looking at doing some straight-to-DVD releases and some original movies for USA Network.  Linda feels that DVD and television rights will help to make "See No Evil" profitable.  She said that The Marine staring John Cena will be released by Fox on October 13th, the target date at this time.

It was also stated that 20 million has been allotted for The Condemned movie staring Stone Cold Steve Austin.  They plan to do a few films per year.

Linda feels ECW can be as big as Raw or Smackdown brands.  Linda said that their goal is to make ECW as strong a brand as the other two.   Sileck said that the costs of running ECW over the first year will be about $12-$15 million. They also confirmed that a December 3rd ECW PPV has been added.

There are also high hopes for the continued rollout of WWE 24/7.  Comcast starts in August and will be available to 10 million subscribers.  (My question is when will Time Warner add WWE 24/7??  I suggest everyone get in touch with their cable company and just keep asking for it, like I do once per week.)