WWE and TELE 5 today announced a multi-year deal to bring WWE’s flagship program, Monday Night Raw, back to free television in Germany. Starting April 10th, WWE fans will be able to see the two-hour version of Monday Night Raw every Thursday at 10.15pm on TELE 5.
WWE combines compelling storylines with an exciting mix of in-ring action, featuring WWE Superstars John Cena®, Randy Orton®, Alberto Del Rio™, Daniel Bryan™ and many more. In the United States, Monday Night Raw is the longest-running, weekly episodic program in primetime TV history and it is also one of the most-watched programs on cable.
“Monday Night RAW is a phenomenal television event that fascinates people all over the world", says Kai Blasberg, CEO of TELE 5. "Now TELE 5 is bringing this highlight of the entertainment industry back to the German public TV audience."
“WWE is thrilled to partner with Tele 5 to bring our family-friendly brand of entertainment to free TV making it more accessible to our German fans,” said Stefan Kastenmueller, General Manager, WWE Germany. “Our local team will be supporting this launch with multi-platform activities to bring the very best of all of our lines of business to the German market including Live Events, PPV, Consumer Products and Digital Services.”
About TELE 5
Anarchic comedy, entertainment programmes, movies with first class actors and highlight series aired at primetime: Tele 5 is multifaceted unique - a class of its own on the German free TV market that offers the perfect program for every possible target group. Since its relaunch in 2005 TELE 5 main focus is on international film productions, indigenous productions, SciFi- , adventure- and family series which offer an alternative to mainstream movies and programs. The German free TV channel reaches around 32 million households which is roughly 90% of the total potential audience. Other means of distribution include HD+ and the HD range of Entertain and Vodafone. Further means of distribution are in discussion.
Embedded in the owner operated holding company Tele München Group of the media entrepreneur Dr. Herbert G. Kloiber, TELE 5 is part of an integrated network that combines all of the audio – visual exploitation stages – Starting with the production of films and exploiting them in different fields such as cinema, video, television and merchandising.
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 programming is broadcast in more than 150 countries and 30 languages and reaches more than 650 million homes worldwide. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, Miami, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, 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/.
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 into, maintaining and renewing key agreements, including television and pay-per-view programming and our new network distribution agreements; risks relating to the launch and maintenance of our new network; the need for continually developing creative and entertaining programming; the continued importance of key performers and the services of Vincent McMahon; the conditions of the markets in which we compete and acceptance of the Company´s brands, media and merchandise within those markets; uncertainties relating to regulatory matters; risks resulting from the highly competitive and fragmented nature of our markets; uncertainties associated with international markets; the importance of protecting our intellectual property and complying with the intellectual property rights of others; the risk of accidents or injuries during our physically demanding events; risks associated with producing and travelling to and from our large live events, both domestically and internationally; risks relating to our film business; risks relating to new businesses and strategic investments; risks relating to our computer systems and online operations; risks relating to general economic conditions and our exposure to bad debt risk; risks relating to litigation; risks relating to market expectations for our financial performance; risks relating to our revolving credit facility; risks relating to the large number of shares of common stock controlled by members of the McMahon family and the possibility of the sale of their stock by the McMahons or the perception of the possibility of such sales; the relatively small public float of our stock; and other risks and factors set forth from time to time in Company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results could differ materially from those currently expected or anticipated. 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, general economic and competitive conditions and such other factors as our Board of Directors may consider relevant.
