Mark Shapiro spoke at the UBS Global Media & Communications Conference and covered multiple business topics related to WWE & UFC.
He promoted the pending move of the UFC’s content to Paramount in January and getting out of the pay-per-view business. Shapiro stated that around half of its numbered events will have integration on CBS and touted the network window as a big aspect of the deal for growth.
It’s worth noting that the Paramount deal is a U.S. deal, and there are many global territories, including Canada, which still require consumers to buy the numbered events at the regular pay-per-view price.
He referred to the June 14 event at the White House as a “spectacle” and bigger than UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas last year. He said they would not be selling tickets to the event, which would hurt financially, but would have many benefits from advertiser interest, branding, reach, and earned media.
In an interesting comment, he spoke about the potential of Paramount acquiring WBD and possibly putting its programming on HBO or TNT because of the built-in sports audiences.
Zuffa Boxing will be a promotion built “similar to the UFC” with roughly two hundred boxers under contract, and will have “the best fight the best” and move up the rankings by winning. The first card will be held on Friday, January 23 on the night before UFC 324 in Las Vegas. Shapiro called their partners in Saudi Arabia “spectacular” and will not take any risk by taking a management fee, and after hitting thresholds in several years, they’ll have a roughly 50-50 ownership split.
Shapiro praised the work of ESPN for the launch of WWE in September with Wrestlepalooza. He said, “Jimmy Pitaro is going to get that direct-to-consumer platform moving fast,” whether it be those already authenticated or those paying $29.99 to add it. He said, “We saw great success with our first event, Wrestlepalooza, and we anticipate it becoming an annual event,” noting strong numbers across the board.
He was asked about the future of the WWE library and NXT premium live events, which are coming due on Peacock. He said they have not gone to market yet with the NXT events, but for the library, “We are working on a non-exclusive deal and think we’ll have something to announce in Q1 (of 2026)”.
The chat ended with Shapiro promoting its increasing partnerships and revenue goals in that area, fielding more calls from destinations wanting to land events, and stating that TKO is not seeking any properties to purchase right now.
