WWE Announces Investment in Tout, McMahon Says it Will be "Critical" to Three-Hour Raws

Last edited by King Silva on Thu 12 Jul 2012, 9:04 am; edited 1 time in total

http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_63217.shtml

WWE is going beyond a basic partnership with Tout to an "investment and strategic partnership" with the social media outlet, the company announced Wednesday. WWE did not disclose financial terms of the investment. However, Tech Crunch reports that Tout has obtained $13.4 million in funding, with WWE being one of the primary investors along with capital investors.

WWE has invested in Tout to use their platform to reach WWE's audience with "real-time video status updates" as part of their plans to make WWE Raw more socially interactive. WWE CEO Vince McMahon said it will be "critical" when Raw moves to three hours starting July 23.

"Tout's real-time video technology will become a critical component of fan interactivity in our weekly television programming and will be utilized to connect WWE directly with our fans in new ways," McMahon said in a press release.

WWE added that wrestlers will "interact with fans via Tout question and answer sessions leading up to the event" on Monday nights. Videos will also be featured during the Raw broadcast.

WWE will be looking to extend Raw beyond Mondays by launching "Tout Tuesdays," which will allow WWE fans to discuss what happened the previous night on Raw.

http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_63238.shtml

WWE's financial investment in Tout is only the start of WWE pursuing more investment deals, according to WWE executive Stephanie McMahon.

McMahon told private investment website PEHub.com that WWE is looking to invest in similar companies, especially in the tech sector.

“Tout is really the first deal that we’ve done of this kind,” McMahon said. “But we’re very opportunistic, so if the right opportunity came along, we’d definitely consider it.” McMahon added that investing in start-ups is “something we’re exploring.”

The news of WWE as a chief investor in Tout, which announced a total of $13.4 million in funding, is expected to create waves in Silicon Valley, which WWE hopes will lead to more awareness of WWE in the marketplace to court companies that "make sense."

Related to Tout, McMahon added more details on how the video service will be incorporated into three-hour Raws. McMahon said there will be "specific calls to action" for fans to send "touts" that will air during Raw. "The touts need to be relevant and to make sense (for the broadcast)," McMahon said.

Caldwell's Analysis: Interesting news. With WWE attempting to expand with their own TV Network, acquiring movies for WWE Studios, and now looking to acquire/invest in tech companies that can enhance their own TV product, it looks like WWE is trying to create more arms extending from their core product to be more attractive to investors. Considering WWE has been trading at 52-week lows and eight-year lows throughout 2012, WWE needs to look for more ways to be attractive to investors. The best way would be addressing the "core product" that drives PPV business, TV ratings, and live show attendance, but WWE has decided they need to make a splash in the marketplace at this point.

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