How Much WWE May Have Made With Saudi Arabia Deal In 2018

WWE released their fourth quarter and full year results for 2018 this morning. The report helps shed some light on how much WWE made from their partnership with Saudi Arabia last year.

WWE Crown Jewel was held in Riyadh in the fourth quarter amidst much controversy. WWE held the event despite backlash after Saudi Arabia was believed to have ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Revenue from the event would be listed in the "Other" section of the report. The total in the "Other" for the final three months of 2018 is $63.5 million, up $42.9 million from the same period in 2017. So it's safe to assume that WWE made in the neighborhood of $40 - $45 million from Crown Jewel alone, since there might have been some other minor fluctuations in the category elsewhere. In the earnings report, it was noted that the big increase in revenue was "primarily due to the distribution of certain live, in-ring programming content in international markets as reflected in 'Other'."

WWE Network revenue for the quarter was $46.8 million, so WWE made about as much from Crown Jewel as they netted from the Network in Q4 2018.

WWE held the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Jeddah last April. Revenue in the "Other" category was up $48.7 million from the prior year ($60.6 million in 2018, up from $11.9 million in 2017). WWE likely netted somewhere in the $40 - $50 million from the Saudis for that event itself.

For the entire year, the revenue generated from the partnership was in the $80 - $100 million range. The total revenue for 2018 in the "Other" category was $95.8 million ($144.7 million in 2018, a 196% increase from $48.9 in 2017). WWE announced a net revenue of $930.2 million, a 16% increase from $801 million in 2017. Assuming WWE generated $90 million from the Saudi deal in 2018, net revenue would have been $840.2 million, dropping the increase from the prior year to only 5%.

2018 was the first year of the announced 10 year partnership with WWE and the Saudi Arabia. WWE is expected hold events in Saudi Arabia in May and November of this year.