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Welcome to PWInsider.com's coverage of TKO's 4th quarter and complete 2025 year earning call.
TKO CEO Ari Emanuel, President and COO Mark Shapiro, and CFO Andrew Schleimer are on the call. Shapiro and Schleimer will handle the Q&A portion
Ari Emmanuel talked about how excited they are to work with ESPN on WWE PLE, noting it is still early in the deal.
He praised the launch of Zuffa Boxing.
They have completed nearly one billion in stock share repurposes.
They are optimistic about their place in the marketplace.
Mark Shapiro praised all the media rights deals they locked in for UFC, WWE and Zuffa Boxing. He praised the ESPN deal, a five year deal with a 1.8x increase and that it represents what they can build with ESPN, the first stop for premium sports content. He also praised the WWE Netflix deal. They have a seven year deal with Paramount that will see all UFC events available to Paramount+ subscribers. They wanted to make UFC content more available to grow that audience. Their debut was the highest streaming live event in Paramount+ history. They are looking forward to their CBS debut on 3/7.
They believe they can have double digit growth in sponsorships for live events in 2026.
John Cena's retirement match was the highest grossing WWE arena gate of all time.
Site fees will be a key grower for their future strategy. They want them for all of their WWE main roster events, PBR, UFC and Zuffa Boxing events. They are getting roughly double what they were receiving when TKO was formed in 2023. They expect $380-$420 million by 2030. Their events are in demand and what they should bring in in this area should reflect what they deliver. Going forward, they will refer to Site Fees as financial incentive packages.
They pushed that they intend to make Zuffa Boxing a big deal.
They reviewed the financials.
They opened up for the Q&A portion of the call.
They were asked who they wanted to win WBD. They joked they weren't getting into that trap and praised each side. They have no input or control as to what happens. They are happy to work with each.
They were asked about Zuffa Boxing signing Conor Benn. Marc Shapiro said he's only been signed for one fight. Stories UFC fighters are upset are overblown and were blamed on another boxing promoter.
They are working with potential corporate partners to offset the costs of the UFC event at The White House, which they stated could cost upwards of $60 million. They will not profit from the event directly. It's about creating a spectacle and a stage to expand their viewership.
They are well ahead of their plans for 2030. There is no end to the opportunities, pointing out Dude Wipes. They "own" men with these sports and have a healthy female audience as well.
There may be as many as 16 Zuffa Boxing events this year. They have no viewership numbers yet to share. They have global partnerships and international media deals on the horizon. They believe it is something that can really be something for them.
They were asked what lessons were learned from Royal Rumble in Riyadh leading into Wrestlemania. They will have three 2026 Saudi events this year. Nick Khan said that was the first event at that venue ever, so there's a lot of things you learn as an operator and a venue. When Wrestlemania 2027 is held, it will be at the same place as the Asia Cup that year. Their team will be there for the soccer tournament to get all the production nuances down for Wrestlemania.
They feel they have strong momentum across the board with each of their companies. They are bullish on live gates and all have long-term rights fees locked in, except Zuffa. They have a transformative opportunity with that company.
That was it for the call.
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