WWE Expands Reach to Traditional TV Shows

Colin Campbell, WWE’s vice president of development, said the company expects the shows to help it reach new audiences and expand its relationships with media companies.

“Contra Las Cuerdas,” WWE’s Spanish-language comedy, will debut on Netflix Inc. in Mexico, while “Pinned,” a “Succession”-like mogul-family drama, will be available through Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal, owner of NBC and the streaming platform Peacock. It hasn’t been decided yet where in the NBCUniversal empire “Pinned” will appear.

WWE Chief Executive Vince McMahon, who bought the company from his father in 1982 and has run it since—including occasionally stepping into the ring—said the scripted shows are part of his management team’s efforts to drive new revenue and find new distribution platforms.

Like most sports leagues, WWE gets most of its revenue from TV rights to its wrestling events. The company used to have its own streaming service, WWE Network, but decided to shut it down last year. Peacock has since become the WWE’s exclusive streaming home, as part of a five-year licensing deal valued at more than $1 billion. On Saturday, WWE’s marquee event, “WrestleMania” will kick off and air on Peacock. The company also has TV licensing agreements with Fox Corp. and NBCUniversal. Fox Corp. and Wall Street Journal parent News Corp share common ownership.

WWE, in addition to its wrestling shows, has produced documentary-style and reality series—including “WWE: Legends,” “Total Bellas” and “WWE: Evil”—but the two coming TV shows are its first foray into fiction.

“Contra Las Cuerdas,” which is currently in production, is a comedy about a woman training to be a luchadora, a Mexican wrestling character, in an attempt to win back the love of her estranged daughter. The TV series is based on “Queens of the Ring,” a 2013 French film that was developed in part with the WWE’s help.

While “Pinned” isn’t based on Mr. McMahon and WWE, it will likely have brush strokes and similarities to the executives and personalities associated with the company, a company spokesman said.

Beyond its two scripted shows, WWE is making other moves on the content front. WWE is partnering with Blumhouse, a production company famous for its horror movies including “Paranormal Activity” and “The Purge,” to develop “The United States Vs. Vince McMahon,” a TV series about the government’s indictment of Mr. McMahon in 1994 for allegedly supplying anabolic steroids to WWE wrestlers. Mr. McMahon, who declined a plea deal, stood trial and was acquitted by the jury.

The show will be similar in style to the likes of FX Network’s “The People v. OJ Simpson,” a dramatized miniseries about real events, according to Blumhouse Television President Chris McCumber.

“Even if you’ve never seen a match, you know the brand and superstars like Hulk Hogan, The Rock and John Cena,” Mr. McCumber said.

Mr. McCumber said the idea of doing “The United States Vs. Vince McMahon” came from WWE President Nick Khan, who joined the company in the summer of 2020. Mr. Khan was previously the co-head of television at Creative Artists Agency, and formed a relationship with Mr. McMahon during the most recent TV rights negotiations for WWE.

One of Mr. Khan’s first moves was to shut down WWE Network, the company’s streaming service, in the U.S., and license its programming to Peacock.

WWE Network had 1.1 million subscribers in the U.S. when it shut down. By contrast, more than 3.5 million paying Peacock subscribers have watched WWE content since it transitioned last March, Mr. Khan said during WWE’s February call with investors, calling the deal “a strategic pivot for our company.”

The company reached a milestone last year, surpassing $1 billion in annual revenue for the first time. WWE shares, which closed at $62.38 Wednesday, have nearly doubled from their March 2020 pandemic low.

Write to Lillian Rizzo at [email protected]