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TOKYO & STAMFORD, Conn. (12/20/2018 )-- WWE (NYSE: WWE) and J SPORTS will extend their partnership into its 22nd year with a new agreement to broadcast WWE’s flagship shows Raw® and SmackDown® live in Japan. Beginning Tuesday, January 1, 2019, J SPORTS 4 will air Raw live at 10 a.m. JST on Tuesdays and SmackDown live at 10 a.m. JST on Wednesdays.
Additionally, beginning Monday, January 7, 2019, J SPORTS 3 will air a one-hour version of Raw at 10 p.m. on Mondays and a one-hour version of SmackDown at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays. Fans can also order all of WWE’s monthly specials, including WrestleMania®, SummerSlam®,Survivor Series® and Royal Rumble® on J SPORTS On Demand with Japanese subtitles.
“We are thrilled to extend our relationship with J SPORTS and air Raw and SmackDown live in Japan,” said Michelle Wilson, WWE Co-President. “This partnership allows us to continue showcasing our unique blend of action-packed, family-friendly entertainment to fans across the country.”
“It has been more than 20 years since J SPORTS and WWE tapped into a partnership to broadcast WWE programming,” said Shin Kinoshita, President, J SPORTS. “We are pleased to extend our partnership to broadcast WWE programming live, and add WWE’s monthly specials to the programming lineup for all WWE fans in Japan to enjoy.”
About WWE
WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The Company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE’s TV-PG, family-friendly programming can be seen in more than 800 million homes worldwide in 25 languages. WWE Network, the first-ever 24/7 over-the-top premium network that includes all live pay-per-views, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library, is currently available in more than 180 countries. The Company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, Munich and Tokyo.
Additional information on WWE (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/
About J SPORTS Corporation
J SPORTS Corporation programs, produces, and broadcasts wide-range of domestic and overseas sports programs on four sports-dedicated subscription channels: J SPORTS 1, J SPORTS 2, J SPORTS 3, and J SPORTS 4. J SPORTS are the largest sports pay TV channels in Japan with more than 5,000 hours of live broadcasting a year. As of January 2018, the channels are reachable for 6.5 million households nationwide over satellite and CATV platforms. J SPORTS corporation also launched its OTT service J SPORTS On Demand in July 2015, providing wide-range of domestic and overseas sports programs through streaming.
Trademarks: All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.
Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks relating to: entering, maintaining and renewing major distribution agreements; WWE Network (including the risk that we are unable to attract, retain and renew subscribers); our need to continue to develop creative and entertaining programs and events; the possibility of a decline in the popularity of our brand of sports entertainment; the continued importance of key performers and the services of Vincent K. McMahon; possible adverse changes in the regulatory atmosphere and related private sector initiatives; the highly competitive, rapidly changing and increasingly fragmented nature of the markets in which we operate and greater financial resources or marketplace presence of many of our competitors; uncertainties associated with international markets; our difficulty or inability to promote and conduct our live events and/or other businesses if we do not comply with applicable regulations; our dependence on our intellectual property rights, our need to protect those rights, and the risks of our infringement of others’ intellectual property rights; the complexity of our rights agreements across distribution mechanisms and geographical areas; potential substantial liability in the event of accidents or injuries occurring during our physically demanding events including, without limitation, claims relating to CTE; large public events as well as travel to and from such events; our feature film business; our expansion into new or complementary businesses and/or strategic investments; our computer systems and online operations; privacy norms and regulations; a possible decline in general economic conditions and disruption in financial markets; our accounts receivable; our indebtedness; litigation; our potential failure to meet market expectations for our financial performance, which could adversely affect our stock; Vincent K. McMahon exercises control over our affairs, and his interests may conflict with the holders of our Class A common stock; a substantial number of shares are eligible for sale by the McMahons and the sale, or the perception of possible sales, of those shares could lower our stock price; and the relatively small public “float” of our Class A common stock. In addition, our dividend is dependent on a number of factors, including, among other things, our liquidity and historical and projected cash flow, strategic plan (including alternative uses of capital), our financial results and condition, contractual and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends (including under our revolving credit facility), general economic and competitive conditions and such other factors as our Board of Directors may consider relevant. Forward-looking statements made by the Company speak only as of the date made and are subject to change without any obligation on the part of the Company to update or revise them. Undue reliance should not be placed on these statements. For more information about risks and uncertainties associated with the Company’s business, please refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of the Company’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, our annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
Brad Klein
WWE
203-352-1106
Brad.Klein@wwecorp.com
Investor:
Michael Weitz
203-352-8642
Michael.Weitz@wwecorp.com
Source: WWE
