By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
TKO executives hosted a conference call regarding the company’s second quarter financial report that was released on August 6, 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.
-The call was hosted by CEO Ari Emanuel, President and COO Mark Shapiro, and CFO Andrew Schleimer.
-Emanuel read a prepared statement. He said they are raising their guidance for the full year, and then he read through some of the company’s highlights from the quarter.
-Schleimer read through the second quarter report presentation, and then they opened up the phone lines.
-The first caller said he was surprised that Netflix didn’t pick up the domestic premium live events rights. Shapiro spoke of how they were leery of having everything in one basket. He said that they could have had a slightly higher rights fee by going with another partner, but the ESPN brand and reach were important to them. He spoke about the possibility of having the first hour or even two of premium live events simulcast on ESPN networks.
-The next caller said he was surprised by the WWE premium live events deal being announced before UFC’s media rights deal. He wondered if the UFC deal was more challenging. Shapiro said he was triggered by the notion that the UFC deal was more challenging. “Unequivocally, no,” Shapiro said regarding the UFC deal being more challenging. He said they are in the home stretch with the UFC deal and will provide an update once they have something to announce. He said the WWE deal shows that the market for big event programming remains strong, and will remain strong with ESPN as well.
-The caller followed up by asking if the deal makes UFC less likely to end up with ESPN or if they are separate. Shapiro said he doesn’t think the WWE deal rules out ESPN for the UFC media rights deal.
-Shapiro spoke about Nick Khan being able to shop NXT premium live events separately. He said they can also shop WWE documentaries individually rather than being contractually obligated to produce five per year under the Peacock deal. He also mentioned the WWE library being available. Khan said the WWE audience will follow them. He mentioned that 96 percent of the Raw audience followed them to Syfy when the show switched networks on short notice during the Olympics.
-A caller asked Khan about sponsorship opportunities. Khan and Shapiro spoke favorably about the advertising opportunities. Shapiro spoke about how it was a blank canvas for advertising when they acquired WWE, pointing to the canvas and other ads they have introduced.
-Shapiro spoke about how the first PLE on ESPN has to feel like the Super Bowl. He said it’s fitting given that ESPN is also preparing for its first Super Bowl.
-Shapiro spoke about the Zuffa boxing promotion. He said they hope to have two to three super fights per year. He said it’s a no-risk venture for them because they make $10 million for overseeing the fights. They wrapped up the call shortly thereafter.
So now WWE fans in the US will have to have THREE different paid streaming apps to watch all WWE content (technically, you also need Tubi for Evolve, but that is free). Outside of football, I don’t watch sports that often so I am NOT gonna pay $30 a month just to watch their monthly PLEs and I know I am not alone in that. Right now Peacock has 41 million subscribers while ESPN+ ony has 24 million. If only 24 million people will pay $12 for ESPN+, how many will pay the $30 this new app will cost?