• by Wayne Friedman , October 30, 2015

WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) says it has made a significant improvement in revenue and subscribers for its Internet-based TV service -- as well as witnessing nearly 40 new upfront TV advertisers for its programs on NBCUniversal's cable networks.

WWE Network, the company’s 18-month-old Net-based TV service, saw revenues grow 63% to $36.4 million from $22.4 million. At the end of third-quarter 2015 -- September 30 -- WWE Network had 1,306,000 total subscribers up from the previous second-quarter total of 1,227,000 and higher than its year-ago third-quarter number -- 731,000 total subscribers.

Television revenues increased 55% to $65.2 million from $42.2 million in the prior-year quarter, driven by improved domestic and international distribution agreements. In the U.S., WWE programming runs on USA Network and Syfy.

Home entertainment revenues sank to $3.0 million from $3.6 million, due to lower shipments and sell-through of DVD/Blu-ray titles.

WWE has seen advertising gains help bolster revenues on its digital platforms, with revenues 16% higher to $5.8 million. The company’s live event business revenues climbed 20% to $26.1 million from $21.8 million due to the staging of 6 additional events and higher average ticket prices in North America. Consumer products witnessed a 21% increase to $22.4 million.

For the third quarter, WWE reported revenues were up 38% to $166.2 million with net income of $10.4 million, or $0.14 per share, compared to a net loss of $5.9 million