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Mark Shapiro on WWE and UFC pay

At the Goldman Sachs Conference, TKO's Mark Shapiro got into the details on talent pay. He said that after locking in new media deals, ESPN for WWE, and Paramount+, CBS, Peacock, Sky with UFC, plus Raw on Netflix, they went ahead and adjusted how fighters and superstars are compensated. That new structure is already figured into their projections, so he doesn't expect any more negative surprises on how the money gets distributed. The company's feeling solid about where they're at. Shapiro pointed out the UFC has around 600 fighters on the roster, and development is a huge part of their approach. For WWE, 75% of the superstars come up through NXT, so that pipeline is key to their strategy. On the UFC side, the performance centers in Mexico City, Vegas, and China are already showing real results, especially in China. They plan to keep pushing that and also get more aggressive with monetization, things like advertiser deals, marketing partnerships, and bonuses tied to fight night performances. Top talent is still lining up to join both UFC and WWE, and they're confident the margins will keep expanding.

1mo

Sandeepx 💯@sandeepx

Follow

Mark Shapiro on WWE and UFC pay

At the Goldman Sachs Conference, TKO's Mark Shapiro got into the details on talent pay. He said that after locking in new media deals, ESPN for WWE, and Paramount+, CBS, Peacock, Sky with UFC, plus Raw on Netflix, they went ahead and adjusted how fighters and superstars are compensated. That new structure is already figured into their projections, so he doesn't expect any more negative surprises on how the money gets distributed. The company's feeling solid about where they're at. Shapiro pointed out the UFC has around 600 fighters on the roster, and development is a huge part of their approach. For WWE, 75% of the superstars come up through NXT, so that pipeline is key to their strategy. On the UFC side, the performance centers in Mexico City, Vegas, and China are already showing real results, especially in China. They plan to keep pushing that and also get more aggressive with monetization, things like advertiser deals, marketing partnerships, and bonuses tied to fight night performances. Top talent is still lining up to join both UFC and WWE, and they're confident the margins will keep expanding.

1mo