Wizard World, the geek friendly company behind several Comic Cons and events, will take the axe to its roster.
2014 had been a good year for the company with nearly a million Dollars in profit. This resulted in the company expanding from 17 shows to 25. 2015 was tougher, though, as ICv2’s Milton Griepp reports. This is now a very crowded marketplace.
The extra shows cost Wizard World dearly in terms of expenses and salaries while the amount of cash each show earned dropped. In 2014 a show was worth about $1.4m but last year the average was down to about $915,000.
That’s not all. Their investment in ConTV, a streaming site filled with geeky content, shows no sign of earning money back and has been quite a drain.
It’s not all bad news, though, Wizard World got on to the subscription box craze early enough and Comic Con Box turns a profit.
Comic Con remains a popular name – even if it’s not a brand owned by anyone – and upcoming events like Minneapolis Comic Con continue to attract big name actors. Wizard World’s adjustment of their schedule makes sense; aligning to demand. In 2016 the company will run 19 shows, cutting those which have never been profitable.
