As a World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE:WWE) shareholder, I'm always concerned about pro wrestling losing its audience. It's hard to believe that Monday Night RAW can compete with Microsoft's Xbox 360, Google's YouTube, News Corp.'s (NYSE:NWS) MySpace, and whatever else entertains those crazy kids these days.
WWE, however, manages to retain its fans. In the eight-month transition period, average attendance at North American RAW and SmackDown events increased 27% to 5,700. CEO Linda McMahon noted that the attendance numbers reflect the "underlying health and positive momentum" of the business.
I also noticed that WWE often makes Yahoo!'s Buzz Index, which tracks the day's hottest searches. WWE is usually up there with big names in entertainment like Britney Spears, Beyonce, and NASCAR. In fact, WWE made the chart 237 times, which indicates to me that WWE's popularity is not waning. The McMahons translated this Internet buzz into $21 million in revenue from the digital media segment, up 34% from the prior eight-month period.
So I'll be keeping an eye on attendance numbers and "buzz," but for now I'm content to hold onto my shares and collect that nice dividend.
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Yahoo! is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor pick. Microsoft is an Inside Value pick.
Fool editor Joey Khattab wishes Kurt Angle would return to WWE. It's true. Joey owns shares of WWE. The Fool has an unbeatable disclosure policy.
