Notes from TKO Group’s 2023 Fiscal 3rd Quarter Report

TKO Group held an investor’s meeting on Tuesday discussing the results from their fiscal 2023 third quarter report.

It was stated that these results cover the time period of from July 1, 2023 through September 30, 2023 for UFC and September 12, 2023 through September 30, 2023 for WWE.

In regards to revenues, TKO generated $449.1 million in net revenues for the fiscal quarter. Operating income for the fiscal quarter was $93 million.

TKO generated a net income of $22 million for the fiscal quarter.

In regards to other financial areas, TKO’s Adjusted OIBDA for the fiscal quarter was $239.7 million. WWE’s events revenue for the fiscal quarter was $5.4 million. WWE’s consumer revenue for the fiscal quarter was $6.3 million.

In regards to next year’s WrestleMania 40 event in Philadelphia, TKO stated that WWE has sold more than 90,000 tickets in its first day on sale and broke the WWE record for all-time gate that was set by this past April’s WrestleMania 39 event.

Other notable highlights from TKO’s investor’s meeting:

• TKO Group CEO Ari Emanuel stated that WWE’s new media rights deals for SmackDown and NXT both generated increases for media rights fees.
• On the topic of WWE’s new television deal with The CW for NXT, Emanuel stated that that WWE’s new deal represents a 70% in crease in media rights fees for NXT.
• On the topic of WWE’s talks for a new television deal for RAW, Emanuel stated that they have been in talks with several television networks and streaming service providers for a new media rights deal for RAW.
• On the topic of UFC’s recent deal with the Saudi Arabian government to expand into and hold events in the country, Emanuel stated that this builds upon WWE’s relationship with the country.
• On the topic of WWE’s sale to Endeavor and merger with UFC, Emanuel stated that the company is looking to save around $50-$100 million in costs from this process.
• On the topic of merging WWE and UFC together, Emanuel stated that he feels this will lead to them being in good position once they finish their current cost savings measures. Emanuel also stated that they currently feel that TKO’s stock is undervalued at the moment.
• On the topic of the impact of sports media rights deals and how it impacts their attempts to get a new media rights deal for WWE’s RAW television series, Emanuel stated that WWE’s total viewership has been up in the key demos while general broadcast and cable shows have been down. Emanuel also claimed that they are year-round content creators and have flexibility regarding the day and time for shows and have an attractive viewership base. Emanuel also stated that WWE’s new deal for SmackDown will put their weekly shows as live across the board on USA Network unlike with FOX where they were not live for shows for 40% of the country. Emanuel also stated that The CW is a major network and will now be getting WWE’s NXT series. Emanuel also stated how important NXT is to the health of WWE in the future.
• On the topic of WWE’s merger with UFC, Emanuel stated that they have been happy with how the WWE and UFC teams are coming together in regards to the costs and revenues sides. Emanuel also stated that they currently expect to achieve the upper end of their cost-savings synergies before they really combined WWE and UFC’s businesses. In regards to international markets, Emanuel mentioned Chida as a potential destination to host UFC and WWE events in the future.
• On the topic of adding more sponsorships on WWE programming, Emanuel stated “Vince [Vince McMahon] has been very open….before he was clean in the ring and around. He is now very open to increasing the inventory that we can work with like we increased the inventory at the UFC, very happy about that and we think there are huge opportunities around the stadium. That’s a good sign. We are starting, in some territories, looking at a Friday night, Saturday night, and Monday night for both WWE, UFC, and WWE again. That will give us an indication of our ability to put that on. Once we can prove that model, I think we can take it globally and move it domestically pretty easily. I’ll re-emphasize that there is a ton of inventory now that Vince and the team are opening up at the WWE for us.“
• On the topic of TKO’s plans for potential super weekends events, Emanuel stated that they are currently looking at potential Saturday to Monday event weekends with WWE and UFC.

Source: PWInsider.com 1 & 2, Fightful.com