ESPN will be from 2026 exclusive platform for WWE Premium events in the United States, a news that has been going around the world in recent hours and had its place during the recent Q2 2025 TKO Earnings Call. We attend to Mark Shapiro's wordspresident of TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of WWE and UFC.
► In the words of Mark Shapiro
“First, I think we have been coherent in our message to you: We always had certain reservations on putting all the eggs in a single basket. Do not be misunderstood, when you make these agreements you are balancing the monetization of the asset and the opportunity, with the scope that your brand and your audience can have. So that was definitely a factor.
When we go to the market, more or less at the same time we begin to speak with interested in the UFC. We had a great interest, because more than anything, these are monthly events of great magnitude, and frankly, Now we live in the era of the great eventsso to speak …
I will only say that when everything was said and done, we could have achieved a slightly higher rights rate with another partner. But we feel that the strength of the ESPN brand, its reach, the platform, the composition of its audience and its direct consumer strategy (which is about to be launched), were as important as income. And we have been consistent in that approach and how we have communicated it.
In the end, We sign a five -year agreement, with annual increases, a high margin income flow, with great visibility and stability. Deflationary programming such as PLES (Premium Live Events), and Nick Khan and Triple H have done incredible job taking the Pink McMahon post.
These live events are specifically designed for consumer direct services. We are going to transmit the 10 PLES during the year … The idea of having an event like Money in the Bank, Summerslam or WrestleMania – the what you want is -, with the first hour or even two hours simultaneously by ESPN on its linear channel and its DTC platform (direct to the consumer), it is simply an unbeatable proposal. And of course, all this is based on the fact that the ESPN linear platform has no competition in the industry. ”
