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World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) official YouTube channel could be generating more than US$13 million in revenue per year, based on the valuation the video-sharing platform places on ad-supported content.
The US sports entertainment company, which currently has in the region of 53 million subscribers, uploaded an average 510 videos per month during 2019, generating an average 756.4 million monthly views.
The US$13 million calculation is based on the percentage of monetised videos, YouTube’s average monthly earnings data and per-view revenue information, as reported by wrestling journalist Tom Colohue.
Whilst other entertainment-based YouTube channels which generate up to 700 million monthly views can earn in the region of US$26 million in AdSense revenue – a figure based on the platform’s reported US$7.60 cost per mille (CPM) or how much a partner pays per 1,000 views – the WWE’s income is less reportedly as a result of having a lower percentage of monestised videos. The US$13 million reported figure would place WWE’s CPM at US$1.40.
By way of comparison, a recent study on YouTube soccer accounts by Livefootballtickets.com estimated that UK pay-TV broadcaster Sky Sports’ dedicated account on the platform could earn more than US$12 million annually. That study took into account Adsense CPM data and estimated earnings from selling merchandise.
While TV revenue from the WWE’s broadcast deals with Fox in the US and BT Sport in the UK are more lucrative, its YouTube revenues set a significant benchmark for sports rights holders as they try to realise the potential value of digital content.
In December, English soccer giants Liverpool expanded their YouTube offering to become the first sports team globally with a platform membership option for fans. Liverpool’s senior vice president of digital, media and marketing, Drew Crisp, recently hailed a “substantial” take up on the new subscriptions.
Before the membership offer was announced, the Livefootballtickets.com study placed the Premier League club’s potential YouTube earnings at more than US$7 million annually.
World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) official YouTube channel could be generating more than US$13 million in revenue per year, based on the valuation the video-sharing platform places on ad-supported content.
The US sports entertainment company, which currently has in the region of 53 million subscribers, uploaded an average 510 videos per month during 2019, generating an average 756.4 million monthly views.
The US$13 million calculation is based on the percentage of monetised videos, YouTube’s average monthly earnings data and per-view revenue information, as reported by wrestling journalist Tom Colohue.
Whilst other entertainment-based YouTube channels which generate up to 700 million monthly views can earn in the region of US$26 million in AdSense revenue – a figure based on the platform’s reported US$7.60 cost per mille (CPM) or how much a partner pays per 1,000 views – the WWE’s income is less reportedly as a result of having a lower percentage of monestised videos. The US$13 million reported figure would place WWE’s CPM at US$1.40.
By way of comparison, a recent study on YouTube soccer accounts by Livefootballtickets.com estimated that UK pay-TV broadcaster Sky Sports’ dedicated account on the platform could earn more than US$12 million annually. That study took into account Adsense CPM data and estimated earnings from selling merchandise.
While TV revenue from the WWE’s broadcast deals with Fox in the US and BT Sport in the UK are more lucrative, its YouTube revenues set a significant benchmark for sports rights holders as they try to realise the potential value of digital content.
In December, English soccer giants Liverpool expanded their YouTube offering to become the first sports team globally with a platform membership option for fans. Liverpool’s senior vice president of digital, media and marketing, Drew Crisp recently hailed a “substantial” take up on the new subscriptions.
Before the membership offer was announced, the Livefootballtickets.com study placed the Premier League club’s potential YouTube earnings at more than US$7 million annually.
