WWE posted a 19% year-over-year quarterly revenue increase despite the absence of ticketed events. An increase in content rights and decrease of event-related production costs drove income to grow nearly 900%.

E-commerce revenue increased 60% to $9.1 million in the quarter. WWE Network subscribers also grew 6% and digital video views and hours consumed were both up 3%. 

CEO Vince McMahon credited the successful quarter in part to WWE’s new management team, including President and CRO Nick Khan and CFO Kristina Salen. Khan was the co-head of CAA’s television division prior to joining WWE this summer.

WWE Q3 By The Numbers: 

$221.6 million in overall revenue

$201 million in media rights revenue

$19.9 million in consumer products revenue

$700,000 in live events revenue

European soccer helped Comcast top expectations in its latest earnings report. Comcast’s European Sky TV revenue jumped to $4.79 billion, up from $4.55 billion year-over-year, largely because of soccer restarting.

All three of Comcast’s business units beat revenue projections with high-speed internet driving the majority of 556,000 new cable subscriptions. Cable video contributed a net loss of 273,000 subscribers compared to competitor AT&T’s drop of 627,000 pay-TV customers.

NBCUniversal saw a major dip in theme park revenue, but the unit still generated $6.72 billion — more than analysts expected. Overall, Comcast saw its revenue decrease to $25.53 billion from $26.82 billion in the same quarter last year.

Comcast Quarterly Revenue:

Comcast overall: $25.53 billion, down 4.8% year-over-year

Cable Communications: $15 billion, up 2.7%

NBCUniversal: $6.46 billion, down 22.2%

Sky TV: $4.79 billion, up 5.3%

BodyArmor has secured Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray as an athlete partner and investor. Currently the No. 2 sports drink sold in convenience stores nationwide, BodyArmor is on track to hit nearly $1 billion in sales by the end of the year. 

Tennis star Naomi Osaka, the highest-paid female athlete in the world, and All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey are among the company’s other athlete partners. Despite the big-name deals, BodyArmor has a ways to go if it wants to compete with Gatorade.

With 72% market share and “high-single-digit revenue” growth per PepsiCo’s latest earnings report, Gatorade has a strong hold on the sports drink category. As of August, Powerade was second, controlling 20% of the overall market and BodyArmor was third with 7%.

Notable BodyArmor Partnerships:

• Kyler Murray
• Naomi Osaka
• Christian McCaffrey
• Mike Trout
• James Harden
• Ja Morant

Legalized sports betting launches in Tennessee on Sunday, a market that could generate $6 billion in bets annually when it reaches maturation. Nineteen states and Washington D.C. have launched legalized betting since the Supreme Court repealed PASPA in May 2018.

Tennessee’s population mirrors Indiana, which has seen $1.4 billion in sports wagers in the 13 months since sports betting launched, making it the fourth-largest market over that time. Indiana set a monthly record in October, handling $207.5 million in bets.

Four operators will launch in Tennessee on Sunday: FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM, along with Tennessee-based Action 24/7.

Sports Betting Headlines: 

• The NFLPA announced an equity stake in daily fantasy sports provider Monkey Knife Fight.
• Penn National Gaming reported its first profitable quarter of the year on the back of the Barstool Sportsbook app launch.
• The NBA extended its betting data partnerships with Sportradar and Genius Sports Group.