Vince McMahon retires as chief of WWE amid probes into alleged misconduct
Vince McMahon attends a press conference at MetLife Stadium on February 16, 2012 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. WWE CEO Vince McMahon announced Friday that he was retiring as chief of the pro wrestling company, a move that comes one month after its board said it was investigating allegations of misconduct against him. This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
cnbc.comVince McMahon steps aside as WWE CEO amid probe of hush-money allegations
The company said it was investigating alleged misconduct from McMahon and John Laurinaitis, the head of talent relations, after the Wall Street Journal reported that McMahon paid a secret $3 million to a former employee who was involved in an affair.
washingtonpost.comDo you smell what Bezos is cooking? Amazon could buy the WWE, analyst predicts
Amazon could potentially tag-team with the world's biggest wrestling brand to gain an advantage in the streaming wars, according to a Needham. Not only could the Jeff Bezos-led tech retail juggernaut buy the streaming rights to World Wrestling Entertainment content, but it also could potentially buy the whole company one day, Needham analyst Laura Martin said. "We believe that such a licensing deal would put AMZN in the best spot to purchase all of WWE, whenever the family is ready to exit," Martin said. WWE's over-the-top streaming platform would be attractive to Amazon or other streaming services because it brings in a loyal fanbase, unlike new shows the companies are developing. "WWE's live programming is highly differentiated and its Raw, Smackdown and NXT brands are worth more than being any one of 500 series that have no builtin audience or brand," Martin said.
cnbc.comHere are some of the best analyst calls of the week on Wall Street including PayPal, WWE
Here are some of the best analyst calls on Wall Street this week:MKM - World Wrestling Entertainment, buy ratingMKM reiterated its buy rating on World Wrestling Entertainment this week. The analyst said the company has the "best multi-year growth potential" within the firm's media and entertainment universe. "A series of meetings we hosted last week with WWE management reinforced our view the company has the best multi-year growth potential within our Media & Entertainment universe. "We also expect PayPal to benefit from non-Amazon retailers' significant investment in online sales and digitally originated sales capabilities that more effectively compete against Amazon than in years past. While still the dominant online retailer, Amazon does not have the lock on online sales that is often perceived."
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