SUMMARY
- TKO recently revealed the quarterly earnings report after the $21 Billion UFC-WWE merger.
- Here are some interesting facts that the UFC and WWE fans should know about it.
TKO Group Holdings INC is an American sports and entertainment company. It comprises WWE, the world’s premier martial arts organization, and UFC. Its majority is owned by Endeavor, a global sports and entertainment company.
On September 12, 2023, Endeavor combined UFC and WWE and formed a newly publicly listed company, named TKO Group Holdings INC. Recently TKO released an earning report for the first Quarter of 2024, that fans had been waiting for a long time. Here are all the points that WWE fans should know after reading this report.
WWE earned more from rights and content than live events
WWE’s total revenue was $316.7 million from the period of January 1, 2024, to March 31, 2024. Among these WWE earned a total of $221.1 million from media rights and content within a tenure of 3 months. The remaining revenue that WWE collected was from Live events, Consumer Products, and Sponsorship.
WWE generated $316.7M in revenue for Q1.
UFC generated $313M.https://t.co/ojTbDa7axM pic.twitter.com/EG1ZNHsHo8— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) May 8, 2024
The increase in revenue in media rights and content was due to the contractual escalation of media rights fees for WWE RAW, SmackDown, and live events. The decline in consumer products was due to the early termination of licensed collectibles. WWE also disclosed their transition of Venue merchandise to Fanatics in May 2023.
6% increase in revenue since 2023
The revenue of WWE from the period of January 1, 2023, to 31 March 2023 was $297.6 million. But it showed an increase of 6% revenue i.e. $19.1 million from the period of January 1, 2024 to March 31, 2024. It happened primarily due to an increase in the revenue of live events and, an increase in media rights and content.
📺 TV RATINGS ARE IN
WWE Raw last Monday on USA Networkhttps://t.co/F52pEQwHHl
— Wrestlenomics (@wrestlenomics) May 8, 2024
The increase in the revenue of live events is related to the increase in the number of ticket sales and site fees. It also earned a huge amount of revenue by selling media rights and content. But it showed a partial offset in the decrease of revenue on consumer products.
Merchandise sales will decrease in 2024 despite an increase in live events and media rights
An increase in the revenue of live events and media rights can be seen and a decrease in consumer products can also be seen in 2024. It’s all because in the history of WWE, this Quarter month has seen the most audience on live events and fans also consumed more on media content. It also happened due to the termination of licensed collectibles.
The revenue generated from live events, media rights and was much higher compared to the revenue collected from merchandise products. This might happen due to the termination of licensed collectibles, or any other factors might be possible. WWE must immediately look at it before the release of the next quarter of the TKO report.
Decrease in expenses increase in EBITDA
From the period of January 1, 2023, to March 31, 2023, WWE Adjusted EBITDA was $117.0 million. But from the period of January 1, 2024, to March 31, 2024, it increased to 20% or $23.0 million due to its increase in revenue and a decrease in expenses. The Adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter of 2024 reached $140.2 million.
UFC continues to be more profitable, as expected. pic.twitter.com/eCIeOwjMew
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) May 8, 2024
The expenses decreased due to the decline in personnel costs and other direct costs. It is also related to the planned cost reduction initiative implemented after the formation of TKO. After this, there was a partial offset in the increase in production costs as well as travel and entertainment costs.
Who will broadcast WWE Raw in the Final Quarter of 2024
WWE announced that it made a deal with streaming giant ‘Netflix’ to air “WWE RAW”, the promotion’s weekly flagship show to air live each week on its platform from 2025. However, there was confusion amidst it as WWE’s current deal with USA Network expires in October 2024.
The fans were confused that WWE would not have a home for 3 months. Thankfully that will not happen as because WWE made a deal of $25.0 million with the USA Network to continue airing until the end of 2024 as mentioned in the ‘TKO Quarter 2024 report’. This means for the final Quarter USA Network will keep broadcasting WWE Raw and SmackDown. WWE fans eagerly waited for a long time for this report. Now, they have answers to all their questions.