In the United States, his fights attract more than 14 million viewers per week. In Europe, WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), the largest wrestling company in the world, is still discreet. For the moment. Jo Parkinson, its general manager for Europe, Africa and the Middle East, told FrancsJeux : wrestling is coming. And it will make noise. Interview.
FrancsJeux: What “weighs” does WWE currently have on the European continent?
Joe Parkinson: WWE is a publicly traded company in the United States, recognized as a leader in the organization of shows. Its TV programs are currently broadcast in more than 150 countries, in around thirty languages, and reach around 650 million households around the world. We are headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, but have offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London, Shanghai, Bombay, Singapore, Istanbul and Tokyo. Last year, we organized 66 events outside the United States, including some in France, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Russia…
In France, what do you currently represent?
WWE has just reached an agreement with the AB Television Group, under which our special events are now available on the AB1 channel. The first of them, WrestleMania, was broadcast on April 8. That night, it was the most commented on TV program on Twitter. This new offer is accompanied, still on the AB group channels, by two weekly magazines, “WWE RAW” and “WWE SmackDown”. At the same time, we renewed our partnership with Eurosport to broadcast WWE highlights each week, “This Week” and “Vintage Collection”.
Can we find out a little more about WWE's ambitions and plans in Europe?
We will continue our development in Europe, in the current form, that is to say via the broadcast of our programs on television. But, also, by creating more innovative products, in digital form and using social networks.
Is France one of your targets?
France is an important market for WWE. The brand has a certain history and growing popularity there. The year 2013 will be marked by a significant development of our offering, on television, on the Internet and in the field of derivative products.
Isn't the European public, particularly French, very far removed from that of wrestling in the United States?
In reality, the European public appears to be even more enthusiastic than that of the United States. Wrestling is still a rare commodity there. In France, for example, we try to come twice a year. This is little compared to the United States, where televised events return on a weekly basis. According to our champions present in the shows in Europe, the spectators are very noisy, the atmosphere is incredible. In Europe, people are hungry for wrestling.
