TKO’s Mark Shapiro lays out “first mission” for WWE, comments on television rights negotiations

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

TKO and Endeavor President and COO Mark Shapiro spoke with the Hollywood Reporter and laid out the company’s initial plan now that it has acquire WWE. “We’re ready to fire out of the gate.” Shapiro said. “…Our first mission is to fully capitalize on this insatiable demand for premium content and live events.”

Shapiro also commented on television rights negotiations for Raw and Smackdown. “We’re having very encouraging conversations with several players and platforms at the moment on WWE Raw and Smackdown,” said Shapiro. “We’re cautiously optimistic, we’re, in many ways, being valued as a unicorn because we’re a year-round. WWE is a 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.” Read the full story at HollywoodReporter.com.

Powell’s POV: The story adds that Endeavor “also plans to create more content, increase the number of live events, boost premium hospitality revenue, and bolster sponsorship licensing.” Based on Shapiro’s comments, it looks like the talent should expect to be working more live events.

WE VALUE YOUR PRIVACY

Be the first to comment

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.