WWE® Launches ‘The Search for Africa’s Next WWE Superstar’
WWE and SuperSport Will Host Tryout in Nigeria in 2023
STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–WWE® (NYSE: WWE), in conjunction with its Sub-Saharan Africa broadcast partner SuperSport, has announced a continent-wide talent search to find Africa’s next WWE Superstar. The campaign was announced today in Lagos, Nigeria, the host city for a multi-day tryout in February 2023.
“The Search for Africa’s Next WWE Superstar” will begin today and is open to citizens of any African country. Submissions will be accepted until December 18. Learn more about the application process at www.supersport.com/WWEAfricaSuperstar.
Interested candidates will be asked to submit a video highlighting their potential to become a WWE Superstar. Successful applicants will be invited to participate in the Lagos tryout in February 2023. A select number of tryout participants will then be awarded an all-expenses-paid experience to continue their tryout journey alongside current and prospective WWE Superstars ahead of WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles in April 2023. A full-time WWE developmental contract may be offered to the top-performing participants who will then begin their new career at the world-class WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
“Africa is a focal point of our renewed global recruitment talent strategy,” said James Kimball, WWE Head of Talent Operations and Strategy. “This initiative, in partnership with SuperSport, will launch what we envision becoming a year-round, multi-country effort to identify talent that will resonate with our passionate fanbase.”
“The continent abounds with athletes and Africa has had several WWE Superstars, so this is the perfect opportunity to showcase fresh new talent,” said Marc Jury, Chief Executive of SuperSport. “As there is a massive appetite among African audiences for WWE action and entertainment, we expect this initiative to be very popular with aspirants. SuperSport looks forward to telling this exciting story in the weeks and months to come.”
Last week, WWE and MultiChoice announced a major broadcast partnership that will see Showmax – the leading streaming service available in the region – become the new home of WWE Network in Africa. The partnership incorporates all WWE Premium Live Events, including WrestleMania, as well as WWE Network’s vast library of original and archived programming available to stream on-demand by more people in Africa from early 2023 on Showmax, Africa’s most loved streaming service.
SuperSport, the sport broadcasting subsidiary of video entertainment platform MultiChoice, will continue to broadcast live weekly episodes of Raw®, SmackDown® and NXT®as well as all of WWE’s Premium Live Events in a multi-year extension.
Learn more about WWE’s recruitment process at www.wwerecruit.com.
About WWE
WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The Company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family-friendly entertainment on its television programming, premium live events, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE’s TV-PG programming can be seen in more than 1 billion homes worldwide in 30 languages through world-class distribution partners including NBCUniversal, FOX, BT Sport, Sony India and Rogers. The award-winning WWE Network includes all premium live events, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library and is currently available in more than 180 countries. In the United States, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock, is the exclusive home to WWE Network.
Additional information on WWE can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com.
About Showmax
Showmax is an African streaming service. What sets Showmax apart is a unique combination of hit African content, first and exclusive international series, popular movies, premium documentaries, and the best kids’ shows. Showmax Pro adds music, news and live sport from SuperSport. For a single monthly fee, get unlimited access. Start and stop when you want.
Stream Showmax using apps for smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, computers, media players and gaming consoles. Manage data consumption using the bandwidth capping feature. No internet? No problem – download shows to smartphones and tablets to watch later offline.
Showmax was born in 2015. Showmax and Showmax Pro are available in sub-Saharan Africa. A Showmax diaspora service is also available in selected markets worldwide.
Showmax is a part of the MultiChoice Group, Africa’s leading entertainment company. MultiChoice Studios is the largest producer of original content on the African continent, with close to 70,000 hours of co-produced and commissioned titles in our library. MultiChoice Studios’ content sales and distribution arm sells and distributes content to broadcasters and platforms across the globe. The division manages a vast range of categories and genres in the catalogue, including Africa’s largest classic library of feature films, short stories and documentaries from award-winning filmmakers.
For more information, visit www.showmax.com.
Trademarks: All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos, and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.
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These forward-looking statements are subject to uncertainties relating to, without limitation, the departure of Vince McMahon from the Company and the appointment of Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan as co-Chief Executive Officers; the scope, duration and findings of the ongoing investigation by the special committee of independent members of our Board of Directors; regulatory, investigative or enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or demands arising from, related to, or in connection with these matters; our ability to remediate material weaknesses in our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal control over financial reporting; and reputational harm to the Company’s relationships with its stockholders, customers, talent and partners, which may have adverse financial and operational impacts, among other factors. The following additional factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements: the COVID-19 outbreak, which may continue to affect negatively world economies as well as our industry, business and results of operations; entering, maintaining and renewing major distribution and licensing agreements; a rapidly evolving and highly competitive media landscape; WWE Network; computer systems, content delivery and online operations of our Company and our business partners; privacy norms and regulations; our need to continue to develop creative and entertaining programs and events; our need to retain and continue to recruit key performers; the possibility of a decline in the popularity of our brand of sports entertainment; the resignation of Vincent K. McMahon; possible adverse changes in the regulatory atmosphere and related private sector initiatives; the highly competitive, rapidly changing and increasingly fragmented nature of the markets in which we operate and/or our inability to compete effectively, especially against competitors with greater financial resources or marketplace presence; uncertainties associated with international markets including possible disruptions and reputational risks; our difficulty or inability to promote and conduct our live events and/or other businesses if we do not comply with applicable regulations; our dependence on our intellectual property rights, our need to protect those rights, and the risks of our infringement of others’ intellectual property rights; the complexity of our rights agreements across distribution mechanisms and geographical areas; potential substantial liability in the event of accidents or injuries occurring during our physically demanding events; large public events as well as travel to and from such events; our expansion into new or complementary businesses, strategic investments and/or acquisitions; our accounts receivable; the construction and move to our new leased corporate and media production headquarters; litigation and other actions, investigations or proceedings; a change in the tax laws of key jurisdictions; our feature film business; a possible decline in general economic conditions and disruption in financial markets including any resulting from COVID-19; our indebtedness including our convertible notes; our potential failure to meet market expectations for our financial performance; through his beneficial ownership of a substantial majority of our Class B common stock, our controlling stockholder, Vincent K. McMahon could exercise ultimate control over our affairs, and his interests may conflict with the holders of our Class A common stock; our share repurchase program; a substantial number of shares are eligible for sale by the McMahons and the sale, or the perception of possible sales, of those shares could lower our stock price; and the volatility of our Class A common stock. In addition, our dividend and share repurchases are dependent on a number of factors, including, among other things, our liquidity and historical and projected cash flow, strategic plan (including alternative uses of capital), our financial results and condition, contractual and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends (including under our revolving credit facility), general economic and competitive conditions and such other factors as our Board of Directors may consider relevant. Forward-looking statements made by the Company speak only as of the date made and are subject to change without any obligation on the part of the Company to update or revise them. Undue reliance should not be placed on these statements. For more information about risks and uncertainties associated with the Company’s business, please refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of the Company’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, our annual report on Form 10-K/A and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q/A and Form 10-Q.
Contacts
Media:
WWE
Greg Domino
Greg.Domino@wwecorp.com
MultiChoice/Showmax
Laura Cooke
Laura.cooke@multichoice.com
SuperSport
Clinton van der Berg
Clinton.vanderberg@supersport.com
Investor:
Seth Zaslow
203 352 1026
Seth.Zaslow@wwecorp.com