Tag: Mark Shapiro

Endeavor: We’re having ‘very encouraging conversations’ about WWE media rights

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Endeavor executives Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro have given an update on WWE’s talks for a new media rights deal.

Five months after originally being announced, Endeavor’s acquisition of WWE became official today. TKO Group Holdings, a merged company with WWE and the UFC, is now trading on the stock market. Endeavor holds a controlling interest of 51 percent in the new company, while WWE shareholders hold a 49 percent interest.

WWE’s media rights deals for Raw and SmackDown will be up in October 2024. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Shapiro said they’re having “very encouraging conversations with several players and platforms” regarding new rights deals.

“We’re having very encouraging conversations with several players and platforms at the moment on WWE Raw and SmackDown,” Shapiro said. “We’re cautiously optimistic, we’re, in many ways, being valued as a unicorn because we’re a year-round. WWE is a full calendar, sports and entertainment platform with significant engagement, strong reach and attractive demos. And that bodes well for these conversations and I believe that we’ll have results that are in line with market expectations.”

Shapiro stated on CNBC that they’re in discussions with both linear and digital platforms.

Emanuel added that they feel very good about where they’re at with the negotiations. He thinks the new rights deals will be line with what the market thinks will happen.

During New York Fashion Week recently, Emanuel and Paul “Triple H” Levesque were spotted sitting next to Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. Amazon has been rumored as a potential landing spot for SmackDown.

SmackDown currently airs on Fox. Raw and NXT both air on USA Network.

Emanuel is the CEO of both Endeavor and TKO Group Holdings. Shapiro is the president and chief operating officer of both companies.

Representatives from Endeavor, WWE, and UFC were at the New York Stock Exchange this morning to ring the opening bell. On social media, Levesque wrote that this is the most exciting time that he’s ever been a part of in the industry.

WWE-UFC merged company TKO Group board members revealed

Posted on by Ian Carey

New documents filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday have revealed 10 of the 11 board members for TKO Group Holdings, the company to be created through the WWE-UFC merger. 

Six of the new company’s board will be selected by Endeavor and the remaining five by WWE. Today’s filing listed the following names, along with their ages, as those confirmed:

  • Vincent K. McMahon (WWE), 77
  • Ariel Emmanuel (Endeavor), 62
  • Egon P. Durban (Endeavor), 49
  • Nick Khan (WWE), 48
  • Steven R. Koonin (WWE), 66
  • Jonathan A. Kraft (Endeavor), 59
  • Sonya E. Medina (Endeavor), 47
  • Mark Shapiro (Endeavor), 53
  • Nancy R. Tellem (WWE), 70
  • Carrie Wheeler (Endeavor), 51

The remaining board member to be confirmed will be selected by WWE. 

From today’s filing: 

“Under the terms of the transaction agreement, upon the completion of the Transactions, the New PubCo Board will consist of 11 members who will be determined prior to the Closing, five of whom will be selected by WWE, of whom (x) two will be members of the WWE management team (one of whom will be Mr. McMahon) and (y) three will be independent, and six of whom will be selected by Endeavor, of whom (x) three will be members of the Endeavor management team or Endeavor directors (one of whom will be Mr. Emanuel) and (y) three will be independent.”

Durban is the co-CEO of global technological investment firm Silver Lake and serves on the board for Endeavor Group Holdings. 

Koonin has been the CEO of the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena since 2014. He’s also a former president of TBS. 

Kraft is the president of the New England Patriots and the Kraft family holding company, The Kraft Group. He’s the son of Patriots owner Robert Kraft. 

Medina is the president and CEO of Reach Resilience and a co-founder of Greenlight Growth Capital, LLC. 

Tellem is the executive chairperson and chief media officer of media company Eko and a former president of Xbox Entertainment Studios. 

Wheeler is CEO of Opendoor Technologies Inc. and has served on the board of directors of numerous companies. 

Khan currently serves as CEO of WWE and has been with the company since August 2020. McMahon was named executive chairman of WWE in January after a brief sabbatical from the company. Shapiro has been president of Endeavor since December 2018. Emanuel founded the company in 1995 and currently serves as its CEO. 

Endeavor president Mark Shapiro promises not to ‘over-commercialize’ WWE

Posted on by Ian Carey

The president of Endeavor says they will look at ways to increase WWE’s sponsorship revenue, but they are not going to “over-commercialize” the product. 

Mark Shapiro appeared on the Sports Media Podcast on Wednesday and was asked about WWE sponsorship opportunities that could potentially involve putting brand logos on wrestlers’ ring gear. 

Shapiro responded:

“Look, you want to be authentic, you want to be seamless, you want to be organic, you want to be true to your audience. So, no, we’re not going to put a brand on somebody’s robe walking into the ring. Now, by the way, do UFC fighters wear Venom apparel and Project Rock shoes when they come into the octagon? Yes, they do. Could the WWE benefit from an apparel deal as such? A shoe deal as such? Absolutely but we’re not going to over-commercialize it, we’re not going to saturate it to the point that we cheap it out, we trick it out, and you turn off the fanbase.

You’ve gotta figure out what’s right in the ring, in the octagon. You’ve gotta figure out what’s right with the arena, indoor, outdoor. You’ve gotta figure out what’s right with the fighters and the participants, and you gotta walk before you run.”

However, Shapiro emphasized that the transaction has not been completed and they are not currently in a position to make decisions regarding WWE. 

Shapiro’s comments regarding WWE’s sponsorship potential echoes what had prevaiously been expressed by Endeavor CEO, Ari Emanuel. During an appearance on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street earlier this month, Emanuel noted that they will let WWE “do what they want to do” while his group works to drive revenue. He says it’s the same playbook they used with UFC. 

“Right now, we’re focused on saving some cost, doing sponsorship, which they didn’t have. It’s the same formula we used at UFC,” Emanuel said.  

Shapiro also commented on the success of this strategy during an interview with Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand last month.

Shapiro said:

“That’s the strategy. That’s how it has successfully played out for the UFC over the last six years. Remember when we bought it for $4.1 billion? People thought that price was crazy. Now, it is valued at $12.1 billion. I mean, what a story. We hope to do the same thing with the WWE.” 

First Endeavor bid for WWE made in mid-March, Liberty Media was ‘stiff competition’

Posted on by Ian Carey

The deal for Endeavor to purchase WWE came together in just a few weeks.  

Endeavor president Mark Shapiro spoke with Puck recently and said he did not know the deal was going through until Saturday. Shapiro says Endeavor put in a bid to purchase a majority share of WWE just three weeks prior. 

The all-stock deal is expected to close by the end of the year, pending regulatory approval. 

Endeavor’s first bid was reportedly made in mid-March at a meeting with Shapiro, Ari Emanuel, Nick Khan, and Vince McMahon at the Raine Group offices in New York. Shapiro and Emanuel then made a second and “more emotional” pitch the following week at WWE headquarters. 

From Puck:

The pair outlined their proposal during a meeting with WWE chairman Vince McMahon and C.E.O. Nick Khan at Raine Group offices, in New York, in mid-March, sources involved with the deal told me, and made a more emotional pitch one week later at WWE headquarters in Stamford.

Liberty Media, owners of F1, the Atlanta Braves, and SeriusXM were also in the running to purchase the company up until Endeavor and WWE signed a term sheet on Saturday evening. 

The report continues:

Still, they faced stiff competition from at least one rival bidder—John Malone’s Liberty Media, the owner of Formula One—until the very end

“It was nip and tuck all the way,” Shapiro said about the process. 

Shapiro also said he feels the merger puts WWE in a better position to negotiate television rights fees later this year. 

He said:

“There’s no question that when Nick goes in to renew his domestic deals, having us at the table, with our relationships and our portfolio of assets, will be helpful in the process.” 

Due to the merger, staffing layoffs are potentially a cost-saving opportunity for the newly created company. Shapiro believes they can save up to $100 million by combining WWE and UFC into one company. 

“Anything from H.R. to finance to legal to communications production to distribution and marketing,” Shapiro said. “Across every area, you’re going to find cost synergies; you’re going to integrate and ultimately highlight and appoint the best and brightest teams.”

Endeavor president: With WWE, we’re going to run the UFC playbook

Posted on by Josh Nason

With the dust not even close to being settled on the merger that will see Vince McMahon’s WWE fused with Endeavor’s UFC in a new company, indications on how the new WWE will be run are emerging.

In an interview with Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand, Endeavor president Mark Shapiro said, “We’re going to run the UFC playbook. The opportunity to put Vince McMahon’s creative head with Dana (White) and Ari (Emanuel) is going to create a significant amount of value for shareholders.”

On Monday morning, Endeavor and WWE announced their intent to merge WWE with UFC into a new yet-to-be-named publicly traded combat sports company trading under the ticker symbol TKO.

The playbook Shapiro referred to will be to focus on growing WWE sponsorship, licensing, hospitality and ticket sales in addition to developing its talent through unscripted shows, movies and endorsements.

“That’s the strategy. That’s how it has successfully played out for the UFC over the last six years. Remember when we bought it for $4.1 billion? People thought that price was crazy. Now, it is valued at $12.1 billion. I mean, what a story. We hope to do the same thing with the WWE.”

Shapiro cited a statistic that 80% of WWE’s net revenues come from the media segment. As alluded to during Emanuel’s interview alongside McMahon with CNBC Monday, Endeavor won’t be a central figure in the negotiations on the new TV rights contracts until the merger deal closes later this year.