Endeavor’s WWE-UFC merger to form TKO Group Holdings is now complete, and the WWE TV deals will be the next big thing. WWE President Nick Khan told Sports Business Journal that he expects to start pushing hard on negotiations once football season begins.
It was mentioned that the fact that the UFC’s primary broadcast partner is ESPN and WWE’s primary broadcast partner is rival NBC should help.
“You’ve seen bidding wars between Comcast and Disney on things like the Fox assets, which ultimately went to Disney, and Sky, which ultimately went to Comcast,” Khan said. “It does make one wonder how this might look down the road as both companies and as TKO enters into these negotiations. We think ratings, relevancy and revenue for both properties are off the charts, and, of course, we always want to grow that.”
UFC Senior EVP/COO Lawrence Epstein attributed the UFC’s ESPN deal to Endeavor’s media rights experience, and he expects Endeavor/TKO President & COO Mark Shapiro and Endeavor/TKO CEO Ari Emanuel to play key roles in the current deals.
“The good news is we’ve got the best in the business when it comes to negotiating these important rights deals here in the U.S. and frankly around the world,” Epstein said.
