By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
TKO executives hosted a conference call pertaining to the company’s second quarter financial report that was released on August 8, 2024 at TKOgrp.com. The following are the WWE related highlights of the call. Refresh the page for the latest updates.
-TKO Senior VP of Investor Relations Seth Zaslow read through the legalities and then turned things over to the hosts.
-The call was hosted by CEO, Ari Emanuel, President and COO Mark Shapiro, and CFO Andrew Schleimer.
-Emanuel spoke about how fans are looking for immersive sports experiences. He touted TKO delivering record revenue and profitability in the second quarter. Emanuel read through highlights from the financial report. He noted that the quarter started off with a bang on the WWE side due to WrestleMania. He also touted the international premium live events.
-Schleimer read through the financial report presentation and they opened the lines for questions from the callers. It was noted that the Shapiro and Schleimer would be taking the calls.
-The first caller asked about WWE live events and whether they will move to stadiums and hold more two-night premium live events. Shapiro said it’s clear skies aheads. He said the put out press releases when they do site fee deals. He said clear skies also apply to their sponsorships after putting UFC and WWE staff together. Shapiro said not to underestimate the WWE deal on Netflix. He said WWE will be on the front page of Netflix. He said existing fans will follow them and spoke of how adding new fans will help with site fees and sponsorships.
-The next caller asked about WWE production costs going down. Schleimer spoke of the efficiencies that they have brought. Shapiro said doing package weekends with WWE and UFC in the same city is still coming. He said they see attractive long term growth opportunities for the WWE brand because it’s been under monetized to date.
-Shapiro spoke of the competition between cities for major events. He said Minneapolis was in the lead for WrestleMania and then Las Vegas “came in and trumped them.”
-A caller asked about limiting in-ring advertising. Shapiro said there are no limits and it’s all about price. He said they would not over commercialize it or cheapen the brand.
-While on the subject of live event success, Shapiro touted Paul Levesque’s creative work and said it’s no small deal while mentioning that he has Monday night and Friday night shows “and NXT.” He said WWE and UFC are selling out nearly every weekend and also said the per cap merchandise numbers are also strong.
-A caller asked about how Netflix will affect international business. Shapiro said it’s not that they will be popping up in a lot of countries that they are not already in because they are in 170 countries. He said the goal is to bring in new fans and customers via Netflix. He said they want to bring more women to the table and said UFC specifically has room to grow in that area while WWE already has families. Schleimer spoke of WWE doing more international shows and creating more fandom in the areas they run in. He said that opens the door for more site fees in those markets.
-A caller brought up WWE’s premium live event deal with Peacock expiring. Shapiro said the market for premium content remains extremely strong. He pointed to the NBA deal. Shapiro noted that number that Warner Bros Discovery paid for the French Open. Shapiro said they feel very good about “these renewals” when it comes to the WWE and UFC deals. He mentioned that it’s about timing. He said sometimes sports rights are hot and sometimes they are warm. Shapiro said they anticipate discussions regarding the PLE deal in 2025 but nothing is set.
-The final caller asked why PBR (Professional Bull Riders) was not included in TKO and whether it could become part of TKO. Shapiro said Vince McMahon was only open to doing the merger if it involved just the UFC and WWE brands.
-The final caller asked why PBR (Professional Bull Riders) was not included in TKO and whether it could become part of TKO. Shapiro said Vince McMahon was only open to doing the merger if it involved just the UFC and WWE brands. This wrapped up the conference call.
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