{"id":2450029,"date":"2026-06-08T15:30:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T15:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2450029"},"modified":"2026-06-08T15:30:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T15:30:11","slug":"the-sports-entertainment-icon-finding-a-new-generation-of-fans-hbbip-138","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/the-sports-entertainment-icon-finding-a-new-generation-of-fans-hbbip-138\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sports-Entertainment Icon Finding a New Generation of Fans (HBBIP #138)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Each week, we’ll bring you select insights from our newsletter, How to Build Brands and Influence People (HBBIP). To have all of these insights delivered directly to your inbox,\u00a0<\/span>subscribe today<\/a>!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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Hello and welcome to How to Build Brands and Influence People, your People\u2019s Elbow for the creator economy. My name is Alex Rawitz, Director of Research & Insights at CreatorIQ, and yes, that is the sound of shattering glass you\u2019re hearing. That is the distant peal of a funeral bell. And if I\u2019m not mistaken, are those the opening chords of Mot\u00f6rhead\u2019s “The Game?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What I\u2019m saying is that 138 editions into this newsletter, I could use an entrance gimmick that isn\u2019t just saying \u201cyour X for the creator economy.\u201d Rest assured that everyone back at HBBIP Laboratories is working on it.<\/span><\/p>\n

For those of you who are very puzzled as to what\u2019s happening right now, or the things I mentioned in the first paragraph, you weren\u2019t a child between 1985 and 2005, and it shows. As a means of explanation, suffice it to say that in this week\u2019s newsletter we\u2019re going to analyze the creator marketing program of a true cultural behemoth. We\u2019re diving deep into a pop phenomenon that\u2019s shaped the zeitgeist, launched careers, and continues to drive the discourse forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve done three-letter <\/span>sports<\/span><\/u><\/a> leagues. We\u2019ve done three-letter <\/span>entertainment conglomerates<\/span><\/u><\/a>. Now, we\u2019re doing a bit of both.<\/span><\/p>\n

Can you smell what HBBIP is cooking? If so, cut a promo, break kayfabe, turn heel, and tune in right here right now as we jump straight into\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

The Top <\/span>Brand<\/span> of All Time (of the Week): the WWE<\/span>
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Heck yeah, brother (this is a family newsletter). This week we\u2019re talking about the bruising, cruising, smash-hit World Wrestling Entertainment LLC, better known as the WWE.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ready to learn how some extremely beefy, theatrical people changed history, and how creators are keeping the legacy of pro wrestling alive?<\/span><\/p>\n

What Is the WWE?<\/h4>\n

Though it has roots in regional wrestling organizations that date back to the 1950s, the WWE that we know and love today really came onto the scene back in the 1980s. Through outlandish ups and downs both inside and outside of the ring, professional wrestling has shaped American culture, and launched careers for mainstream stars from Hulk Hogan to The Rock to John Cena and beyond. (And for the record, while he might not be as famous as those other guys, my GOAT is Roddy Piper.)<\/span><\/p>\n

The WWE came of age in a different media era, and has already adapted to several rapidly changing landscapes. Now, let\u2019s take a look at how professional wrestling has continued to thrive in the era of creator marketing.<\/span><\/p>\n

How Is the WWE Performing on Social Media?<\/h4>\n

Over the past six years, the WWE has transformed its global creator footprint into one of the fastest-growing engines in sports entertainment, which is already a pretty fast-growing space.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

WWE Creator Count, 2020 – 2025<\/span><\/p>\n

The WWE\u2019s creator base expanded from 3.1k creators in 2020 to 19.4k creators in 2025, a 6.3x growth. While this growth was steady from 2020 through 2023, we saw an inflection point between 2024 (10.6k creators) and 2025 (19.4k creators).<\/span>\"WWE<\/span><\/p>\n

WWE Post Count, 2020 – 2025<\/p>\n

The WWE\u2019s annual content volume grew from 27.7k posts in 2020 to 369.8k posts in 2025, representing more than a 13x expansion. This surge indicates not only stronger creator relationships, but also accelerating cultural velocity, with WWE-related content being produced and circulated across global audiences. <\/span><\/p>\n

Plus, because post count growth trends ahead of creator count growth, it\u2019s further proof that WWE creators are becoming more prolific year after year.<\/span>
\"WWE<\/p>\n

WWE EMV, 2020 – 2025<\/span><\/p>\n

The WWE\u2019s <\/span>Earned Media Value (EMV)<\/span><\/u><\/a> rose from $151.9M in 2020 to $2.3B in 2025, a 15.3x increase. Crossing the billion threshold in 2024 marked a structural shift in WWE\u2019s social influence, and a similar inflection point as other metrics. By 2025, the WWE\u2019s EMV nearly doubled again, signaling that the organization continues to inspire high-value, high-impact content.<\/span>\"WWE
<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0WWE Impressions, 2020 – 2025<\/span><\/p>\n

The numbers just keep getting bigger, folks. In this case, we have a 17.8x improvement: from 1.8B in 2020 to 32.7B in 2025. Once again, the shift between 2024 and 2025 is key, with the WWE more than doubling its global impressions between 2024 and 2025 alone. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"WWE
<\/span>WWE Engagements, 2020 – 2025<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, the WWE\u2019s engagements grew from 123.4M in 2020 to 1.2B in 2025, representing a 9.7x increase. Unlike other metrics, including impressions, the WWE didn\u2019t see a huge spike between 2024 and 2025, which is in keeping with the generally lower engagements growth I\u2019ve observed for most brands. Still, surpassing 1 billion engagements annually is no small feat. Clearly WWE content still resonates.<\/span><\/p>\n

And where is that content resonating most deeply?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"WWE<\/p>\n

WWE Share of Impressions by Platform, April 2025 – March 2026<\/span><\/p>\n

YouTube drives the largest share of impressions, accounting for nearly half of the WWE\u2019s total. However, things flip around when you look at engagements:<\/span><\/p>\n

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WWE Share of Engagements by Platform, April 2025 – March 2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Here, Instagram leads, with TikTok also outperforms YouTube. It\u2019s a complete inversion of what we saw for impressions\u2014a rare feat, given that most brands tend to be fairly consistent between platform metrics.<\/span><\/p>\n

To boil it down:<\/span><\/p>\n