Topline
TKO’s stock dropped more than 12% in intraday trading Thursday after the announcement of a five-year domestic media rights partnership between the company and NBCUniversal that will return the Smackdown wrestling show to USA Network starting in October 2024.
TKO went public on September 12. (Photo by Michelle Farsi/Zuffa LLC)
Key Facts
Shares of TKO dropped after the announcement of the deal, which is valued at more than $1.4 billion, averaging about $287 million per year, according to CNBC.
The stock, which slumped as low as $84.86 per share Thursday, was trading around $104 throughout the week.
TKO went public a little more than one week ago, sporting a $102 opening share price as the merger between World Wrestling Entertainment and Endeavor’s Ultimate Fighting Championship was made official.
The deal also includes four primetime specials per year set to air on NBC starting in the 2024/2025 season.
Key Background
Smackdown has called Fox home for nearly four years after joining the mass media company in 2019 on a five-year, $1 billion deal. Prior to that, the highly popular wrestling program aired on USA Network from 2016 to 2019. Smackdown is owned by WWE, which recently completed its merger with the UFC this month valued at a whopping $21.4 billion, with the UFC accounting for more than half of the valuation, according to Variety.
What To Watch For
Raw, the USA Network companion program to Smackdown also produced by WWE, is not part of the deal. However, a new media rights deal for the top-rated show may be next as multiple business players are said to be circling Raw, according to Deadline.
Further Reading
The $2.7 Billion Time Bomb Inside The Newly Merged UFC And WWE (Forbes)
WWE’s ‘SmackDown’ to return to NBCUniversal’s USA Network in more than $1.4 billion deal (CNBC)
