Tag: TKO Earnings Call

TKO earnings report & call notes: WWE revenue up, new Raw development

Posted on by Josh Nason

WWE’s first quarter revenue finished at $316.7 million, helping fuel another successful quarter for parent group TKO.

The numbers were reported as part of TKO’s first quarter earnings report released Wednesday, followed by an investors call that kicks off at 5 PM Eastern.

This post will have notes from that call when it starts. Please refresh this page later for updated quotes and notes.

The WWE number is a year-over-year (YOY) increase of 6% from 2023’s $297.6 million in the pre-TKO era due to an increase in both live event & media rights revenue, offsetting a dip in consumer products revenue.

TKO revenue, which includes UFC, finished at $629.7 million, up 105% YOY. However, that number is inflated due to the absence of WWE the year prior.

The most interesting part of the afternoon release was the reveal that WWE Raw will remain on USA Network through the end of 2024 for $25 million. As NBCUniversal’s deal for Raw ended at the end of September, there was some question as to where their flagship show would air for the last quarter of the year before heading to Netflix.

TKO’s full-year guidance increased to $2.685 billion, up from $2.61 billion originally forecasted. That is based on the $25 million for the USA deal and outperforming their numbers for the first quarter.

WWE revenue breakdown for Q1:

  • Media rights & content $ 221.1 million
  • Live events: $50.2 million
  • Sponsorship: $13.8 million
  • Consumer products $31.6 million

WWE highlights

Several of the other highlights TKO noted about WWE included the following, all of which were reported on:

  • 47 total events which included Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber. Both PLEs set all-time records for gross revenue and viewership which were previously reported on.
  • Their Netflix deal for Raw domestically and everything on the TV side internationally starting in 2025.
  • Even though the event took place in the second quarter, they touted the financial success of WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia.
  • Their first-ever center mat deal with Prime Energy

UFC notes:

On the other side of the coin, UFC revenue increased slightly to $313 million, up $6.3 million YOY. That was buoyed by a $10.6 million increase in sponsorship and $3.9 million increase in live event revenue, offset by a $9.6 million decrease in media rights & content revenue due to holding one less PPV than last year.

They held 11 shows, five in front of live crowds, in the first quarter, setting all-time gross revenue records for those live shows in the process.

Similar to WrestleMania, they touted the financial success of UFC 300 even though it fell in April.

UFC revenue breakdown for Q1:

  • Media rights & content $ 214.5 million
  • Live events: $35.3 million
  • Sponsorship: $48.6 million
  • Consumer products $14.6 million

Call notes: 

Per the norm in the TKO era, there wasn’t a ton of specific and unique information about WWE or UFC, but here are a few notes.

  • Ari Emanuel, CEO Mark Shapiro and CFO Andrew Schleimer represented TKO per usual. Emanuel ducked out before the Q&A portion began.
  • Site fees and other “cash and non-cash incentives” will continue to drive both big WWE and UFC events.
  • Schleimer said TKO got a “meaningful payment” for WWE bringing Elimination Chamber to Australia — their highest non-Saudi payout to date. He also said next year’s WrestleMania in Las Vegas is tied to both cash/non-cash incentives.
  • Shapiro said the Saudi relationship has been handed off to Nick Khan from Vince McMahon and put over how strong Khan has been with it.
  • He didn’t indicate what the change to the WWE/Saudi arrangement will be, saying as of now, they still have just the two yearly events on the books and the one yearly event for UFC. He did mention wanting to “festivalize” the WWE experience there.
  • The non-exclusive UFC negotiating window opens up in January and lasts for three months. Shapiro said they don’t want to leave, but do want to do what’s best for the company.
  • Several factors go into keeping UFC shows at the Apex in Las Vegas including margins, fan interest, and revenue. Schleimer said they haven’t found the right mix yet, but are working on it. Shapiro said there’s no experience like the live one and that they err on that side when they can.
  • Shapiro said that according to Dana White, the impending UFC PPV at the Sphere in Las Vegas is a “one and done.”

TKO Q3 earnings call recap: WWE NXT deal, Saudi Arabia, Raw rights, Vince McMahon

Posted on by Josh Nason

The first quarterly investors call for TKO Holdings took place Tuesday afternoon as the world got a further glimpse into the financials for the mega combat sports entity that houses both WWE and UFC.

In their first official quarter as a company, they announced total revenues of $449.1 million. However, the numbers are a bit skewed as it covers July 1st, 2023 through September 30th, 2023 for UFC and September 12th through September 30th for WWE.

WWE’s revenue for that period was $51.6 million with their combined revenue for the entire quarter at $287.3 million. That number was down 6% year-over-year prior due to both lower consumer product licensing and media/content fees — the latter blamed on timing.

Conversely, UFC revenue was up to $397.5 million, up from $340.7 million year-over-year, fueled by increases in media rights ($31.2 million), live event revenue ($12.7 million), and sponsorship ($12.2 million).

CEO Ari Emanuel, president Mark Shapiro, CFO Andrew Schleimer and investor contact Seth Zaslow were on the call which did not feature Vince McMahon, Dana White or Nick Khan. In a difference from past WWE-specific calls, there was less in terms of interesting news and more a rehash of previous press releases with some level of insight.

McMahon wasn’t a major focus of the call, nor was the team asked about this blurb from a separate TKO SEC supplement filing Tuesday that was not in prior reports as relates to risk factors for TKO:

“Mr. McMahon’s membership on our Board could have adverse financial and operational impacts on our business. 

“Mr. McMahon’s membership on our Board could expose us to negative publicity and/or have other adverse financial and operational impacts on our business. His membership also may result in additional scrutiny or otherwise exacerbate the other risks described herein. Any of these outcomes could directly or indirectly have adverse financial and operational impacts on our business.”

McMahon’s name comes up in that document frequently under “WWE Legal Proceedings.” TKO assumed $3.5 million of McMahon’s future payments “to certain counterparties” and that he has agreed to pay future settlements personally.

A few highlights from the call:

  • In 2023, Emanuel said they have already garnered mid-eight figures in site fees (assumed to be for both companies) and expect that to grow in the years ahead. He said this February’s Elimination Chamber event in Australia will bring WWE its largest site fee ever, but didn’t say what the number was.
  • Saudi Arabia was a major focus of conversation and optimism for the future for both WWE and UFC.
  • Emanuel said the WWE NXT deal with The CW represents a 70% AAV (average annual value) increase. He said he is very pleased with that deal and with CW’s reach.
  • He is also very pleased on the SmackDown agreement with NBCUniversal and the 40% AAV increase.
  • With WWE Raw rights, he said they have until October of next year to find the right partner as they do all production in-house. They are very optimistic about those as well and that like with the UFC/ESPN deal, they will take their time, calling interest “robust.” He said there’s a lot of momentum and productive conversations with both linear players and streamers. They have flexibility on both day & time, and there’s no specific timeline on a deal. 
  • Schleimer said they will continue to look for more cost efficiencies between the two groups across a variety of departments.
  • Emanuel said in some cases, partnerships and sponsorships are being sold and proposed with both UFC and WWE packaged together. Hospitality packages were also discussed as “bullish” with the early success of WrestleMania 40 noted as a big win. 

WWE announced highlights 

  • The announcement of WrestleMania 40 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and subsequent ticket sales of 90,000+ for the two-day event, breaking the WrestleMania 39 record already
  • WWE’s five-year deal with NBCUniversal for SmackDown starting in October 2024.

UFC announced highlights

  • UFC held 13 events and continued to set arena records for attendance in doing so including six sellouts. International sellouts were noted, something the company remains bullish on.
  • UFC completed their biggest ever sponsorship deal with AB InBev’s Bud Light that begins in January 2024.
  • UFC will expand its presence in the MENA region (Middle East North Africa) that will see Abu Dhabi host “numbered” shows through 2028 and includes three annual Fight Night shows in Saudi Arabia that start in March 2024.