Tag: TKO Financials

WWE & UFC revenue up big in TKO quarterly report, creative criticism addressed

Posted on by Josh Nason

WWE & UFC continue to perform for TKO in yet another big quarter for the combat sports and hospitality buoyed company.

TKO announced their financials Wednesday ahead of their 5 PM Eastern investors call, the notes of which can be found below.

TKO’s total revenues increased to $1.597 year over year (YOY), powered by WWE’s $475.7 million (up $84.2 YOY) and UFC’s $401.2 million (up $41.5 million). IMG/On Location was the biggest performer of them all, seeing an increase of $179.1 million to $655.4 million YOY thanks to the 2026 Winter Olympics.

*****

Specifically for WWE, the first quarter saw them take in $281.7 million in media rights, $123.5 million in live events and hospitality, $26.2 million in partnerships & marketing, and $44.3 million in consumer products & licensing.

The live events & hospitality segment saw the biggest increase YOY, followed by media rights. The driver was the Royal Rumble being held in Saudi Arabia.

Of note, legal costs increased to $23.2 million, up from $6.5 million in Q1 of 2025. The reason, among others, are “costs, net of insurance recoveries, related to certain litigation matters including antitrust lawsuits for UFC and stockholder litigation for WWE and Endeavor.”

Call Notes/Prepared Remarks

  • Mark Shapiro said they are “firmly moving ahead with scheduled events in Saudi Arabia and the region” for both WWE and UFC, “even and despite a challenging environment.” He confirmed Saudi Arabia’s PIF will not withdraw their financial commitment to TKO as they did with LIV Golf. He said they are planning on all six events after those shows with WWE/UFC/Zuffa boxing to take place in the region as planned.
  • Shapiro said they still plan on losing $30 million for the UFC White House card.
  • Shapiro said WWE Elimination Chamber had a “meaningful” YOY increase in its debut on ESPN, and was the second highest arena gate in company history.
  • Shapiro said they were “not concerned about ticket performance whatsoever” for WWE WrestleMania 42 and that it was “unrealistic” to expect growth there year over year. He said it was still one of the highest gates in WWE history and outperformed anywhere else they could have held it.
  • He followed that up by addressing criticism of WWE creative. He defended it, saying they listen to all feedback but that what they have been hearing is “not new criticism” and there there will always be “periodic dissatisfaction” with creative.

Q&A

Shapiro was asked during the call about the fan criticism about WWE and he re-iterated some of the points he made on the recorded call, saying listening to any and all feedback is “high priority” for them and while they listen and learn, “balancing the fan experience with the business of sports is never easy,” comparing it with complaints about Hollywood, movies, and ticket prices.

He said change takes getting used to and that fans used to complain about NBA sponsor patches and that even the L.A. Dodgers added a rights partner on the field at Dodgers Stadium. He also mentioned the critics for when ads were introduced in key times for the NCAA Final Four, NFL games, etc.

He said there is “no magic formula and no magic serum” to adding the commercial element into WWE’s presentation and that it’s a trial and error over time and that they have pushed boundaries for events, leaning into some more than others.

“Most important, our product comes first,” he said, noting that fans are unique, super passionate and how marketers want access to their IP. They are working to do that while maintaining a balance and that “revenue allows us to be more creative with our product and our superstars.”

He added that, “Our audience is resilient. We can’t take them for granted. Currently, we have record attendance, record viewers, and record engagement,” he said.

He was later asked about similar critiques about UFC fight cards which he replied, “Bottom line, we don’t buy it.” He put over the last numbered event, the amount of young fighters making their way up the ranks, and that with any sport, there are natural ebbs and flows with star power, comparing it to a time in the NBA when fans had similar complaints.

Asked about the success of one off events in the MMA space and competition, TKO CFO Andrew Schleimer said they made an eight figure investment in doubling fighter bonuses and that fighter compensation continues to grow as “we would never turn a blind eye to our most meaningful investment.” Shapiro that that everything is competition in combat sports with other events, but didn’t seem to have any concerns about those competitors.

TKO announces WWE & UFC Q3 revenue, Nick Khan ‘bullish’ on ticket pricing

Posted on by Josh Nason

It was another strong quarter for WWE and UFC’s parent company TKO who announced on Wednesday Q3 revenues of $1.12 billion and net income of $106.8 million for the three-month period.

WWE revenue specifically increased by $75.8 million to $402.1 million year-over-year thanks to the two-night SummerSlam and the creation of Wrestlepalooza, site fees and all. Increased ticket revenue & hospitality were up $31.4 million with media rights, production & content up $21.5 million from a year ago.

For the first nine months of the year, WWE is up $250 million year-over-year — just shy of $1.35 billion.

During the Q&A portion, WWE head Nick Khan said they remain “bullish” on their ticket price increases, saying they were appropriate for the marketplace and that the scarcity in U.S. shows with both their house show reduction & international expansion has been “a good thing for overall gains.”

On the UFC side of the coin, revenue was down slightly at $325.2 million year-over-year, down from last year’s Q3 total of $354.9 million. That was attributed to a decrease in media rights, ticket sales & hospitality, and partnership/marketing revenue. That’s driven by one less “numbered event” and the fact last year’s Q3 featured UFC Noche from The Sphere in Las Vegas which had Riyadh Season as a sponsor.

WWE revenue (pre-EBIDA):

Q3 2025 revenueQ3 2024 revenueYear-over-year increase/decrease
$402.1 million$326.3 million+$75.8 million
First nine months 2025 revenueFirst nine months 2024 revenueYear-over-year increase/decrease
$1,349.8 billion$1,099.8 billion+$250 million

Specific WWE financial segments:

ItemQ3 2025 revenueQ3 2024 revenueYear-over-year increase/decrease
Media rights, production & content$248.9 million$227.4 million+$21.5 million
Live events & hospitality$82.5 million$51.1 million+$31.4 million
Partnerships & marketing$39.9 million$21.7 million+$18.2 million
Consumer products licensing and other$30.8 million$26.1 million+$4.7 million
Total Revenue$402.1 million$326.3 million+$75.8 million

Notes:

  • The increase in live events and hospitality revenue was attributed to higher ticket sales revenue as well as an increase in site fees with both SummerSlam and Wrestlepalooza.
  • The increase in media rights, production and content revenue was attributed to higher rights fees for PLEs due to two additional nights of programming as compared to the prior year period.
  • The increase in partnerships and marketing revenue was primarily due to new partners and an increase in fees from renewals.
  • The $325 million per year WWE is receiving from ESPN for domestic PLE rights was also confirmed during the call.
  • There was positive toward Raw remaining in Netflix’s global top ten through the quarter in addition to SmackDown’s performance on USA during the quarter, specifically saying it led primetime cable ratings nine times in the period.
  • TKO CFO Andrew Schleimer referenced net costs of ending the Peacock PLE deal early, but didn’t offer specifics as to how much those were.

Q4 outlook & beyond:

  • It was noted that the financial benefits for the Netflix deal and ESPN domestic PLE rights agreement will be “significantly offset” by having two nights of PLEs this year vs. three last year with one PLE that took place in Saudi Arabia last year shifting to the first quarter of 2026 (Royal Rumble).
  • On site fees, Schleimer said 2026 will be “the beneficiary” of three events from Saudi Arabia. TKO’s Mark Shapiro said a team of six were focused on “dialing for dollars” with site fees.
  • To that end, Shapiro said “Raw has gained so much momentum” and said they were number one in 29-30 countries worldwide on Netflix. It’s unclear what he was referencing as that is not what the reported Tudum numbers are.
  • After the financial success of the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford boxing event, they expect to do three major scale boxing events per year.
  • Shapiro said to expect announcements on two major deals with partners by the end of the year.
  • Asked about initial reaction to WWE PLEs and performance on ESPN, Nick Khan said they are thrilled with the start of it and put over the launch on Wrestlepalooza. He said they are patient and is confident about ESPN growing into things. Shapiro talked about how so many people are eventually going to get ESPN Unlimited access for free once ESPN works out deals with distributors like YouTube TV.

TKO announces WWE & UFC Q2 financials, insight on new ESPN deal & future opportunities

Posted on by Josh Nason

Wednesday marked a big day for TKO which started with the news of WWE’s premium live events moving to ESPN in 2026 and wrapped up with their Q2 financial call.

As a whole, TKO revenue finished at $1.308 billion — an year-over-year increase of 10% ($115.2 million). WWE’s revenue increased by $99.4 million to $556.2 million YOY while UFC increased to $415.9 million YOY off an increase of $21.5 million. TKO-owned IMG decreased by $13 million to $306.6 million YOY.

As expected, it was all positive regarding the aforementioned ESPN deal with the added potential value of shedding the contracted 250 hours of original programming in addition to five original documentaries and archive library they have to provide under the NBCU/Peacock deal. TKO chief operating officer Mark Shapiro and CFO Andrew Schleimer pointed to that fact in addition to their ability to sell rights to the NXT PLEs (six per year) in addition to their archive content.

In an interesting move, Shapiro and Schleimer clarified that the full total of the Peacock PLE deal was $900 million of total rights fees ($180 million AAV) and not the $1+ billion reported at the time of the deal nearly five years ago. That makes the increase look even better and potentially better if they can sell the rights to the aforementioned other content streams.

It was in this thread that Shapiro said “What made us feel ok walking away from Netflix…” before quickly saying he wasn’t suggesting they made an offer at any level.

That $900 million was first reported by the Wall Street Journal earlier in the day. Even though the initial Peacock deal was done prior to TKO ownership, the reason it was never corrected publicly was not addressed.

WWE Q2 Year over Year Revenue Breakdown

Item2025 Q22024 Q2YOY increase/decrease
WWE media rights, production and content$278.9 million$260.7 million$18.2 million+
Live events and hospitality$185.7 million$144.1 million$41.6 million+
Partnerships and marketing$58.3 million$24.7 million$33.6 million+
Consumer products licensing and other$33.3 million$27.3 million$6 million+
Totals$556.2 million$456.8 million$99.4 million+

Both WrestleMania 41 and Night of Champions from Saudi Arabia took place in Q2 which buoyed the increases like in Partnerships & Marketing and Live Events which was attributed to “higher ticket sales revenue as well as an increase in site fees, primarily due to revenue recorded related to both domestic and international premium live events.” Media rights were attributed to escalating fees and SmackDown’s expansion to three hours.

Notable Quotes:

  • Shapiro said one of the reasons ESPN was attractive for their reach, their b-to-c strategy, and overall approach. They were reticent in wanting to put all their content eggs into one basket, and they could have got a slightly higher rights fees by going with another partner.
  • He reiterated the idea of some PLEs being simulcast on ESPN’s linear networks, but noted it could be just the first hour or two. This would appear to be the WWE equivalent of the prelims for UFC shows that air on ESPN’s networks.
  • Shapiro: “We are living in the big event era.” He said that was a reason the WWE PLEs package was so attractive to prospective buyers.
  • He said ESPN liked how both WWE and UFC can attract new subs, “cord nevers” and cord cutters.
  • Shapiro said WrestleMania needs to be a Super Bowl-esque event for ESPN.
  • Shapiro put over the WWE relationship with Netflix and that “It’s clear we are a top tier product for the Netflix platform.”
  • The idea of WWE fans “traveling” to different services was driven home by WWE president Nick Khan who claimed 96% of their audience for WWE Raw moved to Syfy when it was pre-empted from USA due to the Winter Olympics on less than two weeks notice. He also said the peak of 1.1 million of WWE Network subscribers went to Peacock when that move happened and Peacock’s base “grew massively” thanks to those coming for WWE content.
  • They are in the “home stretch” of closing the new UFC media rights deal, a mix of balancing monetization and reach.

Other Notes:

  • It was noted that six of the last eight UFC events were supported by site fees.
  • They have broken their own record for highest grossing WWE arena event three times in the last year with Money in the Bank being the most recent.
  • For the quarter, they hit 36 individual records for ticket sales (assumed to be combined between WWE and UFC) and sold out 16 shows.
  • They continue to be bullish about WWE on Netflix, touting that Raw has appeared every week on the global Top Ten in addition to the success of WWE Unreal.
  • Vince McMahon’s NDA payments continue to be a factor in the reports under TKO’s Certain Legal Costs section.
  • Looking at the third quarter, UFC will hold ten events which includes two PPVs — their fewest in any quarter of the year (three in Q3 of last year) Eight events are expected to be held in front of fans, up from six in the same quarter last year. They also noted last year featured the UFC debut at the Sphere and a title sponsor.
  • While SummerSlam will benefit WWE’s numbers in the third quarter, they will take a hit due to SmackDown reverting to two hours.

May 12, 2025 Observer Newsletter: WWE Q1 financials & talent release analysis, Naito wraps up with NJPW

Posted on by F4W Staff

Subscribers can now read this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Dave Meltzer leads off with a look at the Q1 TKO financial call which revealed how well both WWE and UFC did in the first three months of the year.

He then looks at the mass of releases WWE did last Friday, why they happened, and the potential prospects for those looking for work.

He also looks at the final NJPW match for Tetsuya Naito and what could be next.

All that and the rest of the news in the wrestling and MMA world awaits.

Click here to read.

March 3, 2025 Observer Newsletter: WWE year-end financial report, The Rock returns again

Posted on by F4W Staff

Subscribers can now read this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter with a lead story focusing on this week’s TKO investors call that revealed WWE’s Q4 and full 2024 performance.

Dave Meltzer also looks at The Rock’s latest return to WWE and what it could mean, the latest Janel Grant vs. Vince McMahon developments, the passing of Osamu Nishimura and more.

Click here to read.

TKO Q3 financial call notes: WWE revenue increases while UFC revenue dips, boxing future

Posted on by Josh Nason

The following is being updated as the 5 PM Eastern call progresses.

TKO — the parent company of WWE and the UFC — announced their 2024 Q3 quarterly earnings on Wednesday, announcing revenue of $681.2 million, net income of $57.7 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $310 million from July through September of this year.

For the full year, they revised their revenue target to $2.745 billion, up from the previously announced $2.67 billion.

WWE revenue finished at $326.3 million, up from $287.3 million year-over-year — the latter of which includes revenue before the merger with UFC was completed and just afterward. Per usual, the 14% increase ($39 million) was driven by media rights and content fees, live events and sponsor revenue.

WWE-specific numbers for the quarter are as follows:

  • $227.4 million in media rights and content
  • $51.1 million in live events
  • $21.7 million in sponsorship
  • $26.1 million in consumer products

In prepared remarks, company head Ari Emanuel said they set new records in 42 markets. They held 18 events outside the U.S., up from 11 the previous year, citing their return to Japan and run of successful PLEs which included Germany’s Bash in Berlin.

UFC

Quarterly revenue was down 11% year over year to $354.9 million, driven by a $50.4 million decrease in media rights and content revenue due to having one less “numbered” event and two fewer Fight Nights than the year prior. That was offset by a $10.2 million increase in sponsorship revenue and fees from renewals while ticket revenue was flat.

Specific numbers for the quarter are as follows:

  • $216.3 million in media rights and content
  • $51.4 million in live events
  • $74 million in sponsorship
  • $13.2 million in consumer products

In their prepared statements, they brought the recent UFC vs. Cung Le settlement and reiterated it will be tax deductible to the company as previously relayed.

Q&A

  • Asked about previous comments about splitting up UFC TV rights, Mark Shapiro re-iterated that they are looking to maximize value, and how they are driving subs for ESPN+ and are still a ratings winner for ESPN/ABC — bucking a trend with other leagues who are struggling early in their deals. He said WWE is a still a stalwart when it comes to TV ratings.
  • Asked about why PPV is still a strong model for UFC, Shapiro said they still sell them overseas while ESPN sells them domestically. When it comes to negotiations, Shapiro said it’s whatever the market will bear. He said PPV is still a strong model. “We will not have a shortage of suitors,” he said, re-iterating how much they love Disney.
  • Asked about Dana White’s comments about going into boxing, Shapiro said off the cuff comments by White does not translate into anything for Wall Street. He said if they were to get involved, they would be involved in an organic way, not a merger and acquisitions way. Ideally, they would partner with someone who would pay TKO to operate it. “Boxing is ripe for a fix,” he said.
  • Shapiro said he is pleased with the growth of UFC Fight Pass and are seeing upticks in subs internationally, and foresee keeping that separate from any media deal. Having more live events of all kinds of fighting is the key.
  • Shapiro again said the recent Noche show at the Sphere in Las Vegas was a one-and-done, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t run one in the eventual one in Abu Dhabi.
  • Asked how Netflix could increase WWE sponsorship worldwide, Shapiro said they have been great out of the gate in selling combo packages with media inventory and around the event. They have a new deal with Minute Maid where they are a WWE sponsor and also Netflix inventory. Nick Khan made an appearance on the call, saying they expect the global reach to help them even more.
  • Shapiro said they haven’t had challenges with talent leaving because both WWE and UFC is the destination spot, something they don’t take for granted. They want to keep those costs under control and as long as they are aligning with right partners and storytelling, people will gravitate to both UFC and WWE.
  • TKO will not explore any other Endeavor assets past what they already brought on/acquired recently like PBR, etc.

TKO Q2 financial notes: WWE revenue, ticket prices, UFC piracy & PPV cost issues

Posted on by Josh Nason

The parent company of WWE & UFC had such a successful second quarter that they increased their targeted revenue for the year.

On Thursday, TKO released their Q2 financial statements followed by an investors call that featured comments from the usual company leadership with some nods to what might be coming pricing-wise down the line for consumers.

The new revenue target for the year is $2.745 billion, up from the originally forecasted $2.67 billion.

Overall company revenue increased to $851.2 million thanks to big quarters from WWE ($456.8 million) and UFC ($394.4 million), up from $629.7 million in Q1.

The quarterly revenue increase of $46.5 million by WWE was driven by increases in live event revenue, media rights and content revenue. Ticket sales revenue helped the live events portion while the addition of one PLE in the quarter helped in all areas. They noted third-party original programming revenue was down due to “timing of delivery” and their consumer products revenue was flat due to an increase in video game license revenue being offset by their transition of live event merch sales to Fanatics.

The UFC revenue increase of $89.2 million was driven by increases in media rights & content ($38.9 million), live events ($36.7 million) and sponsorship ($15.5 million). They noted they held one more “numbered event” and that their media rights fees contractually escalated in addition to “higher site fee revenues.”

The UFC class action lawsuit was mentioned in their release and on the call, not straying too far from their original statements when the presiding judge would not accept the initial settlement. They believe the judge erred in making his ruling and while they are prepared to go to court on both cases, they are evaluating all their options including new settlement talks.

Call notes:

  • Asked about further optimizing ticket prices for WWE, TKO president Mark Shapiro said they haven’t seen any pushback and that site fees are a huge growth sector for them, sponsorship is great, and rights fees are great for both WWE and UFC.
  • He made a point to say “don’t underestimate the Netflix play” in growing WWE worldwide in that it’s all about discovery and new viewers due to WWE being featured on the home screen when viewers log on. He said that is “a whole new audience for us” and expects it to help drive both site fees and sponsorship increases.
  • While initially forecasting $100 million in cost savings when the merger happened, TKO chief financial officer Andrew Schleimer said they now expect to exceed that, citing efficiencies gained thus far by cutting “superfluous” production costs and making some shows “smaller.” That comment is believed to be related to using smaller sets for some PLEs which allows for more tickets to be sold and less setup/breakdown costs.
  • In an interesting comment, Shapiro said their UFC piracy numbers are “jacked up” due to ESPN becoming a bit too aggressive with their PPV pricing. He said he and Dana White talked to ESPN’s Jimmy Pitaro about that and that ESPN was receptive, and some changes with discounting for early buys has appeared. He also said they are sustaining their buys.
  • Shapiro said TKO head Ari Emanuel has a big focus on “festivalizing” their events and making them more multi-day cultural events, something municipalities and cities are saying they want more of. He mentioned wanting to pit cities against each other to bring them in, citing the Las Vegas vs. Minnesota fight for WrestleMania 41 that saw the former up their offer to secure it.
  • Schleimer said the UFC received a $20 million site fee for the company’s debut in Saudi Arabia in June and that there was a “meaningful fee” attached to UFC 302 from Newark, New Jersey.
  • Asked about consumer trends for both brands, they aren’t seeing any slowdown, crediting the creativity and matchmaking by Dana White and Paul Levesque. Shapiro said demos are strong, age group is strong, and the Hispanic market has picked up which they are trying to grow.
  • He said they are watching their ticket pricing but probably aren’t being as aggressive with WWE as they should be and mentions using some dynamic pricing with some venues.

Other notes:

  • Vince McMahon was in TKO’s 10-Q filing as well with two separate stock purchases agreements by TKO, one on April 4th that purchased 1,642,970 shares from McMahon for $146.2 million and another on April 7th for 1,853,724 shares at $165 million.
  • In the first half of the year, Dwayne Johnson earned $6.7 million and $15.7 million worth of restricted stock units (RSUs) in two transactions as part of his $30 million agreement with TKO. He also earned a combined $700,000 in royalties and incurred $3.1 million in “certain travel expenses associated with delivering services” in the first six months of which $400,000 was paid back to him.

Update on Vince McMahon’s public listing of his remaining TKO stock

Posted on by Josh Nason

An SEC filing on Friday evening about Vince McMahon putting up all of his remaining TKO stock for sale was reported by some media outlets as new, breaking news.

However, it was merely the next step in a process that began two weeks ago.

TKO filed a prospectus “related to the resale of up to 8,258,887 shares of our Class A common stock” that included McMahon’s remaining 8,021,405 shares in addition to 234,424 shares from WWE president Nick Khan and 3508 shares by TKO Board member Steven Koonin.

Friday’s filing was merely a final version of the preliminary version that came out on April 12th that was reported by several outlets including ours.

By filing, it doesn’t mean all the shares will be sold by the three men involved. Rather, the process is one that Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston had previously “allows the public to buy them and therefore might allow McMahon, Khan, and Koonin to get a better deal and to complete any transactions with less administrative friction.”

The stock closed Friday at $96.76/share, down from the $98 the stock closed at on April 12th.

In today’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, our Dave Meltzer reported that sources told him that starting a new wrestling promotion is not of interest to McMahon but that he does want to look at other business opportunities in the future.

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.