By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
TKO executives hosted a conference call regarding the company’s third quarter financial report that was released on November 5, 2025, 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.
-CEO Ari Emanuel, President and COO Mark Shapiro, and CFO Andrew Schleimer hosted the call. It was noted that Shapiro and Schleimer would handle the Q&A portion of the call.
-Emanuel started with prepared remarks. He said it was a landmark quarter for the company. He touted the UFC media rights deal with Paramount. WWE starting its premium live event run on ESPN Unlimited early, and the Zuffa Boxing media rights deal with Paramount. Emanuel said WWE set 35 individual market records during the quarter. He also mentioned the new PBR (Professional Bull Riders) media rights deal with Paramount that was announced earlier today.
-Schleimer delivered his prepared remarks and read through the final report. They opened the phone lines.
-While answering a question about a media rights deal, Shapiro brought up the possibility of running WWE and UFC events in the same city. When it comes to media rights, he said they look at “brand, reach, and dollars.”
-WWE President Nick Khan was asked about pricing versus capacity for WWE live events. Khan said capacity continues to be very high, and they remain bullish on the increased prices for their televised events. He spoke about how they scaled back on non-televised events when TKO took over.
-A caller asked if the pay-per-view model will go away internationally. Schleimer said there were very few international markets where they sell events “on a transactional basis.” He said Canada and Australia are the biggest markets.
-The caller asked about the framework of UFC fighter pay. Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Epstein said there would be some changes to the deals with some of their top fighters who get money based on pay-per-view buys. He noted that Dana White recently said that fighter pay would be going up.
-Shapiro answered a question about Zuffa Boxing. He said they expect to do two to four super fights per year, and they can load the undercard with fighters from the Zuffa Boxing League. He said they get paid on media rights, partnership, and ticketing sales. Shapiro mentioned the involvement of Nick Khan and Dana White, and limiting the number of events. He said Nick Khan has a full-time job with WWE, and Dana White has a lot on his plate. He said he wouldn’t say they are stretched thin, but they are stretched. He said they are waiting to bring people off the bench, but they are waiting for opportunities to arise. He mentioned doing 12-15 Zuffa Boxing events in addition to the super fights.
-A caller asked about site fees and the number of sites that have paid fees compared to the number that have not. Schleimer spoke about having three WWE events in Saudi Arabia in 2026 compared to just one in 2025. He said they are seeing a lot of interest in Raw, Smackdown, and UFC Fight Nights. He said they wouldn’t talk specifically about site fees. Shapiro said they have had talks regarding 60 events, with some potentially being seven-figure deals. He said they have “a six-person roster” of people working on those deals. Shapiro said Raw has gained “so much momentum” and pointed to the show’s popularity in various markets on Netflix.
-A caller asked how WWE has performed on ESPN. Nick Khan said they are thrilled with the start. He said it’s a new product and a new platform. He said Wrestlepalooza was a new event for them, and they were pleased with the coverage it received on ESPN. He mentioned the ESPN college football show crew all predicted the winner of the John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar match. Shapiro sang the praises of working with ESPN. He also mentioned that there is a growing number of cable, satellite, etc. subscribers who are authenticated for free as ESPN reaches new agreements.
-Shapiro answered a question about sponsorships by talking about how they now have incoming calls from sponsors looking not just at UFC, but deals that also include WWE and PBR. They wrapped up the call moments later.
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